The Miami Dolphins’ “evaluation” year in 2019 is bearing some unexpected fruit. After a rookie season in 2018 that left many questioning if Miami had made a mistake in selecting tight end Mike Gesicki, the former Penn State Nittany Lion has turned a corner in 2019 and continues to look more and more like the receiving threat he was perceived to be in college.
Over Gesicki’s last 8 games, the tight end has produced 311 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns — certainly not earth shattering numbers, but both are better than the figures Gesicki posted in all of his rookie season. And be honest, if Miami were told they could get 600 yards and 4-5 touchdowns a year out of Gesicki (or any tight end for that matter), they’d probably be tickled pick. The Dolphins recent track record at tight end hasn’t been particularly kind. The team tried the experiment of bringing in Julius Thomas in 2017 and the last splash they tried to make at the position before that was signing Jordan Cameron in 2015. Neither eclipsed 400 yards receiving.
Gesicki has now checked that box and should finish the season over 500 yards as well. Ideally, the scoring continues to heat up for the tight end over the final two games to build more momentum for a potential breakout season in 2020 with the rest of Miami’s overhauled offense. Remember, Gesicki hadn’t scored an NFL touchdown until just a few weeks ago against the Browns.
The arrow is pointed up and thanks to the play of QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, Gesicki is getting a chance as the contested catches he’s going to need to make to be a true asset for the Dolphins in the future. So far, so good.
