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Miami Dolphins possibilities with Tyler Huntley at Quarterback
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Miami Dolphins possibilities with Tyler Huntley at Quarterback

The Miami Dolphins have not yet revealed who will start at quarterback for their Monday night game against the Tennessee Titans, but there’s a good chance Tyler “Snoop” Huntley will be there for the first time.

Huntley was signed off the Baltimore Ravens practice squad on September 16, so come Monday it would be just two weeks before he would be integrated and learn the offense. Even if Huntley doesn’t start Monday, it seems inevitable he will play this season, especially if Tua Tagovailoa doesn’t return from injured reserve after the four-week minimum.

To prepare for Huntley’s time under center, we watched film from throughout his career and went over the stats to see what the Dolphins’ offense could look like with Huntley.

Huntley spent the first four seasons of his career as Lamar Jackson’s backup in Baltimore. He started four games in 2021 and 2022 and finished with a 3-5 record in those eight starts. Huntley also started and lost the 2022 playoff game to Baltimore.

Huntley started one game last season vs. the Steelers, a 17-10 loss in the regular season finale. The Ravens already had the top seed locked up, so Huntley was there in bad weather with all of Baltimore’s backups.

Yet he produced only modest statistics. He was 15 of 28 for 146 yards with one touchdown and no turnovers while adding 40 rushing yards on eight carries. Humble is probably the nicest way to describe Huntley’s career stats.

He has a 64.6 completion percentage in nine starts, eight touchdown passes and seven interceptions. Huntley has run the ball well, rushing for 509 yards and three touchdowns on 115 carries.

Many will bring up Huntley making the Pro Bowl in 2022, but he was selected after several quarterbacks opted out of the game. In his “Pro Bowl” season, Huntley kept the Ravens in games, but only threw two touchdowns compared to three interceptions.

To his credit, Huntley performed admirably in the postseason. His 226 passing yards and two touchdowns were better than all of his regular season numbers in one game.

That said, numbers rarely, if ever, tell the whole story.

While Huntley’s numbers aren’t impressive, he did keep the Ravens competitive in his starts in 2021 and 2022. As a backup quarterback, especially one who isn’t a former long-term starter, that’s about as good as you can ask for.

As a passer, Huntley’s strengths lie primarily in the quick game. He is a tough decision maker who is more than willing to take what the defense gives him. He throws most accurately to the short center of the field.

He works through reads quickly (sometimes to a fault) and will run check-downs during the game if teams give them to him. Huntley sees the blitz clicking somewhat well in advance. He showed the ability to replace the blitzer with the football during his Ravens tape.

Huntley is also an above-average athlete for the position. He has enough arm talent to create structure outside and generate positive play when things go wrong.

That transitions nicely into probably his greatest strength: scrambling. Huntley is the best athlete the Dolphins have had at quarterback in a while. Skylar Thompson has some ability to get behind the line, but Huntley is a legitimate threat beyond that.

He’s fast enough to eat up easy yards, punish teams playing man coverage, and he’s capable of winning on designed quarterback runs. He’s not the caliber of Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen, but defenses should respect his scrambling ability.

Those are Huntley’s strengths, but what about some of his disadvantages?

Huntley’s main drawbacks are the strength and accuracy of the arms. He doesn’t have the arm strength to drive the ball through tight windows or consistently push the ball down the field. Huntley’s average target depth has dropped every season since he’s been in the league.

His arm strength also limits his accuracy. When forced to throw outside the numbers of about 10 yards, he struggles to make his receiver’s job easy. He often makes passes on the wrong shoulder or simply misses the mark.

His accuracy on vertical routes has also been affected, although it’s hard to find too many examples of him really hitting the ball.

Huntley’s mobility is a plus, but sometimes he leaves his clean wallet behind and opens books to run rather than work within the structure of the play. This is less of a concern as long as Huntley plays positively with his legs.

However, if teams effectively target him or if his athletic ability declines, it will significantly hinder his success.

Overall, Huntley is a limited passer with solid athleticism. He plays the fast game well, and he can create outside of structure, avoid sacks and pick up critical first downs with his legs. Nothing he does is overly impressive, but he is capable enough to produce a respectable offense if he has enough support around him.

Predicting what the Dolphins will do with Huntley is quite difficult. For starters, Hutley has had two weeks to learn the offense, which is very different from the offense he ran in Baltimore.

Additionally, under head coach Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins haven’t deviated much from their system when using backup quarterbacks. Whether it was Teddy Bridgewater or Thompson, the Dolphins haven’t introduced any modified offenses to accommodate whoever is under center.

That’s one of the many reasons why the team struggled so much on offense last week. Thompson was asked to do everything Tagovailoa does for the offense in a hostile environment.

If the Dolphins ask Huntley to manage all the moves and ball fakes their offense normally has after just two weeks in the system, things will likely go just as bad as they did last week.

Let’s put that aside and assume the Dolphins make some changes or simplify the offense significantly. What should we expect?

The Dolphins like to use the quick game to get the ball into the hands of Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and De’Von Achane. Those quick screens, swings and jet passes will likely remain in the offense.

Huntley is also good at throwing sticks, curls and slants from his first read. The Dolphins enjoyed pushing those routes downfield with Tua at quarterback, but running them at more traditional depth would be better for Huntley.

When it comes to formations, the Dolphins could use a few more empty looks. Huntley’s career EPA per dropback is -0.08, but his EPA per dropback from empty is 0.11.

Last season, the Dolphins tied for the NFL lead in void formation usage at 6 percent, according to . This season, that number is closer to 5 percent, and they drew just seven turnovers against the Seahawks.

Huntley does his best work in the passing game when the defense is spread out, and he can easily identify his first read. It also makes it easier for Huntley to scramble as more defenders are drawn out of the box.

Overall, the best thing Miami can do for Huntley in the passing game is keep things simple.

Don’t ask him to conduct an orchestra with a lot of complicated movements before the snap. He doesn’t have to run the timing routes over the middle at the same depth as Tua. Simple half-court concepts with a check-down option over the middle will better enhance Huntley’s strengths.

Miami started simplifying things when Tim Boyle came into the game last week, so it’s something they’re capable of.

The most obvious adjustment for the running game is adding quarterback run elements. The Dolphins can replace some of the fancy pre-snap window dressing they enjoy with the threat of a quarterback run.

Adding read options and quarterback power concepts to the playbook seems like a no-brainer. Huntley won’t be dominant on the ground, but even the threat of the quarterback forces the defense to fill the gaps differently.

The Dolphins should also try to run the ball between the tackles more often. Miami averages 4.6 yards per carry under center, but they rank in the bottom 10 in the league in rushing outside the tackles.

That part doesn’t directly involve Huntley, but no matter how many adjustments the Dolphins make, the running game will likely have to put the team on offense. That support will only make Huntley better.