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Which tight ends will make the cut, get the snaps?

By Tim Graham | Friday, June 20, 2008, 01:56 AM

One of the Dolphins’ bigger positional question marks is at tight end.

Essentially every other position has been hashed over because of high-profile doings. They drafted a QB and added a veteran. Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown are back together. The offensive line is being rebuilt. Jason Taylor is dancing and Zach Thomas is gone and there are special-teamers galore and on and on …

But what of the tight ends?

I recently asked newcomer Sean Ryan if the coaching staff had laid out a general game plan for how tight ends will be used in 2008.

“They have, but I can’t tell y’all,” Ryan said. “So I’ll keep that to myself.”

Six tight ends are on the roster. Three are holdovers: David Martin, Justin Peelle and Aaron Halterman. But, indicative of their tenuous standing, Dolphins football operations boss Bill Parcells went out and snagged a couple of favorites: Anthony Fasano and Ryan. Matthew Mulligan is an undrafted rookie.

The Dolphins are shaping up as a smashmouth squad, but tight ends have always been effective weapons on Parcells teams.

“Everyone wants to go out there and be Tony Gonzalez,” Ryan said. “But there’s only one Tony Gonzalez. There’s only one Jason Witten. So you go out and do what you can do.

“If you’re called on to catch 50 balls, then you do that. If you’re called on to block and be a ditch digger, then you’ve got to do that, move guys out and let Ronnie and Ricky run. Whatever they ask you to do, you’ve got to do it regardless of how you feel about it.”

Here are quick thumbnails on each with salary cap figures in parentheses:

Anthony Fasano ($653,740): The third-year pro from Notre Dame is coming off shoulder surgery. He has been limited in spring workouts but should be totally ready for camp. Parcells loved the tough Jersey kid enough to trade for him on the eve of the draft, pulling him out of Jason Witten’s shadow. Fasano caught 14 passes in each of his two seasons and has one career TD for the Cowboys.

Aaron Halterman ($370,000): He has the least experience in the group, but he has the size Parcells likes at 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds. Halterman started last year on the practice squad before playing nine games with no starts. He caught one pass (the first of his NFL career) for seven yards.

David Martin ($1.23 million): The most experienced of the bunch, he’s a dichotomy. Martin is coming off his most productive NFL season (his 34 receptions and 303 yards were career-highs), but the eighth-year pro mostly was viewed as a disappointment because he was Randy McMichael’s replacement and Cam Cameron supposedly had grand plans in store. Martin had some bad games as a blocker.

Matthew Mulligan: He’s a project. Mulligan is 6-4, 258 pounds. He didn’t play football in high school and didn’t begin until he attended Division III Husson College. He played only two seasons at Division I-AA Maine, where he caught 13 passes for 157 yards and two TDs as a senior. It would be a miraculous development if Mulligan made the 53-man roster, but he could land on the practice squad.

Justin Peelle ($1.9 million): Antonio Gates’ former backup in San Diego made 10 starts last year. Peelle had 29 receptions for 228 yards and two TDs for the Dolphins last year. Peelle, a seventh-year pro, can both catch and block but does neither on a supreme level.

Sean Ryan ($655,000): He’s the biggest at 6-5 and 265 pounds and is more blocker than receiver. Parcells drafted him while with the Cowboys, but reluctantly traded him to the Jets — at least partially to clear way for Fasano. Ryan’s best statistical season was 2006, when he had six catches for 44 yards. He’s still looking for his first NFL touchdown.

Good question, 619.   I say Fasano will be the starter with Ryan as a backup (usually coming in when they need an extra blocker).

Mulligan might be a practice squad candidate if he shows some promise. 

Halterman, Peele, Martin..... see ya.

Don't teams usually keep 3 tight ends on the 53-man roster?

I think Peele or Martin will get the third spot.

Fasano most likely will be, but that is not saying much, just as Martin was the starter last year.  Being the best of a bad lot is not something to get pumped up about.

 Ryan is nothing but a Special teamer.  He will only see the field in short yardage situations, so at best he will be No. 3.

Odds are Mulligan will be cut & forgotten about.  I cannot believe Miami did not draft a TE considering their less than stellar stable of Te's & the fact Henning's O usually uses the Te postion.  I think they went over board on Lineman.

There's only so much you can do in one year of drafting, when you inherit the worst roster in the NFL. They needed to draft lineman on both sides of the ball, given the longstanding OL ineptitude and weakness and the aging and crumbling of the once proud  DL. Fasano was brought in to provide hopefully a halfway decent fairly young player at TE this year, and maybe he's got some upside to him. He's at least as good as anyone the team could have gotten with a mid to late round draft pick.

No, there were bigger needs this year than to draft a tight end.

How many rookie lineman does one team need to draft in one year?  6 of the 8 picks were lineman.  That is going overboard IMO for one draft. 

You telling me Thomas or Dotson were needed picks?  or Hilliard for that matter considering you just drafted Parmele?  Were any of those three more needed than a TE at that point?   Are the odds better of them making the team over a TE in one of those spots?

  Sure there were bigger needs & they addressed those needs in Rd. 1, 2,3 & 4.  However, 6 lineman?   If you are drafting Lineman, then why not sign one in FA that is more than a special teamer? 

They addressed the TE spot with a bust for a 2nd Rd. pick  ( which had they not drafted him then would not have had an interest in IMO ) & a special teamer.   Not good.

Just like I said at the draft party at your house Doctor D...... Bill Parcells would've analyzed this draft the same way he did in 1993 in his first draft as coach of the Patriots.... "Too many holes, not enough pegs."



I wouldn't call it overboard, as this is the way the Tuna builds teams.  However, you can't help but wonder why they didn't draft a single wideout, tight end, or defensive back.

Up to Murphy I was fine with what they did, then for me it became lets throw as much as we can up against the wall & see what sticks.   Personally I do not believe they scouted the other positions that much if at all, knowing how much the line(s) needed work.

I just hope that 3 years from now both of those guys are starting on a very good lines & no TE from last in the draft turns into a good player.

fasano is GARBAGE.....it'll probably be peele, martin, and halterman.  i wouldnt be surprised if someone actually trades for JT and gives us their starting TE

  Fasano will probably be the starter, with Peelle and Ryan being the backups.  Martin, Halterman, and Mulligan will be cut.

  I agree with this.  You can only take care of so many needs in the Draft.  Addressing the offensive and defensive lines was the right place to start.  I think in the 2009 NFL Draft, you'll see more of the skill positions addressed.

I did not like the play of Martin last season.  Peele on the other hand showed a lil promise.  Either way, Miami has more pressing needs than a all-pro caliber Tight-end at this point.

Who knows,  Hallterman, Fasano, or Matthew Mulligan could be  anther  Jason Whitten  ???

   I'm sure Miami will see some other positions in '09, but 6 OL/DL was just over the top for me.   Then to back those picks up with 2 Rbs just seems odd.  The last 3 picks kinda threw me.