Why signing Odell Beckham Jr. was a desperate need for the Dolphins

Henry McKenna

AFC East Reporter

Tua Tagovailoa might have a unique problem this season: Who does he throw the ball to when he has three receivers open?

On Friday, the Miami Dolphins added Odell Beckham Jr. to their wideout group that already included Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Braxton Berrios and rookies Malik Washington and Tahj Washington. Miami also has a few developmental receivers in Anthony Schwartz, Erik Ezukanma and Braylon Sanders. And we haven’t even gotten to their other skill positions that boast a handful of outstanding pass-catchers: running backs Raheem Mostert and Devon Achane and tight ends Jonnu Smith and Durham Smythe.

So why did the Dolphins think they needed Odell? And what are they going to do with all this depth?

It’s a matter of how Miami runs its offense.

While Hill finished with the most receiving yards in the NFL and Waddle finished 26th in that category, their playing time came up short of what their peers play. Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb, who finished second in receiving yards, played 83.7% of snaps. And Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, third in receiving yards, had 83.5% of snaps.

The Dolphins? In 16 games, Hill played 63.3% of snaps. In 14 games, Waddle played 55.7% of snaps. That meant prominent roles for perimeter receivers Cedrick Wilson (49.6%) and Robbie Chosen (12.3%). But if you’re wondering why you never heard much about Wilson or Chosen last season, it’s because they simply weren’t very effective. Miami seemed to have a fairly significant role in mind for Wilson when it signed him to a three-year, $21 million deal in 2022. But because that didn’t work out, the Dolphins have tried to make it work with Chosen and Chase Claypool, among other perimeter wideouts.

It seems the Dolphins are hoping Beckham Jr. can succeed where this other crop of wideouts have not.

Miami needs so many receivers in its offense because of coach Mike McDaniel’s elaborate mixture of pre-snap motions. The Dolphins have their players moving before the snap on 68.2% of plays, most in the NFL. (The second-highest team, the Rams, weren’t even close at 37.7%.) No other player moves more than Hill, who openly commented last season on how exhausting it is.

“I’m tired as hell from it,” Hill said after a Week 2 win over the Patriots. “I’m going to sleep all day tomorrow.”

OBJ must be a sight for sore eyes.

At 31 years old and after a few major injuries (two ACL tears), Beckham isn’t the receiver he once was. He was, for a moment, one of the best wideouts in the NFL — if not the best. But he’s still pretty dang good. His production for the Ravens last season was solid: 35 catches, 565 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games. His snap count: 41.3%.

The Dolphins are likely going to play Beckham somewhere in the range of 40% to 50% of snaps, if he can stay healthy. He might log something similar to last season in terms of production. But maybe if he sees an uptick in playing time, he’ll see that increase in targets, catches, yards and touchdowns.

There’s a common adage in the NFL: You can’t have too many offensive linemen. You can’t have too many quarterbacks. You can’t have too many pass-rushers.

Well, the Dolphins really can’t have too many receivers.

So what are they going to do with Beckham?

Throw him the ball — and probably at a surprisingly high clip for a WR3.

Knowing McDaniel, he’ll figure out a creative set of plays that highlight Beckham’s unique skill set.

Prior to joining FOX Sports as the AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.

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