The Miami Dolphins have a clear path to making life easier on offense Sunday, and it runs right through Greg Dulcich.
Detroit’s defense has been getting beat by tight ends all year, and that gives Miami a chance to lean on one of its most underused weapons. The frustrating part is that the Dolphins haven’t treated Dulcich like a centerpiece.
Over nine games this season, he has only had one outing with seven targets and another with six. If Miami actually feeds him, the numbers suggest he can do a lot more damage.
That matters because the Lions have been a mess against tight ends. They are last in the league in covering the position, and they’ve already given up 11 tight-end touchdowns and more than 680 receiving yards.
Miami has its own issues in that area, ranking fourth worst in the league against tight ends with six touchdowns allowed and 483 receiving yards surrendered, but Detroit has been even worse. The Lions have given up 61 catches on 80 targets, which tops the 55 receptions allowed by the Raiders.
Miami has also been relatively stingy in a different way, allowing 48 receptions on 55 attempts despite seeing some of the league’s best tight ends. Even so, that still leaves room for damage, especially with Sam LaPorta on the other side drawing attention.
The case for Dulcich is simple: good things happen when Malik Willis throws his way. His best game of the season came against the Jets, when he finished with 86 yards in Miami’s only win of the year.
It’s also the only time he has topped 55 receiving yards this season. That’s why this week feels like a chance for him to break loose.
The responsibility falls on offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik to make it happen. The Dolphins need to keep getting Dulcich the ball until Detroit proves it can stop him.
Willis, though, is the real swing factor. He has to be quicker and more decisive with his reads, because the throwing windows close fast.
Forcing passes downfield won’t help. The smarter move may be taking the easy throw to Dulcich for four or five yards instead of trying to squeeze the ball into a covered receiver deeper downfield.
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