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Miami Dolphins’ No. 2 pick Patrick Paul ’humongous’ in debut
MIAMI GARDENS — The Miami Dolphins invested extra in left deal with Patrick Paul than some other draft choose making his NFL debut Friday night time.
They clearly wished to get their cash’s price.
Paul nearly by no means got here off the sector in Miami’s 20-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, enjoying 63 snaps, behind solely deal with Ryan Hayes.
Secure to say Paul left an impression with the quarterbacks he was defending.
“He’s a big human being,” Skylar Thompson mentioned.
Mike White: “A humongous human.”
Extra:Early returns on Miami Dolphins quarterbacks Skylar Thompson, Mike White not encouraging
From the second the Dolphins drafted Paul within the second spherical out of Houston, we’ve identified he’s 6-feet-7 and 332 kilos. It says one thing that teammates nonetheless haven’t gotten over how a lot Paul towers over individuals, even on this big-man’s recreation.
In fact, dimension solely goes to date. There can be a day when Paul is counted on to succeed Terron Armstead at left deal with. For offensive line coach Butch Barry, this season will in no small half revolve round getting Paul prepared.
Engaged on Paul’s confidence received’t require heavy lifting.
“There are moments in it the place you simply go on the market and also you simply notice, ‘Yeah, I can do that. That is what I’m made for,’ ” Paul mentioned. “I’ve had these moments.”
White vouched for that. He performed the second half of a recreation of attrition. It compelled White to be as a lot of a coach on the sector as a quarterback. However he mentioned one participant he by no means needed to fear about was Paul.
“I do know that I didn’t have to inform him what we had been working,” White mentioned. “He broke the huddle and bought to the road. Good communication on the line of scrimmage. So I believed he did properly.”
Paul enjoying nearly each snap wasn’t the plan getting into, coach Mike McDaniel mentioned. It’s what the movement of the night dictated. And with a lot time to show himself, Paul left an impression on McDaniel.
“We sort of wished to see actually how he was doing through the recreation,” McDaniel mentioned. “We had been comfy with it and Butch wished to maintain him in a pair further drives. Our plan was at the start of the third quarter to get him a sequence and get him out and we left him in slightly bit. I believed he had some actual good alternatives to study, and I believed he performed quick and bodily. There was some great things there.”
It was begin for the draft class basically, together with working again Jaylen Wright, receiver Malik Washington and security Patrick McMorris. All had moments. And that’s with first-round choose Chop Robinson but to make his debut.
“We’re all motivated,” Wright mentioned. “All of us have the identical goal: to get our respect on this league. We’re all working. We’re shut. They’re all nice guys to be round and all the pieces. I simply really feel like we’re all arduous employees and actually devoted to our craft and need to be actually good at what we do.”
Paul got here away with feeling about what he known as his “welcome to the NFL” second.
“Undoubtedly a dream come true to placed on that aqua and orange,” Paul mentioned. “I’ve dreamed of this second and it’s lastly right here. It was nice.”
Dolphins reporter Hal Habib will be reached at [email protected]. Comply with him on social media @gunnerhal. Click on right here to subscribe.
