The Dolphins used a second-round draft pick on cornerback Cam Smith this year, usually a pick a team spends on a player who can contribute immediately. Smith hasn’t.
In fact, Smith has done next to nothing on defense, getting on the field for just four plays all season. He does play regularly on special teams, but Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel says throwing Smith out there on defense before he’s ready could set back his progress.
“I think you have to do right by the team, and you have to do right by the player to make sure that they’re appropriately versed,” McDaniel said, via USA Today. “The main thing with him is that he’s, by all testaments, he’s getting better and better and closer and closer to doing that, but you don’t just have guys learn on the fly at a position like that, in my opinion. Because, it’s kind of like quarterback, where you don’t want to hurt their progression by having them see the field too soon because there can be scar tissue with that. I really like the way that Cam goes about his business, and how he competes. He’ll see his time on the field at some point, but tonight was just not the night.”
That McDaniel fears Smith would develop “scar tissue” from playing suggests that Smith would get burned if he had to go up against NFL wide receivers right now. That’s not a great sign for where he is right now, but McDaniel sounds confident that Smith will get to where the Dolphins want him to be.