Miami Dolphins Transcripts – January 6 – WR Jaylen Waddle, RB Duke Johnson, TE Durham Smythe, LB Elandon Roberts, S Jevon Holland and LB Jaelan Phillips

WR Jaylen Waddle

(I’m sure you’ve been told that you were named team MVP. What does that mean to you to be a rookie and to be given this award?) – “It means a lot. Just being on this team and trying to help win games. It means a lot, just coming from – I don’t know who voted on it, but I appreciate it for sure.”

(How would you describe the way you think you can best positively impact your team?) – “I think it’s different ways to be honest. If it’s getting the ball, getting the ball in space, going down field, blocking, doing things like that. Or if it’s taking two defenders with me so somebody else can get open or have an easier route. There are different ways I can help the team. Returning. Things like that. There are a lot of different ways.”

(You’ll have a lot to live up to being the MVP in your first ever year. You have so many years ahead of you. How much better do you think you can be in future years?) – “I think I’ve got room for growth always. I look back on games and look back on film. I’ll probably watch a lot of the games after the season and just see where I can get better at. I see every week something I can get better at. There is a lot of growth in my game.”

(Did your first season in the NFL surpass your expectations? Are you happy with your stats and all of that? And if winning the MVP of the season gives you more motivation to keep going?) – “I really didn’t have expectations going into the season. I was just trying to make a name, do what I was told, not mess up and just try to help the team at whatever position they put me at. So going in there, that was kind of my expectations for the year. To be honest, I didn’t know they gave awards to teams. This is my first time hearing about it, for real. I didn’t know they did that.”

(How did you find out? What was the scene like when you found out about the award? And what was the best reaction you have from any of your coaches or teammates? Or friends and family for that matter.) – “I just heard about it probably like 20 minutes ago. Dan Marino actually told me, so that was pretty cool. My mom was a big Dan Marino fan, so I’ll tell her about that one. (laughter)”

(What did Dan say?) – “He was like, ‘Hey, congratulations.’ Dan is a cool guy so he’s kind of got his little congratulations and things like that. It was pretty cool.”

LB Jaelan Phillips

(We saw you won the Nat Moore Community Service Award for the team. Congratulations on that. Just your thoughts on winning that and what you did to win it.) – “When I came down to South Florida, the first thing that I knew was that I wanted to really make an impact in the community both on the field and off the field. Even in college, I tried to do my part doing community service with the team and with the athletic department, handing out food and supplies to the homeless people down in Overtown and different events like that. But when I went to the league, I obviously knew that my ability to do more increased in that the platform that I had would give me the ability to really spread that philanthropic mindset that I have and so I’ve been trying to do as much as a I can for the community. I’ve been blessed to be able to be with a team who is extremely helpful in facilitating a lot of that for me and my agency, they help me out with a lot of things. It’s extremely important for me to give back and make an impact in this community.”

(Congrats on the award and a good rookie season. How would you assess your year if we don’t get a chance to talk to you after Sunday?) – “I think there was a lot of growth. I started off slow where I didn’t really know what expectations I had, but I definitely had to learn how to manage my own expectations and really bought into the process of week-by-week trying to improve on my technique and little things. And ultimately, I had some success. We had team success. But I still have a ton to improve on and obviously we’re not happy with the results of the season. I’m just ready to finish off strong and keep grinding.”

(How much of a goal is it to be a most every-down player? Edge players don’t play every down, but I think you’ve played 53 percent of the defensive snaps. How much of a goal is it to get that number over 60, 65? And what do you need to do to achieve that, do you think?) – “Ultimately, I want to be able to do what I can, what’s best for the team really. But obviously it’s all about trust. So my goal really coming into next season is to solidify myself as a person that can be trusted on early downs. It’s just about improving all aspects of the game and really buying into the process.”

(Congratulations on this award. I know how much it means to people out in the community when they see somebody like you – a professional athlete – showing them that they care. I’m wondering how were you affected? Is there an event or person that you interacted with that sort of resonates with you and actually impacted you this year?) – “Yeah, I think the Lotus House in particular was extremely profound to me. I really do believe that the kids are the future and kids are extremely impressionable and they see a lot on a day-to-day basis. So I feel like if I can come in there and even just give them some motivation, give them some kind words, do everything I can for them, I really do believe that makes a bigger impact than – not to say that helping adults doesn’t make a huge impact because it does – but I think that for me it really hits home for me when I hang out with the kids and when I see the kids in these situations. And so that’s really what kind of tugs at my heartstrings, for sure.”

(I have to look up and read about Lotus House. Forgive me for not being familiar. Can you just kind of quickly educate me on the kind of kids who are there and is there a story you heard or something?) – “Yeah, so Lotus House basically is a shelter and like after-school service for single mothers and their kids who are homeless or who are challenged in that regard. So we come in there and basically I used to try to get there around 3, 4 o’clock. That’s when the kids get off school, and they just have a bunch of arts and crafts and games for them to play and workshop things. They have like a little nail studio that the little girls go in and are able to do that. It’s just an incredible place and the people who put everything on are incredible. So that’s kind of the short synopsis on Lotus House. Forgive me for not having a great explanation, but that’s basically what it is.”

(The vision is for you to be an outside linebacker and not just an exclusive pass rusher. Where do you feel like your development is in that whole phase of your game?) – “I think for me, the most important thing, like I said, is reliability on early downs. And for me really that’s – like you mentioned, I heard you say with Jevon (Holland) – you’re talking about eye patience. Like that’s something for me that I especially have to work on and just consistency, being in good positions, getting low pad level and different things like that. I’m just really looking to be that consistent and reliable every-down player, but also be able to get after the quarterback like I do.”

(Is there an offseason plan? You were a linebacker back in the day and then obviously – it’s skills that you have to re-learn. But is there like an offseason plan of how to do it?) – “I’ve got my schedule planned out basically to a tee in terms of where I’m going, where I’m going to be training, different things like that. There’s some different coaches I’m going to be working with during the offseason to try to just hone my craft. But ultimately I think a lot of the work also comes when you get back in pads, back in the flow of things and so now that I know what I need to work on, I think I can just really be hyper-critical of myself and make sure I’m doing everything I need to do to get right.”

(Congrats on the award. I wanted to ask you, you’re a young rookie player first year in the NFL, but you have a nice head on your shoulders. What helps you to keep that and keep helping the community?) – “I think I went through a lot and experienced a lot in my time at UCLA and transitioning over to Miami. So I think that’s really taught me a lot about how I want to carry myself and what impact I want to have on this world. So for me, just understanding that it’s way bigger than myself and it’s bigger than any on-the-field or off-the-field accomplishment I can do. I need to be able to make – I don’t want to say global impact – but just in regards of doing more than what’s necessary and just going out there and every day trying to better myself and the people around me.”

(Can I ask you a follow-up – of course you talk about the community in Miami but when players come here, usually some get involved, some don’t. Can you talk a little bit about that mentality you have of getting involved with the Miami community?) – “Yeah, I always knew that was important to me. People have their different priorities. I’m sure everybody wants to give back. Like everybody wants to do important things for their community and everything like that, but it’s just about – I’ve spent a lot of my off days doing community service. I’ve done extra time to be able to do these things and that’s just my personal – that’s what I want to accomplish. That’s what I want to do for myself and for others.”

LB Elandon Roberts

(What does it mean to you that [the Dolphins athletic training staff] voted for you for this award and the respect they showed for how far you’ve come to come back?) – “It means a lot and I just want to really show my appreciation for the training staff here at the Miami Dolphins. They were with me day in and day out. I can’t really describe how I feel for that group of people in there. I won’t name any names because I kind of know that they don’t want any recognition. They just come in here every day and just try to do their jobs the best they can and I just appreciate them. To be honest, receiving this award to me is just basically showing a tribute to them because even though I was fighting day in and day out to get back, they were right there with me along the way. I had my up and down days and they didn’t allow me to get down on myself and stuff like that. They just kept pushing me and pushing me and pushing me. Me getting back on the field was a true testimony to them as well and the care they have for me and the organization.”

(Was there ever a question in your mind about the severity of the injury and your ability to come back?) – “You know it was my first time ever having a serious injury, a serious surgery. I never really spoke about it. I just kind of started grinding. It wasn’t time to really dwell on it. It was time to work, get back and be able to get back ready for the season. It wasn’t that I had doubts because I’m a fighter at the end of the day. I’ve been going through adversity my whole life. It was just, from a standpoint of not knowing, I had never been through an injury so just not knowing from a rehab standpoint what I needed to do. Every day, day-to-day, was a learning experience for me. Like I said, that’s why I was grateful to have such a good group around me getting me back right.”

(What was the toughest moment or the toughest part of the road back?) – “I always tell people my toughest moment, honestly, was the week before. The week before I had surgery, because you’re just in there rehabbing but you know for a fact you are not getting better. I’m just in there rehabbing and rehabbing and every day I’m going home like, ‘I’m not getting better.’ From a standpoint of, I knew why I was rehabbing but I still just, me and how I operate I’m just like, ‘I’m not getting better,’ because obviously it isn’t fixed. Once I was – literally, I think I had surgery January 3rd, I want to say, and by the fourth I was ready to go. Every day it was a go. I really didn’t have any time that I was worried about this, worried about that, worried about stuff I couldn’t control. All I could control was getting myself in the best situation to be back on the field to be that same guy I was when I left it.”

(You initially thought it could be rehabbed instead of surgically repaired?) – “No. What I’m saying is you do rehab before you have surgery. I’m just doing rehab but I didn’t have surgery (yet). I had to ice it and stuff. It’s still rehab even though you’re just icing it. I knew that my knee wasn’t better. It wasn’t better until I had surgery so once I had the surgery, I was ready to go. But no, I knew I needed surgery.”

(The road back for you, how do you feel like you performed this season? I believe it’s one of your higher tackle production years, especially considering you came back nine months from an ACL tear.) – “I feel like you just answered the question. It’s a true testament first to God and it’s a true testament to the people around me that helped me get to this point. That’s why I appreciate them so much because of the simple fact that you have a lot to come from this injury and really not –I feel like even though we have one more (game) to go, I did a good job for my teammates and my coaching staff.”

(You kind of addressed this earlier in the season but for the Dolphins to re-sign you even though they knew you faced an uphill journey back, how much respect did that show? You were an unrestricted free agent repairing an ACL.) – “It showed me a lot. It showed me that the organization had my back. It showed me that if this organization can have my back like that starting with ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) and the coaching staff, then I’m going to make sure that I am going to do everything possible that it takes to get back. It wasn’t an easy road. I do have two kids. I have a wife. And I know sometimes it was tough for them because I did have to dedicate a lot of time to rehab to get back. My wife, her being an athlete, she understood the journey. She was right there with me and I just appreciate her for everything too. Like I said back on the organization, I appreciate them for giving me another opportunity knowing the severity of my injury. I truly feel like they didn’t regret it.”

(I know you guys taken a lot of pride in your run defense most of the season and obviously had to be disappointed with the effort last time out. How appreciative are you of one opportunity to end on a different note and what are you guys doing this week in practice to correct that?) – “Every week you come out and of course, we pride ourselves on being the best run defense in the NFL, period. Like I said after Sunday, you’ve got to tip your hat to Tennessee. But we turned the page. We turned the page, we made the corrections and one thing about it is we’ve got another opportunity to go back out there this Sunday and show everybody that we are ready to go.”   

TE Durham Smythe

(We’ve been asking all of the pending UFAs about where things stand. I know you’ve tried to avoid that, understandably, this year. But have the Dolphins given you any idea at all if they plan to offer you a contract this offseason?) – “Just to echo what ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) has said throughout the week, I think that is probably something that will be largely discussed next week. Obviously there are two sides to it. I think there will be more actual discussions in terms of things of that nature in the coming weeks. Then I’ll have more clarity and I think everyone will.”

(Do you have any clarity now to know if they even want to give you a new deal or do you simply not know?) – “I’m not sure at this point. Obviously I enjoy being here and things of that nature. But like I’ve said, there are two sides to it and I think there will be a lot more discussions moving forward.”

(Where do you feel like you’ve made the most growth in your game throughout these past four seasons?) – “I think probably just being consistent. Obviously in the NFL, at this level, you’re going to win and lose reps because everyone is getting paid to do this. I think over the last four years I’ve become a little more consistent in what I expect from myself, what I think I could do on a rep to rep basis and things of that nature. When I first came in, you make a play here or there, but then you’re kind of just swimming. I think over the last four years, that’s something I’ve tried to focus on. Obviously at this level, you’re never complacent. There is always room for more growth. But I think I’ve improved a little bit in the consistency.”

(What do you mean by swimming? I have heard that it’s very hard for rookie tight ends just because of so many facets to the game and you guys contribute in every area. When you’re there, what’s it like?) – “There is a lot of truth to that. I think the one thing people don’t always understand at this position is obviously you’re asked to do a lot of things. People know that. You’re asked to block, you’re asked to run routes. But a lot of times physically you’re at a bit of a disadvantage. Defensive ends are a lot of times bigger than us. The guys covering us are a lot of times faster than us. So you have to kind of develop some comfort level with how to win reps. When I first got here, in college you can win reps by just physically dominating people on the edge or you’re just bigger than a safety and you can go up and make a play. When you get to the NFL, you have to learn how to win reps at this position, really in all facets of the game. I think that takes some time to learn, but then once you do, I think like I said, you can build on that consistency.”

(For TE Mike Gesicki, how much growth have you seen from his game? I didn’t realize that he spent most of his snaps the last two seasons as a receiver, either in the slot or on the boundary, than he has in-line?) – “Mike has really come around a ton in just his understanding of the game. Like I said, how to win reps. But you mentioned that he’s lined up a lot as a receiver. I think our offense has really done a good job over the last couple of years of highlighting his strengths. Obviously he wins a lot of one-on-one matchups on the outside so I think we’ve kind of given him the opportunity to win more of those and he’s done a good job with it. I think it’s been a joint effort of the staff putting him in good positions and then just him understanding the game, and understanding how to win one-on-one matchups.”

(The Dolphins announced a few minutes ago that WR Jaylen Waddle is the Team MVP for this season. I’m wondering at what point in training camp or the regular season did you begin to see signs that this guy is of MVP quality?) – “You can see the MVP worthy talent immediately. Just his attributes, how fast he is, he makes plays, he does this, he does that. I think as the season progressed, he became more confident. He’s a guy who is never comfortable with a five-catch, 100-yard game. He wants more always. I think that has kind of shown throughout the year. He’s still asking ‘how can I improve’ on a week-to-week basis and that’s kind of what he’s done. Obviously the stats show that and him receiving that award shows how important he’s been to this team.”  

S Jevon Holland

(If this ends up being the last time we talk to you until May or June, I just wanted to ask how you would assess your rookie season?) – “I think my rookie season was pretty good. I left some things on the table. I’d like to get those back but that’s what a competitor is. Evaluate yourself, look at what you messed up on, look at what you did good and improve from there.”

(Kind of along those lines, was there anything that really kind of surprised you about being in the NFL? Obviously Oregon has a pipeline, but being in the NFL, what were you maybe not ready for or expecting?) – “I’m drawing a blank because I’m like fanatic about the NFL. I love the NFL. I love football, so at the highest level of course I’ve been watching for a long time. And obviously my father played in the NFL, so I’ve been learning about it. But I’d say how smart and understanding of the game that a lot of players are. Especially the offensive side of the ball, like receivers understanding the defense and how if we rotate a certain way, they’re supposed to attack us. I think that’s really cool. Understanding both ways amongst players.”

(What’s the one area of growth that you would like to see from your game moving forward?) – “I would say patience.”

(In terms of what? Eye discipline?) – “No, just patience on the field. Being a lot more calm.”

RB Duke Johnson

(How much are you hoping that the Dolphins will give you a contract this offseason? Have they given you or Drew Rosenhaus any indication that they plan to? I know it’s early.) – “No idea. That’s a question for Drew. My job is to just produce inside the white lines. We’ll see. I don’t really have an idea, don’t have a plan. I’m not really thinking about it much because again for me, it’ll happen when it happens. So just wait.”

(Would you like to be here long-term? It would make a lot of sense obviously.) – “Oh, I would love to be here long-term. It’s home. Why not?”