When the Miami Dolphins released their official depth chart ahead of a Week 1 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars, it was hard to miss one significant change.
Jonnu Smith and Tanner Conner, who were previously listed as tight ends, were grouped with Pro Bowl fullback Alec Ingold at a newly added position labeled “F,” which isn’t short for “fullback.”
“Most of the time our fullback — by definition of what a fullback is known to be — isn’t playing fullback,” Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel explained Wednesday. “He’s playing receiver, or tight end, or a multitude of things. For us, F can be a third down target, can be a core blocking tool, an asset, a guy you’re trying to get the ball to in space. Maybe if you have some players that occupy a lot of space that defenses have to regard, Fs can take advantage of underneath space in defense.
“What is an F? He’s not the Y, Z, or X, and he’s a good football player that probably has some skills that the football team can benefit from.”
Ingold, 28, joined the Dolphins as a free agent in 2022 after beginning his career with the Las Vegas Raiders. While listed as a fullback in his first two seasons in Miami, McDaniel is right that Ingold did much more than just that.
In his 426 offensive snaps last season, Ingold was lined up at fullback 184 times, according to PFF. The other 242 snaps saw Ingold at everywhere from slot receiver and wide out to tight end and running back.
Tua makes an excellent choice to dump it to Ingold to let him take it close to the goal line. pic.twitter.com/1EZqIfVxtT
— Jason Sarney (@Jason_Sarney) September 10, 2023
So even though the F made its depth chart debut Wednesday, it’s far from a new concept for the Dolphins. McDaniel even talked about it near the beginning of training camp.
“The most challenging position each and every week to learn the plan of attack is in that F-position, which is both tight ends and fullbacks,” McDaniel said on Aug. 3. “And the versatility of that room, turn the page, there’s the versatility of your offense. And I think that role is ever-expanding based upon what the defense presents.”
It’s also no surprise that the Dolphins will look to get Smith involved in more ways than a traditional tight end role. They showed as much in preseason with Smith getting some creative touches in his limited snaps.
jonnu smith 👀 pic.twitter.com/5TgTYwa22Q
— josh houtz (@houtz) August 17, 2024
“He’s used in multiple ways, as you guys have seen,” Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said of Smith in August. “We look at him sort of as a YAC monster. He catches the ball, and he can get some yards after the catch. He’s very versatile in what we can do with him. We’re just slowly, slowly finding things to do with guys like ‘Nu.’”
And that’s what it mostly boils down to: the F is a player who is versatile and will get the ball in multiple ways. Ingold and Smith fit the job description.
