Updates on Grant, Bengals WRs. And a Saban draft favorite delivers for Dolphins

Miami Dolphins admin October 9, 2026 0 Comments

Updates on Grant, Bengals WRs. And a Saban draft favorite delivers for Dolphins

The Dolphins kept alive the possibility of activating Kenneth Grant and Storm Duck on Saturday, listing both as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Bengals.

Kacmarek impresses

Moments after the Dolphins drafted Will Kacmarek 87th overall in April, ABC analyst and legendary coach Nick Saban declared him the best blocking tight end in the draft.

A month into his rookie season, Kacmarek seems to be living up to the lofty praise.

Pro Football Focus rates the Ohio State rookie 11th among 79 tight ends as a run blocker, and 26th overall.

Twenty-two tight ends were drafted in April, and Kacmarek is one of only three rated by PFF in the top 30 at the position, along with Ravens fourth-rounder Matthew Hibner (17th) and Jets first rounder Kenyon Sadiq (24th).

“Multiple times I’ve shown clips where he’s putting people on their back,” coach Jeff Hafley said this week, praising his physicality in the run game.

The Dolphins rewarded him with a season-high 24 snaps against the Vikings, four more than Greg Dulcich played.

Kacmarek, who’s listed as 6-6 and 264 pounds, has logged 85 of his 96 snaps as an in-line tight end. He said the start to the season has left him confident he can block effectively at this level.

For what it’s worth, PFF has given him much higher grades as a blocker than Julian Hill received for the Dolphins in that role last season. Hill signed with the Patriots in the offseason for three years and $15 million, far more than Miami offered. But he injured his knee in May and went on season-ending injured reserve June 1.

(Durham Smith, who was the Dolphins’ top in line blocker before Hill, plays for the Ravens and was lost for the season on Sunday when he tore his Achilles.)

As a run blocker, what’s different about playing in the NFL compared with the Big 10?

“Just the overall speed,” Kacmarek said. “They get off the line quicker and truly know what their responsibility is. Sometimes in college, you catch people on their heels, in between their thoughts of what they have to do.”

As a receiver, Kacmarek has caught two of his four targets for 19 yards. He said early in the season that he believes he’s underestimated as a receiver, in part because he wasn’t asked to do a lot of that at Ohio State.

Kacmarek had 15 catches for 168 yards and two touchdowns in 10 starts last season. He started six games for Ohio State in 2024, catching eight passes for 86 yards. He began his career at Ohio, catching 42 passes over two seasons.

“He was pretty sure handed” in college, ESPN’s Kiper said. “When the ball was thrown to him, he usually caught it. Runs hard after the catch.”

Though some might view Dulcich as the starter, he has started only two games, compared to three for Kacmarek. Dulcich has nine catches for 90 yards, and PFF ranks him 68th among 79 tight ends.

This and that

▪ Hafley said he “had a great talk” with receiver Chris Bell on Thursday: “That guy, he’s doing everything right and I totally believe in him and I have all the confidence in the world in him. He’s probably ahead for where I thought he’d be just because the guy missed training camp.

“He’s so damn competitive. He blocks the run after the catch. He runs angry. And you can start to feel him gaining confidence. And he needs to do that. And he needs to play and he needs the experience. He just missed so much time where he’s just still in that catch up mode.”

▪ Running backs coach Ladell Betts on fullback DJ Herman, who has played 79 offensive snaps: “He’s trying to open up creases for the running back; so far he’s doing a pretty good job… Tough, hard nosed kid.”