Miami Dolphins rookies Kenneth Grant and Jonah Savaiinaea have very different PFF grades in limited preseason snaps
MIAMI GARDENS — Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Kenneth Grant is 6-foot-3, 335 pounds but he sure didn't look like it when chasing a Detroit Lions running back across the field and helping to bring him down 30 yards down the field.
Motor cannot be taught. Effort cannot be taught. Hustle cannot be taught.
Grant has it and the Dolphins couldn't be more thrilled.
"I think effort ultimately is a choice, right?" Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said as Miami prepared for its third week of preseason. "That's a battle between you and you. Now, we're expecting uncommon elite effort from everybody. I think it sends a particular message to the rest of the team and opponents when that guy is 340 and doing that. I didn't know he could move that fast, but I think it's just a credit to everything we've seen on tape and Dolphins fans should get excited when, when people with that mass are moving that way."
Grant fits right in alongside standout veteran Zach Sieler.
"(Kenneth) impacts the game sometimes without even hitting the stat sheet," Weaver said.
Weaver detailed a play where Grant forced a quarterback to sail a pass because he had gotten penetration and raised a hand at just the right moment.
"There's times I've seen it multiple times with Justin Madubuike when I was in Baltimore, there's times he affected the play without making the play," Weaver said. "And you're going to see a lot of that from Kenneth Grant too."
Miami Dolphins roster bolstered by rookie Kenneth Grant
According to Pro Football Focus, Grant is the 5th-highest graded Dolphins defensive player of the preseason, at 81.7 in 38 snaps over two games. He's also tied for third on the team with two pressures.
Grant is Miami's first-round pick and guard Jonah Savaiinaea is their second-round pick.
Savaiinaea has seen action in both of Miami's preseason game, with mixed results.
He flashed power and good movement skills for a big man.
But he's failed to execute on a few memorable plays.
According to PFF, Savaiinaea is the 33rd-highest graded Dolphins offensive player at 46.0 in 56 snaps over two games. They say he's allowed four pressures and a sack.
Dolphins coaches have repeatedly indicated there is no panic about Jonah's preseason performance.
"I think when you're dealing with young linemen, especially, I mean, it's a credit to him," Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith said. "If you think about it, he's a college right tackle. We move him to left side play guard. So your whole world, you know, essentially goes backwards from the beginning.
"And I think it's ultimately, it's just reminding, it's a process. And you can't be in a rush to get what you want. You have to know what you want and build each day to where you want to get."
Miami Dolphins news: Patience with rookie guard Jonah Savaiinaea
Smith recalled how stud offensive tackle Rashawn Slater would sometimes struggle with Joey Bosa in Chargers practice when he coached there.
"Just knowing that some days will be good, some days will be not what you want, but you have to stay true to the process of each day," Smith said. What do you want to get done today? And then the next day, okay, this was good. I want to work on here. And if you stay to that, you build appropriately, you can use the six weeks to get yourself ready for the season."
Joe Schad is a journalist covering the Miami Dolphins and the NFL at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at [email protected] and follow him on Instagram and on X @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe's free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins being patient with Jonah Savaiinaea growing pains
Category: Football
