What Dolphins OT Greg Little felt he needed to become his best

MIAMI GARDENS — When Greg Little was traded to the Dolphins before last season, he was focused on improving how he positioned and fired his hands.

Then Little realized he needed to focus on his mindset.

"I love it so much that when I mess up I think about it," Little said Wednesday in Miami's locker room. "It kind of weighed or wore on me. But now I just take deep breaths and just know that like, everybody makes mistakes."

Little is Miami's top backup at left tackle and right tackle. He was the 37th overall pick of the 2019 NFL draft but never lived up to Carolina's expectations.

The Dolphins were able to acquire Little for a seventh-round pick and he performed relatively well this summer. Miami is trusting him to be able to fill in if Terron Armstead or Austin Jackson were to be injured.

"We feel good about where Greg's at and we’re excited about that," Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said Tuesday, on cut-down day. "We’re excited about the way that our tackles are performing."

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Little, 6-foot-5, 322 pounds, has started only six games in three NFL seasons and did not play for Miami before he landed on injured reserve last November following ankle and knee injuries.

But Little has prototypical size and athleticism. And he should be a good fit for Miami's new outside zone scheme.

"This is a great system," Little said. "It's shown on tape for many before me, you know, the rest of the resume of the scheme is tremendous. So I just bought in early you know, really trust the process in that this isn't really physical. What I do well is being athletic and moving around and it's just use my size."

Little has long been told to be more aggressive, to punch harder and to fight and battle. But Miami's new coaching staff is more focused on how well he moves his feet.

Little has found some peace in Miami.

"I actually try self-meditation," Little said. "Every practice, every game. I just got to close my eyes and visualize myself in the positive headspace of dominating and just breathe and just let everything else control what's going to be."

Miami's third tackle position is critical because Armstead is a three-time Pro Bowler, but he's been able to start more than 10 games in only two of the past six seasons.

Little feels most comfortable at left tackle.

"I've been doing it since 2014," he said. "Since high school. I have played right tackle my first two years of varsity. And now transition to left tackle. So of course naturally, left, but I heard it said playing right tackle is like trying to write a report with your left hand, at the same speed as the right hand. So that's what's kind of like, you know. But every day you practice it and adjust to it."

Little thinks he has the support not only of Miami's coaches but also Grier, who hosted him on a top 30 pre-draft visit in 2019.

"When I first got here, it was real cool," Little said. "(Grier) showed a lot of like, confidence in me. How he liked my game out of college. So when I got traded here, I was like, OK, he still believes."

The Dolphins are lining up with a left guard, Liam Eichenberg, and Jackson, who have played left tackle in the NFL. But in an ideal world, coach Mike McDaniel would like to leave those two players where they are.

That means Little knows he must be ready to play. He likes the current Dolphins culture, where it's permitted, even encouraged, to have fun, relax and breathe.

Little values having a mentor like Armstead present. The two have even trained together in the offseason.

"He's so helpful to young guys," Little said. "He gives you another way to look at it. He just tells you how he approaches something. Really, he's just like another coach."

Little is still only 24. He has always had the height, weight, arm length and footwork to be a solid NFL tackle. But this offseason, he feels he found something just as important — a healthy mindset.

"Tom Brady throws interceptions," Little said. "So, you know, we all make mistakes, it's about how you bounce back from it. It's just having more good plays than bad."

Joe Schad is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post part of the USA Today Florida Network. You can reach him at jschad@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: How Dolphins offensive tackle Greg Little is giving himself a chance