Dolphins’ Tanner Conner is much stronger and ready to take on Year 2 as NFL tight end

MIAMI GARDENS — Tanner Conner was a training camp darling for the Miami Dolphins in the 2022 preseason.

But it didn’t result in offensive snaps for the converted college receiver from Idaho State that was playing tight end in the NFL as an undrafted rookie.

Conner played 25 snaps on offense, being targeted three times without a catch. He contributed significantly on special teams, though, seeing action in 13 games for 152 snaps.

Despite Conner standing out with highlight catch after highlight catch in training camp last season, the 6-foot-3 pass-catching target was always a longshot to get playing time over Durham Smythe, Mike Gesicki and Hunter Long, who the Dolphins selected in the third round of the 2021 draft. Gesicki went to the New England Patriots in free agency and Long was sent to the Los Angeles Rams in the trade for All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

Conner suddenly becomes the Dolphins’ second-longest tenured tight end on the roster behind Smythe, with veterans Eric Saubert and Tyler Kroft added in the offseason and former Stanford wide receiver Elijah Higgins making a similar transition to tight end after he was drafted in the sixth round.

“Going through an entire year was great for me because I got to watch Durham and the vets we had last year,” Conner said last week as Miami completed mandatory minicamp following two weeks of organized team activities. “Coming into it this year, way more comfortable. I feel like the game has slowed down for me, at least from a knowledge standpoint.

“It’s been a big learning curve for me and last year was really rough, but it’s good to see the first-year labor finally start to see improvement this year.”

Conner said he had a lot to learn last season about identifying defenses, especially defensive fronts. He said his standout training camp was instinctual, and it wasn’t easy to play a new position as a rookie.

“The NFL is a different game of football than college, at least for me. I came from a small school and I played wide receiver. Now I have to learn how to ID the box and do run play and all that,” he said. “For me, it was really overwhelming because I’m a perfectionist, and you can’t be a perfectionist your rookie year.”

Conner said he’s getting off the ball quicker this offseason heading into a second training camp, which will start in late July. He said last year he was usually the last one off the ball.

In order to withstand the requirements of playing tight end in the NFL, Conner had to get stronger. While listed at 232 pounds, he said he’s now at 236 after gaining about 10 pounds of muscle from ending last season under 230.

“Last year was a very stressful year, and I wasn’t eating as well as I should have,” Conner said. “So this year, this offseason, I made it a goal to be more routine with my eating. I got in the weight room. I did my whole offseason here with (head strength and conditioning coach Dave Puloka) and the guys.”

With more weight, Conner could better handle the blocking aspect of playing tight end, especially in coach Mike McDaniel’s offense where it’s important when it comes to outside-zone blocking.

“I feel like I understand blocking a lot better,” Conner said. “Last year, I feel like I was just trying to hit people as hard as I could, and I feel like it didn’t work out for me because I’m a smaller tight end.”

Conner has worked with tight ends coach Jon Embree on hammering home technique, and he has found veteran tight ends around him influential.

Now Conner is the veteran to Higgins, who is following in his footsteps switching from receiver to tight end.

“He’s really good, really athletic, really explosive. He’s going to have a really good fit here, and I’m excited to see how he does,” Conner said of Higgins. “We have a lot of similarities. His first question to me was, ‘Man, how’d you get through it? How’d you learn to play tight end?’ You just got to take time, man. You’re going to go through rough spots, but you’re going to get through it. … He’s got a lot of instinctual abilities that a lot of guys don’t have, so he goes out there and he plays free.”

His pointers to Higgins?

“Not to overthink things and to invite failure,” Conner said. “One thing that I was really afraid of last year was failure, and it happened a lot and it started to crush me. But if you can expect it, know that’s going to happen, grow, he’s going to be in a way better spot than I was last year.”

The Dolphins also have undrafted rookie Julian Hill out of Campbell at tight end. He’s 6-foot-4, 247 pounds and has shown flashes in offseason practices.