Dolphins vs Chargers stock up, stock down for Miami in Week 1 2023

We take a look at who had their stock go up and who had it fall in Week 1 as the Miami Dolphins played the Los Angeles Chargers

• By
  
  Kevin Nogle
  
• on September 10, 2023 9:00 pm

The Miami Dolphins came away with a 36-34 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, starting off the season 1-0 and avenging last year’s Week 14 loss to LA. The game was an exciting, offensive shootout throughout all four quarters, with Miami’s defense coming up big when it counted down the stretch.

Taking a look at the results from the game, it is time for an immediate stock watch update. Tomorrow, the analysis will get a little more in-depth, but for tonight, here are the stock up/down ratings from the game.

Stock Up: Tyreek Hill, wide receiver. What a ridiculous start to the 2023 regular season for the Dolphins wide receiver. He has a goal of 2,000 yards this season, which comes out to an average of 118 yards per game over the course of a 17-game season. With his 215-yard performance today, Hill now needs 1,785 yards to reach his mark. He is currently on pace for 3,655 yards. Obviously, that is not going to happen, but it just shows how ridiculous a 215-yard performance in Week 1 is.

Stock Down: Rush defense. The strength of the Dolphins last year was their rush defense, where they finished the year fourth allowing 103.0 yards per game. They allowed 234 yards on the ground on Sunday. That was not what was expected with a Vic Fangio defense, which is supposed to be able to slow the run by tricking offenses into running into the strength of the defense. The Chargers had no problem finding Miami’s weakness. They just put on film how to attack Miami’s run defense. Can the Dolphins fix it this week so it is not a future problem?

Stock Up: Durham Smythe, tight end. There was not really any expectation for Smythe, with the tight ends a forgotten part of the offense last year, and this year the thought they would be a sixth offensive lineman. Smythe was targeted seven times, a high for his career, catching three passes, tying his career high, for 44 yards, a career high. He was key to keeping drives alive. Smythe had a great game and may end up being a bigger part of the offense than expected before the season started.

Stock Down: Cedrick Wilson, Jr., wide receiver. Maybe this is picking on Wilson while he is down, but there was hope he could find a role with the team this year. It appears that is not going to happen. Wilson was inactive for the game, just not even having a chance to get on the field and do something – including as a return option where he was used last year. He will be a depth option if needed this year, but it is going to take injuries for Wilson to see the field at all.

Stock Up: Tua Tagovailoa, quarterback. Welcome back QB1! Last year’s league leader in passer rating with a 105.2 finished today’s game with a 110.0. He was 28-for-45 for 466 yards, a 10.4 yards per attempt average, three touchdowns, and an interception. He was not perfect, and at least one of the fumbled snaps was his fault (and maybe more of them), with some questionable throws and near interceptions, but he also had not played meaningful football since Christmas. Tagovailoa looked in control for the most part and, even in the down moments, looked like he trusted himself and the offense to get it back.

Stock Down: Connor Williams, center. Maybe some of the bad snaps were on Tagovailoa, but it was bad and that comes back to the center. Williams was a solid center last year after making the transition from guard. Now, snapping issues have crept back into the situation and, for a player who was holding out for a new contract this year, it was a bad look in game one. He can still be fine this year, but his stock took a hit after this game.

Honorable mention: Zach Sieler, Kader Kohou, Justin Bethel, and Jaelan Phillips. The Dolphins pass rush showed up when it was needed. Kohou nearly pulled down Herbert for a safety, but his sack led to a short field and a touchdown for the Dolphins. Sieler recorded a sack and Bethel and Phillips shared a sack as the Chargers were trying to make one last push for the win. They deserve a spot on this list as well.

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