MIAMI — There was a moment during Tuesday’s practice where Jaylen Waddle was seen streaking down the left hashmark of the football field with no defender within 15 yards of the receiver.

At that exact moment I asked myself, “when have I seen this before?”

I have covered the Miami Dolphins since 2007 — which happens to be the infamous 1-15 season, so I know what bottoming out looks like — and the one universal theme I have discovered about this franchise is that history keeps repeating itself.

It will be the same story lines, but different characters.

Who remembers former Dolphins first-round pick Jason Allen? He gave up a big play every few practices in the early 2000s.

In 2014 it was Jamar Taylor and Will Davis, two young and unproven draftees, who were given opportunity to carve out respectable NFL careers as Miami’s starting cornerbacks, just like Allen.

Taylor and Davis, who were in the same 2013 draft class, were each thrown into the deep end of the pool and struggled, showing that the role they were asked to fill, and task they were called on to do by the organization that invested early draft picks in them was too big for their talent level.

They weren’t the Achilles heel that held those lackluster Dolphins teams from living up to expectations. But they also weren’t the answer, and ultimately needed to be replaced.

Sometimes franchises swing and miss on draft picks. As I watched Cam Smith, a 2023 second-round pick limp back to the sidelines with his right hand on his hamstring and his left hand on the air asking to be subbed out of Tuesday’s action once Waddle reached the end zone with every Dolphins defender trailing him by 7 or so yards, I came to terms with Smith being put on the “likely bust” pile.

Storm Duck, who played more than Smith as an undrafted rookie in 2024, was wearing the orange jersey, which indicates that he was the previous day’s top performer, and Ethan Bonner had a solid, quiet showing during the session I watched.

The Dolphins’ social media accounted showed Isaiah Johnson pulling down an interception from last Monday’s work.

All of these undrafted cornerbacks have shined, as much, if not more than Smith in the work the media has watched the past two years.

I’ve privately asked Dolphins players about Smith and the response on more than one occasion is a quick shaking of the head side to side.

“You don’t feel him,” one receiver said. “It’s like you’re running routes on air.”

General manager Chris Grier seemingly isn’t feeling Smith anymore either, openly telling the media “we can’t hold his hand anymore,” insinuating it’s time for Smith to grow up.

Dolphins players such as Paul Soliai and Austin Jackson have resurrected their careers, ending their early struggles and transforming into solid NFL starters. It happens, but requires work, and a come-to-Jesus moment.

Whether that will happen for Smith is to be determined, and Miami has time to see if the former South Carolina standout can toughen up and iron out the wrinkles in his game. But with Jalen Ramsey, a seven-time Pro Bowler, impatiently awaiting a trade out of Miami, which could come as early as Sunday, the Dolphins are running out of time, and options to get themselves help at cornerback.

At this very moment Kader Kohou is the team’s top cornerback, and the nickel specialist might be forced to play outside, a role he has struggled with, unless some unheralded player, rookie or free agent puts on a cape and comes to rescue Miami’s rebuilt rebuilt secondary.

Whether it’s Smith, Duck, Bonner, an undrafted player entering his third season with Miami, Johnson, another undrafted player who spent time developing on Miami’s practice squad, Jason Marshall Jr., the team’s 2025 fifth-round pick, or Artie Burns, a former University of Miami standout who went from first-round pick to NFL journeyman the past eight years, it’s clear at this point the Dolphins are throwing darts at the wall to see if any of them stick.

Wasn’t that the same approach Miami took with Taylor and Davis before the team wised up and signed Pro Bowler Brent Grimes?

“Sometimes the best message is the clearest one. I’ve said to the group a couple times, ‘I have a depth chart to fill out, can you help me out with it?’“ coach Mike McDaniel said, referring to the cornerback unit. “I want people to show me who they are. I don’t like looking at a guy, looking at their name plate and judging them off of last year, the year before. I want to see how they compete and what they do with the opportunity.”

Organized team activities and minicamp, which kicks off next week, are the best times to give young talent opportunity to elevate their station.

But remember, the Dolphins went this route last year with the offensive line, which wasn’t reinforced properly in free agency or the draft, and it blew up in the team’s face like an exploding cigar.

Can and should Grier, McDaniel and defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver gamble their NFL future on a secondary built with disappointing draft picks,, career backups and players who weren’t drafted?

Grimes, who worked his way up from NFL Europe and the Atlanta Falcons practice squad, was once in this exact position, an unknown clawing and scratching to create a name for himself. But he did that by making dynamic plays in practice, impacting the day so much the Falcons were forced to elevate him up the depth chart, and subsequently made him a starter.

None of these nobodies is performing like Grimes just yet, and until someone does Grier better get active trying to find a handful of veteran cornerbacks whom this team can call on, and sign to patch up the weakest unit on the team.

It’s early, but history already provides a few hints on how this story plays out.

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