Randy McMichael

McMichael is the #2 tight end in San Diego behind Antonio Gates and has played fairly when called upon in recent seasons. In 2011, he amassed 30 catches for 271 yards subbing for the oft-injured Gates. Heading into 2012, McMichael suddenly has a lot of competition at the position. The Bolts brought in Dante Rosario from Carolina and drafted Ladarius Green, so we will have to wait and see how each player performs during camp. It seems unlikely that the Bolts will keep all of these guys on the active roster when the season kicks off.

McMichael saw limited action in the San Diego passing game, even with starter Antonio Gates missing six games due to injury. McMichael still has the ability to be an effective blocker, but his days as a starting tight end have passed.

With Antonio Gates firmly entrenched as the starting tight end, McMichael was signed primarily as a bit of insurance in case Gates needs to miss any time.

A broken tibia in Week 4 ended McMichael’s second season in St. Louis. He should benefit from a healthier offensive line as the Rams drafted Jason Smith with the second overall pick to protect quarterback Marc Bulger. McMichael won’t be a spectacular option, but he’s still got good long speed for the position and is capable of making plays down the field.

McMichael's production tailed off in St. Louis last year, as he was often used as a blocker given the awful state of the team's offensive line. Things should get better in 2008 as the line will be healthier, and new offensive coordinator Al Saunders, recently of the Redskins and Chiefs, has consistently made heavy use of the tight end down the field and in the red zone. McMichael's got good speed and has been a consistent top-10 tight end in the past.

McMichael takes his considerable skills to St. Louis, where the Rams were last in tight-end receptions (27, 7.28% of the team’s receptions). McMichael will reunite with coach Scott Linehan, who was his offensive coordinator in Miami in 2005 when he had a career-high five touchdowns. The Rams likely will add more plays for their tight ends, but they have more offensive weapons than the team McMichael left in Miami, so McMichael might not repeat his production from the Miami days.

Under first-year coach Nick Saban, McMichael didn’t get the ball downfield as much and was targeted less, but he still led NFL tight ends in red-zone targets. McMichael was second overall on the team in targets and receptions after Chris Chambers, but it remains to be seen how often new offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey calls his number. Much still depends on whether quarterback Daunte Culpepper is healthy enough to play in Week 1. If not, Joey Harrington will be responsible for getting McMichael the ball. McMichael gets bonus points for never missing a game in his four-year career.

We’re finally giving McMichael some RotoWire love. We’ve been a little skeptical in the past, considering the second-half drop-offs in his first two seasons, but McMichael was a consistent receiving threat all year in 2004. Pretty impressive, given that the Dolphins offered little in the way of balance with the league’s 29th-ranked rushing offense. With a new coach (Nick Saban) comes changes to Miami’s attack, but McMichael is a known commodity and should continue to develop as one of the game’s better pass-catching tight ends. The team selected Auburn running back Ronnie Brown to spark and diversify the offense, an addition which figures to work in McMichael’s favor.

McMichael improved upon his rookie numbers in 2003, catching 10 more passes for 133 more yards. The offense has a new quarterback, A. J. Feeley, so there’s some degree of uncertainty with McMichael. The Dolphins were also among the league leaders in running the ball in the red zone (61 percent of the time), meaning that Ricky Williams is more of a priority near the goal line. And when Miami did throw inside the 20, WR Chris Chambers was targeted more often than their athletic tight end. The Dolphins have also added WR David Boston, and that might limit Mc-Michael’s opportunities to score. Although the touchdowns might not come, McMichael should still get his catches and yards. Last season, he had individual games of 102, 95 and 88 yards.

McMichael got a lot of publicity with two 70-plus-yard games in his first three, but fell off in the second half of the season. In the final eight games, he had just 13 catches and no touchdowns, and reached 50 yards just once. He played with a sore left foot, but he started all 16 games. He might have fallen out of sync when Ray Lucas assumed control of the offense for the injured Jay Fiedler, but McMichael didn't return to his early season form when Fiedler returned in Week 13, either (9, 78, 0).