Ja’Wuan James making the most of his rookie preseason

Written by Matthew Cannata | Twitter: @PhinManiacs
Ja’Wuan James had played the most snaps out of any first round pick in preseason. In the first game, he played 30 snaps and then 48 snaps against the Buccaneers. Against the Cowboys, he played in 52 snaps. Despite the heavy workload, James is loving it.

“That’s what I do; I’m here to play football,” James told the Miami Dolphins website. “That’s what I love to do, and I was able to get reps to get better. Getting to learn from my mistakes out there, getting a lot more reps on film live, just playing football, playing in these stadiums, playing against other opponents, it’s been fun.”

“We felt like he needed some work and needed some repetitions,” Head Coach Joe Philbin said. “I think, by and large, we’ve kind of accomplished that and we’re happy that he’s gotten the reps that he has. We’ve seen steady improvement over the three games.”

James has been shifted around the line in the later quarters of preseason, sometimes moving to left guard and taking reps there. It is something the Dolphins are doing in practice as well in case Branden Albert ever gets hurt. This is because the left tackle is the most important position on the offensive line and the team needs their best player there at all times.

“I think he’s learning how to work,” Branden Albert said. “I think every day he’s trying to get better. He’s doing a good job listening, listening with his eyes and his ears. I think he’s working hard. He’s the future for this offensive line. He needs to learn how to be a leader, learn how to be a great player and he’s been doing a good job trying to be that.”

James will be the starting right tackle when the season opens up and looks to stay there as long as Albert is on the team. Eventually, it appears James will shift to left tackle later in his career but right now, he’s learning as much as he can to become the best right tackle in the league.

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