The Miami Dolphins signed Mike Wallace with the hope that he'd be the big-play wide receiver who would take Ryan Tannehill to the next level.
It didn't quite work out that way. Wallace had his moments in his first season in Miami (he finished with 930 yards receiving and five touchdowns), but his production fell well short of expectations -- especially when you factor in his pay grade. Wallace signed a five-year, $60 million contract last March.
Most surprising was the struggle between Wallace and Tannehill to find chemistry on the field. Wallace told The Miami Herald that improvements in that department will begin with extra work in the offseason.
"We have to," Wallace said. "Definitely have got to get the deep ball going. That's the difference between winning and losing a couple games. I should have had 15 or 20 more touchdowns. And that's being modest. If you press me, you have no shot to cover me. Once I get you to stop your feet, it's over."
Wallace's boasts are entertaining, but it's not completely crazy, either. He has the speed and playmaking ability to be the NFL's best deep threat. Will he ever challenge Randy Moss' record of 23 touchdown catches in a season? That's extremely unlikely, but he has the ability to do much more than what we saw in 2013.
*We handed out awards for the 2014 coaching class and talked all the latest headlines in the latest "Around The League Podcast." *
