Remember the name Erik Ezukanma, one of the four members of the Miami Dolphins’ truncated 2022 draft class?
He’s enjoyed a productive past couple of weeks in the United Football League, catching his first touchdown pass of the season Saturday after having a 68-yard kickoff return in Week 5 of the UFL season.
Make no mistake, though, Ezukanma has his sights set on the NFL, not the UFL.
And the same goes for former Dolphins wide receiver Chase Claypool, who’s looking to get back to NFL regular season action for the first time since his failed one-year stint in Miami in 2023.
EZUKANMA’S GOAL
Ezukanma last played for the Dolphins in 2024, though he appeared in only two games after playing on one as a rookie and two more in 2023.
His grand totals for Miami include one reception and five rushing attempts.
That’s clearly not what the Dolphins had in mind when they selected Ezukanma in the fourth round out of Texas Tech — four years before taking Caleb Douglas in Round 3 from the same school — and definitely not what Ezukanma himself had envisioned.
“Obviously, you look at me and then you look at the average size of the room, and you would expect a guy like me to be running 20 yards downfield, and you just throw it up and give him opportunity to make a play,” Ezukanma said this week on the Fish Tank Podcast. “But I don’t think that was in the plans. It was more so of I feel like a support role, block and then get over, kind of like how Malik Washington kind of came in and was playing that role. I think that was what I was supposed to be starting out, but I feel like I had a different impression of what I would have been, and at the end of the day, I don’t think it was communicated clearly through me or whoever was, if it was Mike (McDaniel) or anything like that.”
That’s in the past, though, and Ezukanma is hoping to get another chance in the NFL, whether it be with the Dolphins or another team.
The Dolphins waived Ezukanma last August and he was signed to the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad, though they released him in October.
During his time in Miami, Ezukanma showed good open-field running ability, particularly for someone 6-2.
After the Dolphins took three wide receivers in the 2026 draft to go along with free agent additions Jalen Tolbert, Tutu Atwell and Terrace Marshall Jr., it’s not likely they would look to bring him back, but as new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan pointed out, you never know when a rash of injuries can hit a position and they could do worse than taking another look at Ezukanma.
“To me, like the whole structure of everything, and I know that there’s a window here that I have in spring football before the NFL training camps,” Ezukanma said on the podcast. “Right now, stay healthy, you know, play very well. Try to play the best I can and help this team win. Right now, it’s not even stats or or how many touchdowns I get. It’s more.
“So what I can do on the field in all facets, special teams and offense, to help this team win. And hopefully getting an invite from an NFL team or get brought back to the Miami Dolphins as an option. I know that there’s a new front office, and there’s a lot of players on the team that I still know and and would instantly jell with, but the master plan is to get back on an NFL roster and compete in a training camp to further my career.”
CLAYPOOL KEEPS PLUGGING
Claypool is not playing in the UFL this spring, but he’s also looking to get back into the NFL and that took him to Green Bay this weekend for the Packers’ rookie minicamp.
Claypool attended on a tryout basis, and Bill Huber of Green Bay Packers On SI reported Sunday that he would not be getting a contract offer.
His last NFL game was the Dolphins’ playoff loss at Kansas City in the 2023 season.
He signed with the Buffalo Bills as a free agent in 2024 but was released with an injury settlement and didn’t sign with any team last year.
The Dolphins already are taking a flier on a former second-round pick this year, Terrace Marshall Jr., and it would be surprising to see them give Claypool another shot.
DOLPHINS MINICAMP INVITES
It’s not uncommon for players to get invitations to two different rookie minicamps since teams can hold those on either the first or second weekend after the draft, the latter being what the Dolphins are doing.
There’s been no word of Claypool getting a tryout at the Dolphins rookie minicamp Friday and Saturday, though we do know of two young players who will be getting one: former Florida State QB Tommy Castellanos and former UAB running back Isaiah Jacobs.
Castellanos will be working as a wide receiver for the Dolphins after also getting a tryout with the Tennessee Titans, according to Logan Robinson of FSU Seminoles On SI.
Likewise, Jacobs will be participating in a second rookie minicamp after working out as a fullback for the Green Bay Packers, the team that employs his older brother Josh Jacobs, according to Huber.
