Durham Smythe – April 25, 2023
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Tuesday, April 25, 2023
TE Durham Smythe
(When you were initially drafted eons ago, did you think that you would be here this long? And also, did you ever factor in that you would not only outlast Mike Gesicki, but start more games than Mike Gesicki?) – “I guess first and foremost, it was always the plan to stick around this long and hopefully a good amount longer. That’s everyone’s plan. But referencing Mike (Gesicki), I would tell him right now that it’s no surprise that I’ve started more games and have hung around longer. I tell people all the time that the Dolphins made a mistake in 2018 taking him in the second and me in the fourth, and I tell him that all the time. So that’s nothing that I wouldn’t say right to him and I’m sure he would probably say similar things back to me.”
(Safe to say that you and TE Mike Gesicki are still friends even though he’s on a different team now?) – “Oh, yeah. We still talk every day and he makes his trips down here, and I’m sure I’ll make a couple up there in the coming weeks, so yeah, we’re just as close as ever.”
(On a serious note, your reaction to getting a new contract extension?) – “That’s always exciting, to be shown that they value me here, in a place that I’ve been for so long, and that I’ve come to really enjoy living in. It’s home. I’ve been here for five years, so it was really exciting just to know that I have some value here and that’ll be here for the next couple years.”
(What do you think about the Dolphins possibly pursuing a tight end in this draft? Have you taken a look at the tight end prospects and is there anyone you like?) – “It’s funny. With just bodies in general, we’ll obviously have to add to our room in the next weeks to months. So obviously everyone understands that part of it, and it’s funny, early on in my career, I think since I still knew people in college, I would follow it a little bit, just because I had either a tie to them or something like that. But now six years in, I have no idea. I don’t know if I can tell you any names, besides guys coming out of Notre Dame, that I know through other people. So I have no idea when it comes to things like that, but luckily that’s not my job until we bring somebody in and then I get involved.”
(So you are the only player on offense who has been here for three head coaches – Adam Gase, Brian Flores, and now Mike McDaniel. What do you think is the reason for that, that you’ve been able to survive three regimes?) – “I mean, there’s a lot that goes into it. Timing in terms of contracts and things of that nature. But I’ve said this multiple times throughout my career here, is that the NFL is really an adapt-or-die game. So whether it’s the same head coach, same offensive coordinator, a different one; things are going to change every year. You’re going to have to improve on things every year, and you’re going to have to adapt to something new every year. So I think I knew that really early on in my career and that was just something that I tried to take into account every time we go into a new offseason and a new calendar year in the NFL, so I think that mentality is has helped me along the last five, six years.”
(I wanted to go back to something that Head Coach Mike McDaniel had mentioned last year about in this offense, tight ends having to relearn the way they play the games. I was, or the game. I was curious how coming back into Year 2 of that offense is beneficial to a player at your position.) – “I think it’s hugely beneficial for us that have been in the offense for more than one year now. And he’s right, honestly, it’s a different style, really across the board at a lot of positions, but at the tight end position, there’s a lot of things you do in this offense that you don’t necessarily do and others. So I think just having the experience of a full calendar year in this offense, there’s a comfort level that becomes established and I’m excited to get back on the field here in a couple of weeks to build on that through the summer and into training camp. So there’s definitely a little bit of a learning curve with this offense at the tight end position, and I think the sky’s the limit once we can at every position across the board, get on the same page.”
(Just kind of curious to measure the level of buzz and excitement with your teammates and the coaches coming back this week.) – “I mean, the boys are back. So that’s always exciting. That’s first and foremost. Just get around everyone. That’s the best time of the year, when we’re all back in the building together. And yeah, obviously, when you look at us on paper, there’s a lot of talent on the team. But that only goes so far. So I think everyone’s excited to get on the field to try to live up to expectations, establish some high expectations and really get this thing going. So I think we’re all excited about it.”
(A minute ago, you mentioned that you tried to keep up with some of the Notre Dame guys coming out into the draft. So what’s your scouting report on TE Michael Mayer and the Dolphins need to load up on more guys from the Irish?) – “I mean, you can never have too many Notre Dame guys on a team. I think you’re right there. I’ve only met him once. Actually, yeah, I’ve only met him once, officially, last summer in Nashville and he’s a great guy. I know people in the organization still, so I’ve only heard good things about him as a football player, obviously what most people see, but I’ve heard great things about him off the field as well. So I think at least for me personally, that resonates the most, that he’s but he’s keeping up with the Notre Dame tight end lineage. So that’s exciting. And you know, I’m excited for him. I think he’s going to do some exciting things.”
(I wanted to get back to the boys are back. Because that’s got my interest. What’s the feeling in the building this April 25 versus last April 25. Keeping in mind expectations are higher, Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio is there, CB Jalen Ramsey is there, LB Bradley Chubb is there, it’s Mike McDaniel’s second year? What’s different from this year at this time this year?) – “I mean obviously things change every offseason you bring in new people and such, but I think there’s just a familiarity with not only teammates from the last year and last calendar year, because obviously there’s been a good amount of turnover here in the last couple of years. So there’s some familiarity with guys that have been here for a while and then obviously some excitement from guys that we’ve added, so I think when you combine those two things and then you just have a bunch of good personalities, a bunch of good dudes in the same building, everyone’s excited to get back in here just to hang out. The offseason, it’s great, for a couple of weeks, then you’re like, ‘wow, like, kind of miss just hanging out with the boys all the time.’ So I’m excited to get back to that and I think that says a lot about how this team is constructed in terms of just good dudes, personalities and such.”
(And the higher expectations. I know obviously, you guys know that you went to the playoffs, you know a lot of people are returning, but how does that affect you? Do you feel the higher expectations in any way if that makes sense?) – “I don’t know if you necessarily feel it, or if I feel it personally. But I think it’s obvious that – like I mentioned earlier on paper, there’s a lot of talent here. So for me, I don’t know if that necessarily translates to higher expectations directly, but obviously, it’s hard to ignore the fact that this a very talented team and I think there is some responsibility, I think, is what I would call it. Some responsibility to play well and to develop some excitement with the fans and really just win games at the end of the day.”
(TE Mike Gesicki had 30 other teams he could have gone to and he goes Patriots. What did you think when you heard Patriots?) – “I thought it was a direct shot at me because if he’s not staying here, that he’d he try to get at me in some way. And that’s probably one of the more direct paths to be able to do that. So yeah, obviously, he had 31 other choices, and he chose the one to spite me the most and it was to me directly, I believe, so good for him. We’ll see him twice a year. It’s exciting and those will be some fun games.”
(I was surprised when I looked at this thing that’s in the draft guide and it says how the team was built. I was surprised and I Tweeted it and I don’t know if you saw, but the only guy who’s been on the roster longer than you is CB Xavien Howard. One guy has been around longer. I think of you as very young still. Did you know that stat, did you see it? Is it surprising?) – “I did know that stat, and the only reason I knew that stat is because last season me and Mike (Gesicki) had a running joke that I was the longest-tenured offensive player because I signed my contract, my rookie contract before he did even though he was drafted before me. So there was some conflicting opinions about who was the longest tenured offensive player. So that’s the only reason I know that and now that he is playing for the enemy, it’s obvious that I’m the only one left.”
(Five years ago, you were kind of the last of a dying breed because you actually knew how to in-line block as a college tight end. Now five years later, what do you think of the college landscape at that position?) – “It’s funny, I know that was kind of the narrative that was built around me coming out of college and for good reason because I didn’t have wild stats, and we ran the ball a lot at Notre Dame, But when I got to the NFL, I quickly realized that what I was good at in college, you’re not immediately good at in the NFL. So it’s funny that I think it’s taken me really a full four or five years to become comfortable and obviously there’s still plenty of room for improvement, but it takes a while to at this level be able to replicate what you did in college, especially in blocking in-line. So I think that’s just something that you have to build on from a year-to-year standpoint. And I think, I guess to answer your question, the landscape, I don’t know how it is now. I’m assuming it’s similar, but that it’s definitely something that takes a while and to get comfortable with at least and then obviously there’s always room for improvement, so just build on that.”
