Taking a look at a Jets wide receiver prospect
The New York Jets recently signed former Rutgers wide receiver Dymere Miller as an undrafted free agent. Today we break Miller down in detail.
The 24-year old Miller is listed at 5’11” and 184 pounds. He was one of the top small school receivers in the nation at Monmouth University before transferring to Rutgers ahead of last season and catching 59 passes.
Background
Miller was unranked as a high school recruit so he didn’t get much interest from top schools and opted to head to Monmouth to play at the FCS level.
Due to the pandemic, his first season in 2020 was delayed and played in the spring of 2021 instead. Miller played three games and had 33 yards on five touches but then redshirted to prepare for the 2021 fall season.
After making a modest impact with 20 catches for 267 yards and a touchdown in a reserve role during his first full season with the Hawks, Miller became a starter and took his game to another level in 2022. He was named as an all-CAA second team selection with 56 catches for over 800 yards and seven touchdowns.
In 2023, he was named as an all-CAA first-teamer and FCS all-American as he caught 90 passes for 1,295 yards and nine touchdowns. He also rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown and was also a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, recognizing the Most Outstanding Player in the FCS.
Miller transferred to Rutgers for the 2024 season and racked up 59 catches for 757 yards and four scores. That included two hundred-yard games.
After Miller went undrafted, the Jets signed him to an undrafted free agent deal with $75K of guaranteed money.
Let’s move on to some more in-depth analysis of what Miller brings to the table as a player, based on extensive research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism
Miller is a former track athlete with blazing speed that shows up on film. He ran 4.32 at his pro day and his explosiveness and agility numbers were both also good.
Although he lacks size, he managed 18 bench press reps during his pro day workout.
Usage
Miller played exclusively in the slot with Rutgers and mostly in the slot at Monmouth, although he did get several snaps a game out wide with the Hawks. He has carried the ball or caught pop passes with jet sweep action on a regular basis.
Deep threat
Miller’s speed makes him an obvious candidate to be a deep threat and he has made plenty of plays on deep balls in his college career.
One concern on this front is that he was inefficient on downfield throws at Rutgers, with just four catches on 22 targets beyond 20 yards. This probably has more to do with the fact he played with a quarterback who didn’t throw deep accurately than the fact he struggled to get deep separation due to the jump in level. He did drop a few too.
Routes
As you often see with speedsters, Miller isn’t as seasoned as you’d like in terms of his route running. This is a sure sign that he was able to get open easily enough just by relying on his speed and he can use that acceleration effectively on downfield routes and crossers.
He needs to be coached up to use deception more to sell his changes in direction because cornerbacks playing in off coverage even at those lower levels were often able to read his intentions and break on the ball. However, his releases and route breaks can be sharp at times so hopefully there’s a foundation to work with.
Hands
Miller’s hands are a concern, which is interesting given the fact that the Jets also used a draft pick on a speedster who has notoriously unreliable hands in Arian Smith. Miller had just a 54 percent catch rate in 2024 and dropped 10 passes, with focus problems in traffic.
Prior to this he had caught 70 percent of his passes at Monmouth with just nine drops in three seasons, so maybe he just had a down year in that area.
Again, the quality of his quarterback may have had an impact here. On this play, though, he does well to adjust to the poorly thrown pass and still come up with it, displaying strong hands.
Red zone
Although many of them came on big plays, a decent proportion of Miller’s 16 touchdowns in his two years as a starter at Monmouth came in the red zone. Three of his four scores last year also did.
He showed an ability to use his short-area quickness to get open for a timing route on this play.
He showed a good nose for the end zone as a screen option near the goal line on this touchdown reception.
After the catch
Miller’s speed is an obvious asset if you can get the ball to him in space. He beats angles and is a threat to take any pass he catches in stride to the house.
He doesn’t break many tackles or finish runs aggressively, but has the ability to slip or sidestep a tackle and accelerate into the clear.
Miller had just one fumble on offense in his college career.
Blocking
Aaron Glenn’s no block, no rock philosophy means he needs his receivers to be able to block even if they are undersized. Miller isn’t an impact player in this area, but gives a good effort, notably hustling from the slot to block down on or get inside leverage to kick out a linebacker on a regular basis.
He never had a holding penalty in his college career.
Physicality
Miller’s physicality as he runs routes, blocks or carries the ball doesn’t stand out as much as some of the other young receivers on the Jets roster, but he is competitive when the ball is in the air.
Scouting reports indicate he struggles on contested catches but his numbers on such plays are actually reasonably good.
Special Teams
Miller has some limited experience as a return man with his longest kickoff return on nine attempts being just 20 yards. He did have a 21 yard punt return but also muffed one.
He may have some untapped potential as a punt gunner, which he did briefly in three games at the back end of the 2021 season. He flashed with three tackles in nine snaps in that role. However, he hasn’t done it since, other than for four more plays at Rutgers.
Instincts and Intelligence
Rutgers’ offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca said his offense typically takes 3-4 years to master and praised Miller for hitting the ground running in his only year with the team.
Here’s a good play where Miller finds the open area to give his quarterback a target for a third down conversion.
Miller did not have any pre-snap penalties in his college career.
Attitude
Miller was a team captain at Monmouth and is known to be hard-working and competitive, having shown good determination to make it this far given how his college career began. His on-field discipline was also excellent, with no career penalties.
Injuries
Miller wasn’t affected by injuries during his college career, but was a passenger in a car accident during his sophomore year of high school which meant he was bothered by a herniated disc in his back for the next three seasons.
Scheme Fit
Miller played primarily in the slot during college and there’s no reason to believe that would change at the NFL level, especially given his lack of size.
His main competition for that role would presumably be Tyler Johnson, Xavier Gipson and Jamaal Pritchett.
Conclusions
Miller is the least-heralded of the Jets’ rookie receivers, having received a low guarantee in his contract. While he put some good things on film at Rutgers, it’s possible he was actually a more sought-after prospect before that season due to his body of work at the FCS level.
Clearly he’s a talented player who may have struggled to adjust to the jump in level, but still had some good production last season and could continue to develop with some seasoning from pro-level coaches.
There’s now going to be another jump in production and he has a lot of guys ahead of him if he’s going to be able to stick around. He needs a big camp and preseason to give himself a chance, with the most important thing he needs to do being obvious: Avoid the drops.