The performances that the running back has been fulfilling exceed all expectations.
Last Sunday, in the Dolphins’ 30-0 victory over the New York Jets, Mostert scored two touchdowns and became the first player in franchise history to score 20 in a season, 18 on the ground and two on the ground. air.
The previous mark was held by wide receiver Mark Clayton for 39 years with 18 touchdowns in the glorious era with quarterback Dan Marino in 1984 when the Dolphins were crowned champions of the American Conference for the last time and reached the Super Bowl.
Also, Mostert broke the record for rushing touchdowns held by Ricky Williams since 2002.
“I’m from Florida and Ricky Williams was the player that captured my attention when I was a kid, and this is something I never imagined I could do,” Mostert, 31, said. “Still, surpassing Mark Clayton’s record is something incredible.”
In his previous eight seasons, Mostert had totaled 19 touchdowns, therefore in this glorious 2023 for him he surpassed everything he had achieved in the past.
“All this is a product of the collective effort and especially of the offensive line that opens the spaces,” added the running back. “They make this possible.”
It should be noted that on March 15, 2023, Mostert had signed a two-year extension with the Dolphins valued at $5.6 million. Instead, Tyreek Hill agreed with the franchise Miami a contract for 100 million and five years, that is, his salary is eight times greater than that of the running back.
Hill has scored 12 touchdowns with the Surfloridans this season and Mostert has produced almost double that.
“Mostert was told he wasn’t fit to play in the NFL and he wasn’t drafted,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel recalled. “It is a story that breaks the heart. Then he was released from a multitude of teams, but he is one of the most determined men I have ever met in my life. He is a unique athlete.”
Mostert studied at New Smyrna Beach High School, in Florida, and was an athlete who dazzled in speed, hurdles and jumping. He also excelled at football.
With Purdue University he confirmed those magnificent conditions as an athlete and the NFL.com portal ranked him as the second fastest in football, only behind an Oklahoma State arrow named Tyreek Hill, who stopped the clocks at 9.98 seconds for the 100 flat meters. Mostert covered the distance in 10.68 seconds.
Everything was going well for Mostert, until it was time to take the biggest leap toward the NFL. He appeared in the 2015 draft and was not selected. The Philadelphia Eagles signed him as a free agent and in the preseason he became their most productive attacker.
Despite this, the Eagles cut him and he did not make the 53-player roster for the season. Two days later he was signed to the practice squad. From then on he was like a gypsy and went through six clubs until returning to the Dolphins in 2022, after having been with the Miami franchise for 29 days in 2015 after leaving the Eagles.
“At the beginning of my career I didn’t have the best situations,” Mostert confessed. “Looking back on my own journey I feel grateful that I went through those growing pains, and I always tried to learn every day as a player and an individual so I could help my team.”
In his brief time at the Miami club in 2015, not even in his remotest dream would Mostert have thought what his destiny would hold for him in that same franchise.
“At the time, I was just a young man trying to learn how I could achieve my goal of being a professional player,” the carrier recalled. “Miami is one of those teams that is on my list, but that is already forgotten. It was a different time. I have grown since then and apparently so has the organization.”
Now the Dolphins need him more than ever as the season enters its defining moment.
2023 has so far been a much better year for the Miami team than 2022 when McDaniel debuted at the head of the squad. So he was like a roller coaster and even though he reached the playoffs, he was left with a feeling of inconsistency.
On this occasion, however, the Dolphins suffered their four losses in a spaced manner. They recovered quickly. The work, however, is not finished.
Three key games remain against rivals with a winning record: the Dallas Cowboys (10-4), the Ravens in Baltimore (11-3) and the Buffalo Bills (8-6).
It will be enough to win two games for the Dolphins to win the East Division and play their first playoff game at home.
If they win the remaining three games, they will become champions of the American Conference for the first time since 1984. The task will not be easy, because they all have a lot at stake and the season on the line.
The advantage of the Dolphins is that two of those clashes are at home and at the Hard Rock Stadium they have a very high percentage of victories and now is the time to ratify that dominance in their own corral.
