Miami Dolphins rookie cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. has been putting together a strong training camp and preseason so far. But it’s his recent emergence in the slot that has coaches and teammates buzzing this week.

The fifth-round pick out of Florida has been utilized as a nickel corner in practices and is performing well despite his lack of experience in that role.

Marshall could push newly signed Mike Hilton for snaps in the slot heading into the season.

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“Honestly, what stood out the most was that it was his first time doing it, and he played it at such a high level,” Dolphins teammate Minkah Fitzpatrick said of Marshall. “I think nickel is probably one of the hardest spots to play on the field. You’re asked to do a lot. You have to see a lot. You have to make a lot of communication. You’ve got to tackle, you’ve got to cover. You could be in half one play, you could be blitzing the next.

“There’s not many positions on the field that do that. For a young guy who never played it before to go in and, I think, get two tackles for loss, he played great in coverage, made all the right communications, it was really cool to see him step up in that role. It was also cool because in practice, he made a couple of mistakes and corrected them in the game and played lights out. Seeing a guy take the lessons that he learned in practice, apply them in the game, and play at a high level is really impressive.”

Echoing Fitzpatrick’s praise, Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said he has also been impressed with what he’s seen from the rookie defensive back.

“You look at him sometimes and think, ‘Oh man, this guy could be a linebacker,’ but he has the movement skills of a DB,” Weaver said. “I think Jason’s skill set gives you an opportunity to not only play him outside but inside as well. Then his physicality, again, that we weren’t really sure about until we put him in a game and saw him make that TFL on the nickel pressure, I was like, ‘OK, it’s in there.’ Now let’s see if he continues to grow there.”

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Marshall will have another opportunity to strengthen his case as an immediate contributor to the Dolphins’ defense when Miami hosts the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday in their final preseason tune-up before heading to Indianapolis to face the Colts in Week 1.

This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Dolphins’ rookie CB Jason Marshall Jr. is thriving in the slot