MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- The Dolphins looked different this offseason; not because of who was on the field, but because of who wasn't.
Wide receiver Tyreek Hill didn't participate in team drills during OTAs or minicamp as he worked his way back from offseason wrist surgery. He returned for the first two weeks of training camp, but Hill and running back De'Von Achane missed most of August with oblique and calf injuries, respectively.
Both players returned to practice this week ahead of Sunday's season opener against the Indianapolis Colts (1 p.m. ET, CBS), and despite the limited reps together this summer, there isn't much concern about Miami's offensive cohesiveness entering Week 1.
"I think there's independent variables that I would say I'm probably more confident in this particular situation because both of those guys were excelling in their craft [before their injuries]," Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. "Not ideal timeline for anybody -- however the good news is that I know with certainty that the days until the game will be properly utilized on the field because their games were very connective, very on point before they got hurt, and I've watched them in the classroom be live-action participants ...
"So I'm optimistic based upon the work they've done this offseason, and I'm expecting a good day's work and steady cohesion as we go into Week 1."
Hill and Achane were limited participants in Wednesday's and Thursday's practices, but Achane said he feels "100 percent" ahead of Sunday's game.
Hill added that he feels "great" and lauded his work ethic whether healthy or injured.
"I'm one of those guys, I never fall out of shape," Hill said. "I feel like I'll always be like the hardest worker on the team no matter what, because I'm always doing the small things, whether that's running after practice when nobody's watching or whether that's catching like 500 passes off the Jugs [machine] when nobody is watching.
"I've been doing all the small things right this whole entire time when nobody is watching, so like I said, I can't wait to see what happens."
Hill and Achane appear healthy, but those summer reps are valuable for building chemistry with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
When asked about the Dolphins' cohesiveness with Hill and Achane back in the mix, Tagovailoa said there haven't been any missteps -- and their experience together over the past few seasons will ensure a seamless transition.
Even though the Dolphins' offense spent weeks without its top two leaders in total yards from a season ago, offensive coordinator Frank Smith said the on-field activity is simply the final product of the game preparation process.
"I think it's basically, how do you go through the process to performance?" Smith said. "You have to have a mental process through your tape study, through your classroom study, through on-field walk-through process, staying very in-tune with how you need to play to be successful. And then the last element of it is the physical application on the field.
"So I think most of it is like you want guys to have that process, then you add in the next to get the performance there."
Miami also spent the summer without its top tight end, Darren Waller, who unretired after one season and was traded to the Dolphins in July. Waller spent most of training camp sidelined and didn't participate in Wednesday's or Thursday's practices with a hip injury.
Tagovailoa said that while they haven't built much chemistry on the field, the former Pro Bowler Waller has actively communicated with him off it.
"We've been able to work a little bit," Tagovailoa said. "I think the cool thing about 'D-Wall' is he's been staying locked in mentally. When we were on the road, he'd come and ask me questions. Like, 'Hey, I've seen you work this route with this guy. Why did you throw it this way or why did you throw it that way?' or 'What are you seeing or what are you looking at?'
"I think he's been really locked in throughout the past couple weeks and then we've had some reps with him as well, so we'll see how much playing time he gets this Sunday."