2022 Houston Dynamo Player Previews – Griffin Dorsey

Griffin Dorsey

Position – Right back/Right wing back, Right winger

2021 MLS Stats – 20 appearances, 17 starts. 2 goals, 3 assists

2021 Rewind

Griffin Dorsey signed with the Houston Dynamo under then Head Coach Tab Ramos in the summer of last year. Dorsey had come from the Canadian side Toronto FC, but largely played with their affiliate Toronto FC II. As a young player, he fit the type of profile to be molded by Tab Ramos who has a reputation for getting and developing young, raw talent.

Early into his Dynamo tenure, Dorsey largely lined up as a winger on the right side of the pitch, filling in for the injured Tyler Pasher. Dorsey very early proved that at a minimum he had an eye for getting behind opposing back lines and making attempts to cross the ball in to the likes of Maxi Urruti and Fafà Picault. He struggled somewhat to deliver on those crosses, often having them blocked, but the upside was he would earn corners for his hard work. While he lacked some of the directness for goal Pasher has, over time Dorsey became more and more effective of providing service from the wing and even making plays for himself. Another strong aspect of his games is making trailing runs following crosses. That way if the cross was unsuccessful or poorly cleared, he had a knack for showing up in the right place at the right time to put it away.

Later in the season Dorsey found usefulness as attacking minded right back and was sometimes utilized in the midfield as more of a hybrid wing back role. His ability to drive the ball up the field while developing defensively proved that even though Tab Ramos’s time in Houston was ultimately a failure, his ability to find and polish players like Dorsey are some of the successes of his time with the Dynamo.

2022 Expectations

Dorsey should expect plenty of playing time in the 2022 season due to his rise last season which impressed the newly announced General Manager Pat Onstad, but also because of his ability to pretty much play anywhere along the right side of the field in some capacity.

With Pat Onstad and new Head Coach Paulo Nagamura busy this offseason, with them still looking to make moves, it seems that Dorsey should largely expect playing time at the right back position in Nagamura’s 4-3-3 which is what we’ve seen from some of the preseason matches. Dorsey appears to have Nagamura’s favor over the veteran Zarek Valentin at right back. Dorsey will also have to compete with another recent signing in the Brazilian fullback Zeca, who could take over time at left back should Adam Lundkvist struggle, which would leave opportunity for Dorsey to remain a starting caliber player on the right side of defense.

What are your thoughts on Griffin Dorsey going into the new season? Let us know in the comments below.