Speaker 1: Bodown Miami want a drun? What is up, Dolph Fans?
Speaker 1: And welcome to the Drive Time Podcast, part of the
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins official podcast network, covering your team, your Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 1: How's it going? Everybody? It is Friday. I am your host,
Speaker 1: Travis Wingfield. And on today's show, the fourth installment of
Speaker 1: the off season Preview, We're gonna finish up with the
Speaker 1: unit that helped drive the scheme of one of the
Speaker 1: NFL's best defenses, the defensive backs. We'll talk the incumbents
Speaker 1: and explore the free agent market and draft class. Will
Speaker 1: stop by the Specialist room as well, and finally, we'll
Speaker 1: cover the latest news and what the Kyle van Nous
Speaker 1: release could mean for this football team. All of that
Speaker 1: and more on this Friday, March the fifth edition of
Speaker 1: the Drive Time Podcast. So the news was first reported
Speaker 1: on Tuesday by Cameron Wolf of ESPN. It was then
Speaker 1: picked up by Mike Gara Folo and then rap sheet
Speaker 1: Ian Rapp report of NFL Network that Kyle van Ney
Speaker 1: had been released from the Dolphins or the discussion about
Speaker 1: his potential release was coming and the move was imminent,
Speaker 1: and then kavan himself released released a statement through Gara Folo,
Speaker 1: which serves as a pretty good source of confirmation. So
Speaker 1: in light of this first the reported cap hit would
Speaker 1: be just over four million dollars. There was an out
Speaker 1: in his contract after next season for a cap hit
Speaker 1: just over two million dollars. But in total, it's a
Speaker 1: nine million dollar cash savings, which when you hear the
Speaker 1: term cash and cash is king in all in all
Speaker 1: walks of life, right, but especially when it comes to
Speaker 1: football salaries. That's money owed to the player. So the
Speaker 1: Dolphins pocket that nine million and obviously are no longer
Speaker 1: beholden to the future money left on the deal that
Speaker 1: maintained that eleven to third team million dollars per year
Speaker 1: range through the season. So that's the business side of things,
Speaker 1: free up some more flexibility, but also comes with the
Speaker 1: hit there of the four million dollars on the cap hit.
Speaker 1: As far as the non business, the on the field stuff,
Speaker 1: what Kyle Van Noyd did, he was a very strong
Speaker 1: force defender off the outside edge, really gave you some
Speaker 1: good work in the running game, final things back to
Speaker 1: the inside of the football field. But we saw some
Speaker 1: other players kind of come up in that role this
Speaker 1: season and do a good job of that as well,
Speaker 1: like and Andrew Van Ginkle for instance. We'll talk more
Speaker 1: about him here in just one second, but what Van
Speaker 1: Noy did was offer a lot of versatility in his position.
Speaker 1: In his work, we talked about him not being a
Speaker 1: linebacker or an edge defender, just a guy that did
Speaker 1: multiple things. He played plenty of on ball work in
Speaker 1: his time in New England off ball work there as well.
Speaker 1: Was mostly an edge defender last year here in Miami,
Speaker 1: but he gives you a lot of flexibility on that
Speaker 1: defensive side of the football. And with Ryan Fitzpatrick pending
Speaker 1: free agent this year, he was set to be the
Speaker 1: oldest player on this Dolphins roster, so you kind of
Speaker 1: think about what might be able to happen with that
Speaker 1: extra nine million dollars of spending. Is their potential plan
Speaker 1: waiting in the wings, whether it's going back to an
Speaker 1: edge defender. There's there's a very deep edge defending class
Speaker 1: in this free agency market as it hits right now.
Speaker 1: We talked about that in the podcast on Tuesday. There's
Speaker 1: plenty of players in this draft that look like good
Speaker 1: edge defenders, Guys that have multiple, multiple scheme backgrounds and
Speaker 1: versatility to get on the field of multiple ways, the
Speaker 1: way that Kyle van Noyd did. Maybe it clears money
Speaker 1: for someone on the other side of the football, like
Speaker 1: a big time free agent along the offensive line or
Speaker 1: at the receiver position, whatever it might be. There is
Speaker 1: now more flexibility for spending that way. Maybe you use
Speaker 1: some of that money and extend some of the players
Speaker 1: from the teen draft class, a Jerome Baker, who's played
Speaker 1: very well here and is still in his early twenties.
Speaker 1: A player like Mike Gasicki who has been as sending
Speaker 1: for the last couple of seasons as one of the
Speaker 1: NFL's top tight ends. Maybe you go out and take
Speaker 1: care of Emmanuel Ogba, who has one year left in
Speaker 1: his contract after having a breakthrough campaign last year and
Speaker 1: showing any progress as a run stopper, and asked Rusher
Speaker 1: and his career so far, that's like Xavian Howard need
Speaker 1: to have his contract reworks to go towards that. Plenty
Speaker 1: of different avenues this could shift towards, and it just
Speaker 1: kind of gives you one overarching theme here that you know,
Speaker 1: we hear all these potential reports about players who could
Speaker 1: get cut, who could be moved on from who could
Speaker 1: be linked to certain teams in free agency. But I
Speaker 1: think the main thing that this tells us here is
Speaker 1: that no one really knows anything besides the people inside
Speaker 1: the building that make the calls and make the moves,
Speaker 1: because this was a pretty big surprise by all accounts,
Speaker 1: And you know, you put your trust here and Brian
Speaker 1: Flores and Chris Career and the way this team builds
Speaker 1: their roster because they've earned that trust with the way
Speaker 1: they've reshaped this thing and put this defense together in
Speaker 1: the vision of Brian Flores. I mean, if and Josh
Speaker 1: Bowyer as well, if you're gonna question somebody who had
Speaker 1: the number one takeaway defense, number third down number one
Speaker 1: third down defense, and had the number one scoring defense
Speaker 1: heading into weeks sevent team last year, well then I
Speaker 1: would question your take on that because these guys have
Speaker 1: proud and they know exactly what they're doing, so with
Speaker 1: this move, I just can't wait to see what happens
Speaker 1: next and how this entire our offseason plays out. Think
Speaker 1: this off season is going to be one of the
Speaker 1: most exciting ones that we've have had in quite some time.
Speaker 1: I mean, you've already had big name acquisitions and a
Speaker 1: new league year hasn't even began yet, with the Matt
Speaker 1: Stafford trade, the Carson Wentz trade, j J. Watt going
Speaker 1: to the Cardinals, all kinds of activity across the NFL,
Speaker 1: and the Dolphins now seem to be a part of
Speaker 1: that with the news that Kyle van Nou will be
Speaker 1: released before the new league year begins. And one more
Speaker 1: part about this entire news bit and talking about the
Speaker 1: business side of it, to kind of put a cap
Speaker 1: on that is the freedom and structure of the contract
Speaker 1: or the structure of the contract that gave the Dolphins
Speaker 1: the freedom to move on after one year and to
Speaker 1: just kind of bite the bullet on the cap and
Speaker 1: and get themselves some relief that way, you know, the
Speaker 1: way of doing business, to to keep yourself flexible to
Speaker 1: make moves year in and year out. That's an impressive
Speaker 1: stroke of of work there from the Dolphins from the
Speaker 1: salary cap standpoint, so tip of the hat there as
Speaker 1: far as the ability to get out of a contract
Speaker 1: that the coaching staff thought they needed to. So the
Speaker 1: off season is just getting started, and we talked a
Speaker 1: little bit there about xaviing Howard in that last bit,
Speaker 1: which is a good chance for us to segue into
Speaker 1: the Defensive back preview here, the fourth and final part
Speaker 1: of our preview series. We're gonna come back later on
Speaker 1: the podcast next week and talk about some more comprehensive
Speaker 1: plans and and and what the office and could bring
Speaker 1: that way, but let's go ahead and finish up here
Speaker 1: in the Defensive back Room. And we'll also talk about
Speaker 1: the Specialist. And I was gonna cover Bruce Feldman's Freaks
Speaker 1: List because I want to get into that at some point,
Speaker 1: but we're gonna go ahead and bump that to a
Speaker 1: future podcast. And I was going to tie in the
Speaker 1: Freaks List and kick this thing off with Byron Jones,
Speaker 1: because I mean, nobody really worked out better than he
Speaker 1: did in Indianapolis that year at the combine back in
Speaker 1: He's still holds the world record for the broad jump
Speaker 1: in that category. And of course, Byron now entering his
Speaker 1: second year as a Miami Dolphin and by the way,
Speaker 1: still just twenty eight years old, despite what feels like
Speaker 1: a decade long career at this point of top line
Speaker 1: production for Byron Jones, and the first thing I want
Speaker 1: to mention with Byron is one of the coolest parts
Speaker 1: about this job and and being around the team every day.
Speaker 1: You see the details that just aren't available to the
Speaker 1: general public, so the eye of the casual onlooker, I mean,
Speaker 1: especially this year without camp open to the public. One
Speaker 1: of my favorite parts of training camp this past season
Speaker 1: and even into the season sees when we're out there
Speaker 1: during the warm ups for practice, you see Byron working
Speaker 1: on the ball skills. He's out there early on the
Speaker 1: jugs machine. He's working with Coach Burke's getting you know,
Speaker 1: his his ball tracking and his ball place or ball
Speaker 1: location when he tries to turn around and locate that
Speaker 1: thing in the air. He's working on all that stuff.
Speaker 1: He's always out there working on flipping his hips, getting
Speaker 1: into phase, locating the football and making a play accordingly.
Speaker 1: And you wouldn't know it, but he set a career
Speaker 1: high and interceptions this year, his first year with multiple
Speaker 1: interceptions and a quick sidebar. Another thing I loved about
Speaker 1: interacting with Byron this year, you know, was his transparency
Speaker 1: and levity about the whole interception topic, because it came
Speaker 1: up time and time again, and you know, not to
Speaker 1: get too far off the point here, but just one
Speaker 1: of the more fascinating people in the league, not just
Speaker 1: for his enlightening press conferences, but his desire for nala
Speaker 1: commitment to serving his community. Again, I highly recommend going
Speaker 1: back to the feature pod we did back in December
Speaker 1: where we talked about Byron's nomination for the Walter Peyton
Speaker 1: Man of the Year, talked about some of his work
Speaker 1: in the community, and a whole bunch more. But back
Speaker 1: onto the football field. One of the one of the
Speaker 1: game's best press cover corners, and that's just a fact. Frankly,
Speaker 1: what exaviing Howard did this year is even more impressive
Speaker 1: when you consider the playing press man corner. Let's just
Speaker 1: go ahead and make this a point that the defense
Speaker 1: isn't solely pressed man. They do a fantastic job of
Speaker 1: mixing coverages and looks. But by the letter of the law,
Speaker 1: the job that Byron and X do on the outside
Speaker 1: on those press man reps is to limit separation and
Speaker 1: make the quarterback think twice and have that hitch in
Speaker 1: his trigger, which then in turn gives the pass rush
Speaker 1: that extra half second to make one of those game
Speaker 1: changing plays we saw throughout the course of the season,
Speaker 1: and that's the crux of the entire defense and Jones's
Speaker 1: presence flat out was one of the main reasons it
Speaker 1: all clicked for this defense this season, and the box
Speaker 1: score doesn't always tell you that, but the results should.
Speaker 1: So it pertains to his physical ability, strong press, exceptional
Speaker 1: recovery speed. If you're not gonna win every rep every
Speaker 1: matchup at the line against the releases of the world's
Speaker 1: best receivers in this league. But he's got smooth hips
Speaker 1: to change the direction in a short area and the
Speaker 1: intelligence to adhere to all the responsibility of playing in
Speaker 1: a defense. So multiple thought he was terrific in year
Speaker 1: one and we'll only get better in your number two.
Speaker 1: And my favorite quote of this season, this freaking guy again.
Speaker 1: That's what Byron Jones told the media that his reaction
Speaker 1: after seeing Xaving Howard pulled down some of those picks
Speaker 1: late in the year. Yeah, that guy again. The first
Speaker 1: player with double digit i n t s in a
Speaker 1: season since two thousand seven. My favorite tape from the
Speaker 1: entire season for an individual's you know, one guy's tape
Speaker 1: game tape this season. In one game my favorite performance
Speaker 1: was Exaving Howard against the New York Jets. Literally had
Speaker 1: three or four, maybe even five chances at interceptions in
Speaker 1: that one one of them he had his hands on
Speaker 1: and the receiver poked the way. Last second one he
Speaker 1: was gonna catch, but the receiver jump on his back
Speaker 1: and got the op I call. And then another one
Speaker 1: X just couldn't quite squeeze it. And then there was
Speaker 1: the last one that he did pull down to kind
Speaker 1: of put that game on ice at the end. But
Speaker 1: the patients he has at all levels of the route
Speaker 1: is indicative of his confidence and that's something I think
Speaker 1: that has really grown throughout the course of his career.
Speaker 1: You take a look at the over routes on his
Speaker 1: highlight reel, on his all twenty two reel, and anybody's
Speaker 1: real it's such a tough route to cover. Typically you
Speaker 1: have outside leverage, which means that you are giving inside
Speaker 1: access to the receiver and you're protecting us the sideline
Speaker 1: on the perimeter, and you give them that inside access
Speaker 1: to kind of run across the field and then from
Speaker 1: there it's a foot race and the corner's responsibility to
Speaker 1: win despite starting at that disadvantage. That's why time speeds
Speaker 1: are so I think valued for you know, for a
Speaker 1: lot of people at the cornerback position, because if you
Speaker 1: can't run with these receivers you can't play with them,
Speaker 1: and obviously game based speeds more important than time speed.
Speaker 1: But you do look at that fort yar dash these guys,
Speaker 1: and if the past rush doesn't get home, then ay,
Speaker 1: these routes become damn near and possible to cover. But
Speaker 1: Xavian just has this way of baiting quarterbacks by showing
Speaker 1: them a window and then taking it away where he
Speaker 1: goes from that outside hip to quickly undercutting the route
Speaker 1: and and studying this. It's really a bit of brilliance
Speaker 1: because the quarterback thinks he has the benefit of the
Speaker 1: open sideline to work with all that room out in front.
Speaker 1: But really what X is doing is creating a small
Speaker 1: window where if the throw is perfect, it's probably gonna
Speaker 1: be a big play. You will, we'll give you that,
Speaker 1: But if it's under thrown at all, we're gonna intercept
Speaker 1: it and take it away. If it's high, it could
Speaker 1: be tipped and wind up in some traffic behind the play,
Speaker 1: possibly picked off that way too. And if it's under
Speaker 1: thrown like behind the receiver, then it also has a
Speaker 1: chance to get picked there as well. And both these guys,
Speaker 1: Jones and X tackled so well on the perimeter this year,
Speaker 1: So I look at these two as the drivers of
Speaker 1: the scheme that flow and Boyer deploy and boy it
Speaker 1: was fun to watch it all kind of come together
Speaker 1: in year one, especially when Byron got back from that
Speaker 1: growing injury that took him out of two and a
Speaker 1: half basically three games for this Dolphins defense. But the
Speaker 1: hits on the secondary just keep coming. At the safety position,
Speaker 1: Bobby McCain had a tremendous year last year. You ever
Speaker 1: wonder why the Dolphins defense was one of the stingiest
Speaker 1: in terms of allowing big plays, like a stingy in
Speaker 1: most areas, But for the sake of this argument, you
Speaker 1: know what we really saw this year breakdowns, communication issues,
Speaker 1: and the consequential explosive play from the opposing offense. Coach
Speaker 1: Gerald Alexan talks all the time about how big plays
Speaker 1: happened through the second dary and watching the way Bobby
Speaker 1: moved in accordance on the all twenty two with the
Speaker 1: most threatening vertical options for the offense was just a
Speaker 1: stroke of brilliance. All year. I thought he was capping
Speaker 1: over routes as a robber. He was flipping and turning
Speaker 1: backside to get to those backside posts, so he would
Speaker 1: kind of roll to one side of the field to
Speaker 1: take away that option and diagnose the route and then
Speaker 1: recognize a backside post and get back to that part
Speaker 1: of the field and really play both sides of the field.
Speaker 1: From that middle of the field safety position, he was
Speaker 1: running off the top of go routes, taking those options away.
Speaker 1: Just did so much in coverage that doesn't get into
Speaker 1: a box score, that doesn't even show up on the
Speaker 1: broadcast because he's playing twenty yards off the football and
Speaker 1: you don't see him until you watch the All twenty two.
Speaker 1: And it's not just that as a middle of the
Speaker 1: field center field defender playing twenty yards off the ball,
Speaker 1: he was nothing short of fantastic in that area. And
Speaker 1: when you think about all those different coverages and all
Speaker 1: the checks that occur, I mean, you get pre snap motion.
Speaker 1: Then you have to communicate the new responsibilities in a flash.
Speaker 1: I just never saw that palms up like looking at
Speaker 1: each other while the opposition cruises in for a touchdown,
Speaker 1: looking at each other wondering what the hell happened? Who
Speaker 1: had him? Remember just four or five years ago how
Speaker 1: often that happened. It pretty much never happened this year.
Speaker 1: I think McCain's job back there was a big reason
Speaker 1: for that. You talked to Flora's boy or g A,
Speaker 1: anyone that's involved in that dB room, and they'll tell
Speaker 1: you how integral Bobby is as the captain and as
Speaker 1: the communicator speaking of underappreciated Dolphins. His running mate had
Speaker 1: himself one hell of a year in his own right,
Speaker 1: Eric Rowe. Let's just look at some of the box
Speaker 1: scores to tell the story. Eight games allowing two catches
Speaker 1: or less, only two games all year allowing more than
Speaker 1: forty receiving yards, pass breakups, I n T s, pressures
Speaker 1: on the quarterback. Mary called that twenty eight yards sacked
Speaker 1: that Emmanuel Ogba had. You know who was first on
Speaker 1: the scene, Eric Rowe. He talked about doing better against
Speaker 1: Kelsey and Waller, the premier tight ends in the National
Speaker 1: Football League. But that's what you love about him. A
Speaker 1: fantastic season, and he's immediately thinking about the two games
Speaker 1: out of sixteen where he thinks he can improve. And
Speaker 1: I thought he was improved across the board in his
Speaker 1: first full season at the new position. Run fitting, blitzing
Speaker 1: man coverage, playing in his own and those four guys
Speaker 1: that played the most reps in the secondary. It's such
Speaker 1: a benefit to have their skill set, their experienced, their communication,
Speaker 1: their veteran presence on that defense, and I love the
Speaker 1: depth of this position. To remember, this is a defense
Speaker 1: that utilizes a fair share of dime, quarter and dollar
Speaker 1: defenses that six seven, sometimes eight defensive backs on the field.
Speaker 1: Two point five of the Dolphin snaps this year came
Speaker 1: from dime personnel. That was the eight highest in the
Speaker 1: National Football League. They are one of four teams with
Speaker 1: double digit snaps in quarter at seven defensive backs, and
Speaker 1: they had the most snaps in dollar that's eight defensive backs.
Speaker 1: It was only five snaps in that dollar package, but
Speaker 1: only four teams actually called eight dbs on the field
Speaker 1: a single time this year. Dolphin's five of them, Titans
Speaker 1: with four, Patriots three, and Giants with three. That's Flora's
Speaker 1: m Boyer, Mike Frabel, Bill Belichick, and Patrick Graham. The architects,
Speaker 1: the architects of those defenses. So I mean, go figure
Speaker 1: who those guys are on where they come from. So
Speaker 1: that means you want to go into a game with
Speaker 1: at least eight able bodies in the defensive backfield. Probably
Speaker 1: more like ten. And Nick need Um was a bit
Speaker 1: of revelation in that slot last year, a position that
Speaker 1: he didn't really play in twenty nineteen. And that's what
Speaker 1: you've gotta love here, the ability to find jobs for
Speaker 1: guys despite what their historical resumes might suggest. Now you
Speaker 1: might recall my takes on need Um from his locked
Speaker 1: on My Locked on Dolphins days, when I called him
Speaker 1: sweet feet because of how active he was and his
Speaker 1: ability to seamlessly transition in and out of breaks. From
Speaker 1: that you tap tape, you tap all twenty two, baby,
Speaker 1: that's a hallmark of playing inside that quick feet, that
Speaker 1: the c o d change in direction, and he had
Speaker 1: a run of some really impressive numbers against guys like
Speaker 1: Cooper Cup, Tyler Boyd, Keenan Allen. But I also think
Speaker 1: it's fair to point out how the Dolphins chose to
Speaker 1: defend these teams with the slot as their primary pass option.
Speaker 1: I mean, Keenan Allen is the go to guy there
Speaker 1: in Los Angeles, and it kind of speaks to the
Speaker 1: structure and the performance of the safeties to help bracket
Speaker 1: and cap a lot of those routes inside, and Needham
Speaker 1: did a great job with what he was asked to
Speaker 1: do as well in that trail position funnel to help
Speaker 1: they got the job done in that position. Needham is
Speaker 1: scheduled to be an exclusive rights free agent, along with
Speaker 1: fellow cornerback Jamal Perry. And for what it's worth and
Speaker 1: a quick refresher exclusive rights free agency for those guys,
Speaker 1: what it means. They're players on expiring contracts who have
Speaker 1: three or fewer accrued seasons in the National Football League.
Speaker 1: They can only negotiate with their original team ahead of
Speaker 1: the new league year, and if they are not tendered
Speaker 1: a contract, they become unrestricted free agents. So the most
Speaker 1: next steps in the defensive backfield went to a rookie
Speaker 1: and Brandon Jones, and he's one of my picks for
Speaker 1: a big jump in year number two. The studious nature
Speaker 1: of his game and the instincts he plays with just
Speaker 1: really pop. He had that sack in the Jets game.
Speaker 1: He nearly jumped a couple of hook up routes, one
Speaker 1: in the Jacksonville game, and I want to say the
Speaker 1: other was the home Jets game where he just hovers
Speaker 1: keys and jumps. He's quick to the football, has really
Speaker 1: good time or game speed, plays so quickly and so instinctively.
Speaker 1: And one thing I couldn't harp on enough for years
Speaker 1: was the necessity of three safeties in this defense, and
Speaker 1: we saw that this year. You know, the big nickel
Speaker 1: package that's gonna be five defensive backs, but instead of
Speaker 1: three corners and two safeties, you go three safeties and
Speaker 1: two cornerbacks and all the dime looks. I mean two
Speaker 1: five snaps last year with six defensive backs on the field.
Speaker 1: You need a lot of defensive backs, and all three
Speaker 1: of those safeties are former cornerbacks. Brandon Jones played a
Speaker 1: lot of slot at the University of Texas, actually was
Speaker 1: probably his best position there in college. So I look
Speaker 1: at these top seven snaptakers and man, I am excited
Speaker 1: about getting all of them back. Number seven on that
Speaker 1: list is the a rookie, Noah ig Bonogamy, and I've
Speaker 1: been excited to get into his game here on the podcast. First,
Speaker 1: as I rewatched the games, both on the All twenty
Speaker 1: two and the broadcast copy, I want to go back
Speaker 1: to something Tony Romo said during the season opener the
Speaker 1: Week one game against the New England Patriots. People not
Speaker 1: realize he's gonna be a great player. He's got size,
Speaker 1: it's physical. He use well one of the steals of
Speaker 1: the draft right the first round around, and you hear
Speaker 1: him talk about those traits. I thought those traits were
Speaker 1: really on display when he got some playing time against
Speaker 1: the Bengals when Xavian was ejected from the game, and
Speaker 1: first off, he played eight teen coverage reps against a J. Green.
Speaker 1: And while a J has had a bunch of bad,
Speaker 1: you know, a bad run of injuries lately in his
Speaker 1: career and the production has not been the same as
Speaker 1: it was in his all pro days. That's a savvy
Speaker 1: veteran receiver that knows how to get open, and yet
Speaker 1: he drew just one target against the rookie. You look
Speaker 1: around the league, let's go to PFF's advanced metrics. Rookie
Speaker 1: corners are famously targeted over and over again, but eight
Speaker 1: of the top twenty two is in terms of snaps
Speaker 1: per target this year where rookies. And that includes the
Speaker 1: first cornerback off the board, number three overall pick, Jeff Okuda,
Speaker 1: who was the third most frequently targeted cornerback in all
Speaker 1: of the NFL at a target every five snaps played
Speaker 1: this season. It reminds me of a story Channing Crowder
Speaker 1: told on the Fish Tank podcast a couple of years
Speaker 1: back when he was talking about that two thousand five
Speaker 1: Dolphins defense that had Jason Taylor Zach Thomas Jr. Say out,
Speaker 1: Sam Madison, Vonnie Holiday, Keith Trailer, who do you think
Speaker 1: the opposing offensive coordinator is going to look at on
Speaker 1: that defense and target the rookie third round pick and
Speaker 1: Crowder right, the linebacker from the University of Florida. And
Speaker 1: that was the messaging to Crowder and a big reason
Speaker 1: why they say you're only as strong as your weakest link.
Speaker 1: Not to say that he was the weakest link, but
Speaker 1: when an O C looks at the lineup, you think
Speaker 1: he's gonna attack a rookie or a future Hall of Famer.
Speaker 1: It takes just one Bustes assignment for a play to
Speaker 1: blow up. So back to Igbos tape. You had a
Speaker 1: match up with Stefon Digs in that Week two game,
Speaker 1: the NFL's leading re fever, and again the Week four
Speaker 1: big play against the Seahawks as well, a bit of
Speaker 1: trial by fire for the youngster again the youngest player
Speaker 1: in the National Football League. And that's why I was
Speaker 1: so curious to see how he would bounce back when
Speaker 1: he got playing time later in the season, like for
Speaker 1: instance against the Bengals, and you can see him playing aggressively,
Speaker 1: no lost confidence. You see the star athlete that he is.
Speaker 1: He can flip the hips, throwing the old baseball head
Speaker 1: whip when he changes directions, and just flat out scoot
Speaker 1: with the recovery speed and the physicality at the top
Speaker 1: of the route as well. At camp he was one
Speaker 1: of the more impressive guys out there, and I would
Speaker 1: expect him entering his age one season to take a
Speaker 1: big step this year as well, and rounding out that
Speaker 1: defensive bat group. Clayton Federalum was a special team's ace
Speaker 1: last year. He made several tackles on that unit. And
Speaker 1: then Nate Holly also kind of in that mold down
Speaker 1: the stretch. He came over mid season from the CFL
Speaker 1: last year. Javaris Davis is also here in a futurist contract.
Speaker 1: He was Higbo's counterpart there at Auburn within physical the
Speaker 1: impressive physical traits of his own. He signed to that
Speaker 1: futures contract as our Brian Cole and Tino Ellis. We
Speaker 1: mentioned Nick Needham and Jamal Perry as exclusive rights free agents.
Speaker 1: Cavon Frasier is an unrestricted free agent heading into this offseason,
Speaker 1: and that brings us to the free agent market for
Speaker 1: cornerbacks and safeties and will pair these together since the position,
Speaker 1: especially in this Dolphins defense, can be somewhat fluid. And
Speaker 1: before we do that, just want to give you guys
Speaker 1: a quick reminder that these thoughts do not reflect the
Speaker 1: opinion of the team. They are the opinion of yours, truly,
Speaker 1: Travis Wingfield here on the Drivetime podcast. Let's go ahead
Speaker 1: and jump now into the Pro Football Focus Top one,
Speaker 1: dred and fifty free agents list in the defense of
Speaker 1: secondary and it's top heavy with safeties in this class.
Speaker 1: Number six on their list is Justin Simmons from Denver.
Speaker 1: He had the game game clinching pick rather in the
Speaker 1: game against Miami last year, four picks overall, eleven pass
Speaker 1: breakups and a ninety point seven overall grade from Pro
Speaker 1: Football Focus and was his first Pro Bowl season, but
Speaker 1: he was even better in twenty nine. He's had over
Speaker 1: ninety retackles each of the last three seasons. Just an
Speaker 1: elite player in every regard, and number seven on their
Speaker 1: list is in that same category. Anthony Harris from the Vikings,
Speaker 1: another guy that was tagged last year just before free agency.
Speaker 1: So here are he and Simmons once again. And Harris
Speaker 1: like Simmons. He's like Simmons in that their range and
Speaker 1: ball skills and instincts on the back end are among
Speaker 1: his best traits. So if you want to get either
Speaker 1: of these guys in, you have a bit of conflict
Speaker 1: there with Bobby McCain, But you know what, having safeties
Speaker 1: that can cover there's just no amount that is enough
Speaker 1: in this league and on this defense in particular, and
Speaker 1: he talked about the importance of having three safeties. I mean,
Speaker 1: you can always shuffle the deck and give coverage, you know,
Speaker 1: take advantage of the coverage abilities of those guys like
Speaker 1: Bobby McCain, Eric Rowe, Brandon Jones. They've all played the slot.
Speaker 1: So it gives you flexibility, like we talked about on
Speaker 1: the offensive line for how you attack this position group.
Speaker 1: Because of that flexibility, because guys can move around, it
Speaker 1: opens you up to more options in that area. And boy,
Speaker 1: both Harris and Simmons are playmakers in this league, a
Speaker 1: league that is seeing playmakers become increasingly valuable year in
Speaker 1: and year out. Number fifteen on that same frame of mind,
Speaker 1: Safety Marcus Williams p F nine percentile coverage grade and
Speaker 1: a top ten completion array allowed or is at bottom ten.
Speaker 1: Either way, he's he's among the ten best safeties at
Speaker 1: forcing in completions since he came into the league in
Speaker 1: and not to be a broken record, but his range
Speaker 1: has always been the calling card, even back to his
Speaker 1: time at the University of Utah. And for what it's worth,
Speaker 1: PF predicts all three of these guys changed teams this offseason,
Speaker 1: so we'll find out what happens here in just a
Speaker 1: couple of weeks. Number sixteen our first cornerback on the list,
Speaker 1: William Jackson, and this dude is among the best press
Speaker 1: cover corners in the game. Long, physical and competitive as
Speaker 1: all get out. Number eighteen another cornerback, Richard Sherman, the
Speaker 1: goat of cover three cornerbacks and really one of the
Speaker 1: best corners of the last decade. And he can still
Speaker 1: ball man even at this stage of his career. Rear
Speaker 1: with his studious nature and preparation habits, puts him in
Speaker 1: good position more often than not. And another one, number
Speaker 1: twenty one cornerback Desmond King. I remember his slide on
Speaker 1: draft day after you know, a poor forty yard dash
Speaker 1: time like who cares? But the Chargers were the beneficiaries
Speaker 1: in the fifth round that year. They kick him inside.
Speaker 1: He becomes one of the game's best slot corners in
Speaker 1: the game before he was traded to the Titans this season,
Speaker 1: and two things come to mind with king length and
Speaker 1: ball skills. He was a takeaway a machine in Iowa
Speaker 1: and he's continued that into the pros early in his career,
Speaker 1: with four picks in his first two years, with a
Speaker 1: forced fumble in there as well, But he hasn't picked
Speaker 1: off a pass since eighteen and has just one forced
Speaker 1: fumble since then as well. Twenty two safety Marcus May.
Speaker 1: I mean, if you're looking for a middle of the field,
Speaker 1: deep type safety, this is the year four and even
Speaker 1: assuming if half these guys go back to their teams
Speaker 1: and half of them hit the open market, still a
Speaker 1: good chance to get one of those guys. Now. When
Speaker 1: the Jets traded Jamal Adams, May expanded his job description
Speaker 1: and acquitted himself rather well in that regard. I'd be
Speaker 1: surprised if the Jets let him walk. But this is
Speaker 1: a versatile scheme, diverse player there with the Jets. Number
Speaker 1: twenty three, John Johnson, a safety and goodness, this list
Speaker 1: is chalk full of good players. Man, he's He's been
Speaker 1: on top the top of the line cover safety for
Speaker 1: a number of years, piled up twenty two passes, defense
Speaker 1: and five picks his first two seasons in the league.
Speaker 1: He was banged up in twenty nineteen, then came back
Speaker 1: with another big year last season. Another deep safety type
Speaker 1: in this loaded class. Number twenty eight is our cornerback,
Speaker 1: our first, I guess, our second true slot in cornerback.
Speaker 1: Mike Hilton, a do it all slot corner. The Steelers
Speaker 1: kept him inside as he flourished in coverage, flashed the
Speaker 1: occasional effective blitz, and played the run very well. He
Speaker 1: could be a bargain given all the dbs on this
Speaker 1: list and the fact that there's probably strictly an inside
Speaker 1: guy here with Mike Hilton. Maybe you get him into bargain.
Speaker 1: We'll see if he hits the market and what his
Speaker 1: market is. Number thirty seven another quarterback, Shaquille Griffin from Seattle.
Speaker 1: He was kind of the glue that held that Seahawks
Speaker 1: secondary together, and things took a bit of a turn
Speaker 1: when he was hurt this season. In fact, in the
Speaker 1: game of Miami last year, Griffin pitched a shutout with
Speaker 1: no receptions allowed and coming from that Pete Carol scheme
Speaker 1: again like Richard Sherman did once upon time, he is
Speaker 1: adept at playing that cover three cornerback spot on the outside.
Speaker 1: Let's pick up the pace here a little bit. This
Speaker 1: list is long because there are so many good quarnerbacks
Speaker 1: and safeties that are potentially gonna hit the market this offseason.
Speaker 1: Troy Hill from the Rams, a slot cornerback ball skills,
Speaker 1: showed off his penchant for keying offenses tendencies this year.
Speaker 1: I mean the guy picked off a screen pass and
Speaker 1: took it to the house against the Seahawks. That very
Speaker 1: rarely happens. Number forty three hidobe A Wugier from Dallas.
Speaker 1: I think the best is yet to come in his career.
Speaker 1: He's got a good blend of physicality and athletic ability.
Speaker 1: Number fifty is a cornerback, another guy that specializes in
Speaker 1: the slot. Brian Pool of the Jets. He's been the
Speaker 1: best Jets quarterback for a couple of years, but again
Speaker 1: mostly plays inside. Last year he got a one year,
Speaker 1: five million dollar deal with the Jets, which he outperformed,
Speaker 1: so we'll see what his market is this season. Number
Speaker 1: fifty one again, these guys just keep checking in back
Speaker 1: to back to back. On this list is Xavier Woods,
Speaker 1: who's played cornerback and safety. He's played all over the
Speaker 1: defense for the Cowboys, and we're kind of approaching this
Speaker 1: territory where the price could become team friendly as the
Speaker 1: market kind of dictates itself as far as guys going
Speaker 1: off the first couple of days in free agency, and
Speaker 1: maybe some of these guys last for a few days
Speaker 1: or a few weeks, you can sign them later and
Speaker 1: maybe get a more team friendly contract than you might expect.
Speaker 1: Let's go ahead and once again accelerate the pace here Again,
Speaker 1: this list is long. Quentin dunbar Ronald Darby, Jason Verrette.
Speaker 1: All three of those guys veterans in this league have
Speaker 1: played a lot of years. Give them a lot of
Speaker 1: good reps as well. Malik Hooker checks in at number
Speaker 1: sixty nine. Nice. He is a very rangey safety there
Speaker 1: for the Colts, and he's battled injuries throughout his career,
Speaker 1: but he was one of the premier ball hawks in
Speaker 1: college coming into the NFL Kean O'Neil kind of the
Speaker 1: opposite of that, a big, physical enforcer down in the box.
Speaker 1: Patrick Peterson is a free agent this year, had one
Speaker 1: of the best careers among any quarterback of the last decade.
Speaker 1: Number seventy eight Nickel Robie Coleman, a slot corner extraordinaire
Speaker 1: who's playing with the Rams and the Bills over the
Speaker 1: last several years. Number eighty two Mackenzie Alexander two Kwan
Speaker 1: Williams from the Niners. Number ninety three is Gary and Conley,
Speaker 1: a former first round draft pick who has bounced around
Speaker 1: a little bit in his career. Number nine but shot
Speaker 1: Brelan Cameron Sutton. So you have four guys that are
Speaker 1: back to back to back to back on the PFF
Speaker 1: Top free agents list, and then Jaquis Guitar, a safety
Speaker 1: from the Niners, Terrence Mitchell and a j. Boyer round
Speaker 1: out the top one hundred and fifty defensive backs on
Speaker 1: the PF free agent list. So, man, how about that
Speaker 1: list of players there. It's a good thing we did
Speaker 1: this defensive backs group in one podcast because they take
Speaker 1: up a lot of names, a lot of guys that
Speaker 1: cover here. And with that, let's go ahead and finish
Speaker 1: up with the draft class at these positions and once
Speaker 1: again working off the Draft Network's top prospects available, starting
Speaker 1: with a cornerback position exclusively here. Caleb Farley is a
Speaker 1: number five overall player out of Virginia Tech, and he
Speaker 1: and Patrick's Ertan who is number sixteen, and J. C. Horne,
Speaker 1: who's number forty three. These three guys all have that competitive, feisty,
Speaker 1: confident swagger about them that they're gonna challenge every single
Speaker 1: route they're gonna play press. We saw plenty of press
Speaker 1: coverage from both the Alabama and South Carolina cornerbacks, and
Speaker 1: Sir tam and Horn and Caleb Farley can do everything
Speaker 1: as well out of Virginia Tech. So all three of
Speaker 1: those guys to me are high, high level prospects. Fifty
Speaker 1: one Eric Stokes out of Georgia, fifty five Elijah Molden
Speaker 1: out of Washington, and then fifty nine out of Syracuse
Speaker 1: Effete Dave Melifon Wu, the brother of Obi melifon who
Speaker 1: I had a major draft crush on a few years
Speaker 1: ago because of elite, elite athletic traits. His little brother,
Speaker 1: Affect two, has some of the same traits at that
Speaker 1: defensive back position, Greg Knewsome, Aaron Robinson, Paulson, a Debo,
Speaker 1: a guy that went back to school for his senior
Speaker 1: season as number sixty eight, Trill Williams number seventy. Assante
Speaker 1: Samuel number seventy six out of Florida State. Now that's junior.
Speaker 1: His father's senior was one of the best cover corners
Speaker 1: and ball hawks for a long time in the league.
Speaker 1: He's kind of in that same mold, but he is
Speaker 1: one of those tweeners, a guy that can play inside, outside,
Speaker 1: maybe a little bit of safety as well as Sante
Speaker 1: Samuel Jr. Pretty good class hero at the cornerback position.
Speaker 1: We go over to the safety spot, where there is
Speaker 1: again another glut of players that kind of fit into
Speaker 1: the same mold. Number thirty seven on their list of
Speaker 1: overall players is their number one safety with Javon Holland
Speaker 1: out of Oregon. He is rangey, he is long. He
Speaker 1: can really start the passing game and coverage back there.
Speaker 1: And I think the best single highest safety in this class,
Speaker 1: the best rangey, middle of the field center fielder is
Speaker 1: Trayvon Morrig out of TCU, the junior safety who had
Speaker 1: a hell of a year last year at TCU. Number
Speaker 1: sixty six, hamsaw Nisrael Dean out of Florida State six
Speaker 1: ft pounds. You might you might mistake him for some
Speaker 1: Derwin James because of the bill, because of the responsibilities
Speaker 1: he has, but he's one of those guys that can
Speaker 1: match up on tight ends and backs and really kind
Speaker 1: of being a racer and coverage that way. Maybe a
Speaker 1: sub package guy early on who develops in his career.
Speaker 1: Number sixty nine, Richie Grant from UC had a great
Speaker 1: Senior Bowl week. Folks love his ability to cover and
Speaker 1: compete in one on one. Paris Ford out of Pittsburgh
Speaker 1: one of my favorite safeties in this class. He can
Speaker 1: close from depth and make tackles and make plays down
Speaker 1: on the las of scrimmage. He also can cover a
Speaker 1: little bit as well. Andre Cisco's number nine two out
Speaker 1: of Syracuse. You want to talk about range on that
Speaker 1: back end, he checks those boxes. And then one on
Speaker 1: this list from Missouri, Tyree Gillespie. I was surprised to
Speaker 1: see him this low, but he's got some game tape
Speaker 1: where he really matches up with guys and coverage very well.
Speaker 1: Great closing speed and good instincts there on the back end.
Speaker 1: And then one more name on this list I want
Speaker 1: to point out is number two nine overall out of Pittsburgh,
Speaker 1: tomar Hamlin. The Dolphins had him on their team at
Speaker 1: the Senior Bowl and he played well in that game.
Speaker 1: How to pick in that game? So go check out
Speaker 1: the draft Network, go check out Pro Football Focus is
Speaker 1: top one and fifty free agents list. Going to be
Speaker 1: an absolutely crazy, crazy offseason with plenty of activity. It
Speaker 1: has already begun here as big time names are on
Speaker 1: the move before the new league year even begins. And
Speaker 1: let's go ahead and finish up here on the podcast
Speaker 1: talking about the specialist. We don't want to leave them
Speaker 1: off the list. Blake Ferguson is back this year his
Speaker 1: second years a long snapper, and Jason Sanders obviously on
Speaker 1: the contract extension, the number one first team All Pro
Speaker 1: kicker in the National Football League. And then also Rex
Speaker 1: Sunahara is on a futures contract. He is also a
Speaker 1: long snapper. With punter Matt Hawk as an unrestricted free
Speaker 1: agent heading into this offseason, it'll be interesting to see
Speaker 1: what the Dolphins do at the punter position. So that's
Speaker 1: your defensive back preview, your special teams look there as well,
Speaker 1: and that wraps up our off season preview. Now next
Speaker 1: week on the podcast, I'm gonna get John Conjemmi on
Speaker 1: here and we're gonna take a more comprehensive, holistic approach
Speaker 1: at how the Dolphins could attack this off season. So
Speaker 1: check back for that next Tuesday. As for this edition
Speaker 1: of Drive Time, that's gonna be my time happy three
Speaker 1: oh five Day to folks down in South Florida in
Speaker 1: the three oh five area code. The Dolphins have plenty
Speaker 1: of events happening all over town. You can stop by
Speaker 1: different locations, different local rest drownson check those places out.
Speaker 1: So if you're listening to this early in the morning,
Speaker 1: got nothing going on today, get on Solcial, check out
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Speaker 1: throughout the day here on three oh five Day. In
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