WEBVTT - Drive Time - Cornerbacks Preview and the Premier Dolphins Camp Matchup 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:07.240 Practice are Dolphins Taffrick touchdown? What a win for this 0:00:07.360 --> 0:00:13.080 Miami Dolphin team. Wow? What is up? Dolphins? And welcome 0:00:13.160 --> 0:00:16.680 to the Drivetime Podcast, part of the Miami Dolphins official 0:00:16.760 --> 0:00:21.319 podcast network, covering your Miami Dolphins each and every day. 0:00:21.520 --> 0:00:24.760 How's it going everybody? It is Tuesday. I am your host, 0:00:25.000 --> 0:00:27.639 Travis Wingfield, and as always I am here to bring 0:00:27.680 --> 0:00:31.080 you your daily dose of Miami Dolphins football. And on 0:00:31.160 --> 0:00:33.839 today's show, the defensive backs are gonna get there go 0:00:34.200 --> 0:00:37.080 on the training camp roster preview series, will break it 0:00:37.080 --> 0:00:41.400 down into cornerbacks and safeties. Safeties tomorrow, Corners up. Today 0:00:41.600 --> 0:00:44.800 we'll talk about separation created stats among white outs and 0:00:44.960 --> 0:00:48.280 corners and the value of contestant catches. And we'll put 0:00:48.320 --> 0:00:50.519 those two together and look at one of the premier 0:00:50.560 --> 0:00:53.159 matchups at Dolphins Camp. I'll give you some of the 0:00:53.200 --> 0:00:56.560 best quotes from Jerome Baker's Reddit. Asked me anything from 0:00:56.600 --> 0:00:59.960 Tuesday morning, and I'll get some thoughts on last Chance 0:01:00.080 --> 0:01:02.520 You and a food delivery service app that did me 0:01:02.600 --> 0:01:04.920 wrong on Monday night. All of that and more on 0:01:04.959 --> 0:01:10.400 this Tuesday, August the eleventh edition of the Drive Time Podcast. 0:01:12.040 --> 0:01:14.200 One of my favorite things about doing the podcast and 0:01:14.240 --> 0:01:17.280 having the kind of open line of communication with the 0:01:17.319 --> 0:01:20.120 fans of the team and listeners of the show, is 0:01:20.160 --> 0:01:23.039 that when something comes across my timeline or across my desk, 0:01:23.200 --> 0:01:25.360 whatever you want to call that, that's good enough for 0:01:25.400 --> 0:01:27.679 an entire show topic. And we're gonna get into the 0:01:27.720 --> 0:01:30.520 cornerback preview here in just one moment on the podcast. 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:32.840 And I'm still for that because I have tons of 0:01:32.880 --> 0:01:35.120 good nuggets on these guys in that room. And I've 0:01:35.160 --> 0:01:37.959 also tweeted before about some of the potential matchups we're 0:01:37.959 --> 0:01:41.319 gonna see at Dolphins training camp practice. These are the 0:01:41.360 --> 0:01:44.520 guys that will go up against the cornerbacks, the wide receivers, 0:01:44.840 --> 0:01:48.160 and about the importance of separation created It's a long 0:01:48.240 --> 0:01:51.520 form study produced by five thirty eight dot com. It 0:01:51.640 --> 0:01:54.040 was written by Josh Hermsmeyer and it was brought to 0:01:54.080 --> 0:01:57.280 my attention on Twitter by user at d Wildermouth, Thank you, 0:01:57.400 --> 0:02:00.559 Mr Muth. And they created and measured a stat called 0:02:00.600 --> 0:02:03.960 separation over expected, a stat that accounts for the number 0:02:04.000 --> 0:02:07.560 of variables like distance of target route ran, the coverage, 0:02:07.600 --> 0:02:11.240 the quarterback's arm strength, and anticipation skills. A multitude of 0:02:11.280 --> 0:02:14.000 statistics went into this idea, and of course, as we 0:02:14.040 --> 0:02:16.240 do here on drive time, I wanted to relate it 0:02:16.360 --> 0:02:19.160 to the dolphins and their receivers. So the first graph 0:02:19.200 --> 0:02:22.560 in the story is a cumulative average separation chart by 0:02:22.600 --> 0:02:25.840 distance or yards of the target, and it dates back 0:02:25.840 --> 0:02:28.680 to seen So it's a three year study. And they 0:02:28.720 --> 0:02:32.160 differentiate between play action and non play action passes, which 0:02:32.200 --> 0:02:35.160 of course makes sense because that deception on the play 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:37.760 call can create some hesitation by even a step or 0:02:37.800 --> 0:02:40.320 two by the defensive back and that changes the idea 0:02:40.639 --> 0:02:44.240 of the study. So using nonplay pass the average separation 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:46.560 on a pass at zero yards right at the line 0:02:46.600 --> 0:02:49.600 of scrimmage is about four yards of separation. Essentially, your 0:02:49.600 --> 0:02:52.520 screen calls right and that distance stays similar up through 0:02:52.560 --> 0:02:54.920 about eight to nine yards off the line. Then it 0:02:54.960 --> 0:02:57.000 starts to tell off. By the time you're down the 0:02:57.000 --> 0:03:01.000 field twelve yards, that average separation created has already dropped 0:03:01.040 --> 0:03:03.960 to a full yard down to three yards of separation. 0:03:04.280 --> 0:03:06.359 Get to twenty yards downfield, it's at two and a 0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:08.880 half and by thirty yards it's all the way down 0:03:09.000 --> 0:03:11.639 to two yards of separation. So where am I going 0:03:11.680 --> 0:03:13.800 with this? Well, you listen to the show, you know 0:03:13.880 --> 0:03:16.760 there's always an end destination to what we're talking about here. 0:03:16.919 --> 0:03:19.600 I'm heading for the forest, to the forest to find 0:03:19.639 --> 0:03:22.440 some trees, and those trees are called DeVante Parker and 0:03:22.440 --> 0:03:25.320 Preston Williams. And the Dolphins don't have any players on 0:03:25.360 --> 0:03:29.359 the highest separation verse expected or the worst s o 0:03:29.520 --> 0:03:32.360 E list on the short targets, the quick targets under 0:03:32.360 --> 0:03:35.000 ten yards, and that's primarily gonna be your inside guys 0:03:35.040 --> 0:03:38.280 like slot receivers, tight ends, running backs, and that makes sense, right, 0:03:38.280 --> 0:03:40.720 the guys that uncover the quickest inside there closest to 0:03:40.720 --> 0:03:42.960 the quarterback. And we also don't have anybody on the 0:03:43.000 --> 0:03:46.120 best or worst list for intermediate passes, and that further 0:03:46.160 --> 0:03:48.440 you get into the study. That's where my point starts 0:03:48.480 --> 0:03:51.560 to really resonate about what this list means for contestant 0:03:51.600 --> 0:03:54.880 catches and separation of the receivers in the NFL. And 0:03:54.920 --> 0:03:57.440 you look at the list of the worst separation over 0:03:57.560 --> 0:04:01.520 expected in the intermediate portion of the field, DeAndre Hopkins, 0:04:01.560 --> 0:04:04.080 who for my money is the best damn receiver in 0:04:04.120 --> 0:04:06.440 the league, is on the bottom of that list. Not 0:04:06.600 --> 0:04:10.560 only his twenty nineteen season ranks dead last eighteen season 0:04:10.840 --> 0:04:13.560 is third from bottom. You've got t Y Hilton, Kenny 0:04:13.600 --> 0:04:17.880 Golladay twice on the list, Allen Robinson, Julio Jones is 0:04:17.920 --> 0:04:20.159 on that list. So let me get to the deep balls. 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:22.240 And we do have a dolphin on one of the lists. 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:25.000 It's Devonte Parker and it's on the bottom of the list. 0:04:25.200 --> 0:04:28.200 He's surrounded by the likes of Odell Beckham, Mike Evans, 0:04:28.320 --> 0:04:32.000 Larry Fitzgerald, Jarvis Landry, even Tyler Lockett, who is known 0:04:32.240 --> 0:04:34.839 for his vertical exploits down the football field. All of 0:04:34.880 --> 0:04:37.640 those guys are on this list. Now I may have 0:04:37.680 --> 0:04:40.120 lost you again as you wonder, Travis, where the hell 0:04:40.120 --> 0:04:42.080 are we going here? We'll just buckle up and let 0:04:42.080 --> 0:04:44.760 me drive us there. When scouting players at the college level, 0:04:44.960 --> 0:04:48.039 I've seen the debate about contested catches. I remember Tee 0:04:48.080 --> 0:04:52.000 Higgins last year from Clemson making play after play after play. 0:04:52.120 --> 0:04:54.479 Eventually he goes to the thirty third overall pick to 0:04:54.520 --> 0:04:57.440 the Cincinnati Bengals, and I came across a comment one time, 0:04:57.640 --> 0:04:59.680 and I forget who it was from draft Twitter is 0:04:59.680 --> 0:05:03.000 a va vast place, saying that those contested catches make 0:05:03.120 --> 0:05:06.680 said scout wary because he should be creating more consistent 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:09.560 separation at the college level. But the other side says, 0:05:09.600 --> 0:05:11.800 at a certain point, that's just who a player is, 0:05:11.839 --> 0:05:15.440 a guy that can outrebound everybody at any given time. 0:05:15.880 --> 0:05:18.279 And something of a sidebar that I think factors into 0:05:18.320 --> 0:05:21.200 the conversation was on Twitter again earlier in the week 0:05:21.360 --> 0:05:23.960 and Lance Zerline, who we reference on this podcast all 0:05:24.000 --> 0:05:26.599 the time, from NFL dot Com, was showing off some 0:05:26.720 --> 0:05:29.560 Rondale More clips, the perdue wide receiver who will enter 0:05:29.560 --> 0:05:32.640 the draft next year, about how he patiently attacks the 0:05:32.680 --> 0:05:35.599 cornerback and gets the corner to commit his play side 0:05:35.640 --> 0:05:38.520 or boundary side hip and then cross his face accordingly, 0:05:38.800 --> 0:05:41.200 and a former NFL player in that thread, I think 0:05:41.240 --> 0:05:44.080 it was Darius Butler said the cornerback has to know 0:05:44.400 --> 0:05:47.360 that in a four by one formation, the backside receiver 0:05:47.640 --> 0:05:49.960 the one of the four by one. He has to 0:05:50.000 --> 0:05:52.680 know the likelihood of that route being a slant is 0:05:52.680 --> 0:05:55.560 a very very high likelihood. And some other NFL guys 0:05:55.600 --> 0:05:58.120 replied in the conversation turned into how tough it is 0:05:58.279 --> 0:06:02.000 to create consistent separation at the NFL level. Cornerbacks just 0:06:02.080 --> 0:06:04.880 do not let you get wide open at this level, 0:06:05.360 --> 0:06:08.360 and that's where this entire point comes to its climax. 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:12.200 If Mike Evans, DeAndre Hopkins, Julio Jones, the game's premier 0:06:12.279 --> 0:06:15.880 receivers are creating minimal separation, then how do we think 0:06:15.880 --> 0:06:18.880 they are catching one hundred balls for dred yards and 0:06:18.920 --> 0:06:22.960 ten touchdowns every single year? Because they catch contested footballs. 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:25.640 And that was DeVante Parker's game last year. It's been 0:06:25.680 --> 0:06:28.440 his game since forever. I broke this down on the 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:31.239 Wide Receiver Pod a couple of weeks back, talking about 0:06:31.279 --> 0:06:34.000 his ability to use his frame to force the defender 0:06:34.120 --> 0:06:36.200 to try to play through him, and that can cause 0:06:36.279 --> 0:06:38.440 either a lack of play on the ball or a 0:06:38.440 --> 0:06:41.479 past interference call. We saw in Devonte's rookie year. We 0:06:41.520 --> 0:06:44.200 saw it with Tannehill, Cutler, Matt Moore. We saw a 0:06:44.200 --> 0:06:47.960 ton last year with Ryan Fitzpatrick. The passes against the Eagles, 0:06:48.120 --> 0:06:50.960 the touchdown in the Jets game at home, the touchdown 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:53.960 against the Giants, the flee flicker against the Bengals, that 0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:57.120 post route in the opener against Baltimore. It's become his 0:06:57.200 --> 0:07:00.320 signature play, skying above the defensive back and pulling the 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:04.120 football down contested, the signature play that created the second 0:07:04.160 --> 0:07:07.080 most yards on contested catches in the NFL last year, 0:07:07.120 --> 0:07:10.080 according to rohto baller dot com, he had four hundred 0:07:10.160 --> 0:07:13.160 yards that was second to Kenny Golladay in Detroit. He 0:07:13.280 --> 0:07:16.840 was fourth on player profile dot COM's completed air yards 0:07:16.920 --> 0:07:20.120 that's attacking vertically down the football field fifth and total 0:07:20.160 --> 0:07:23.440 distance of target number five in terms of volume deep 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:26.480 targets and fourth in the NFL. And yards gained on 0:07:26.560 --> 0:07:29.840 passes thrown twenty plus yards downfield with four hundred and 0:07:29.840 --> 0:07:32.760 seventy eight yards there and second and touchdowns on those 0:07:32.760 --> 0:07:36.040 deep passes with five. And he was eight in the 0:07:36.160 --> 0:07:39.600 league in contested catch rate at fifty one point four percent. 0:07:39.840 --> 0:07:42.320 How tough does that have to be on defensive back 0:07:42.520 --> 0:07:46.960 who's in prime position with no separation whatsoever, and Davante 0:07:47.040 --> 0:07:49.320 is still pulling down more than half of those balls 0:07:49.600 --> 0:07:52.040 even when the coverage is good. It's like in baseball, 0:07:52.040 --> 0:07:53.600 you do your job right, you hit a line drive 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:55.960 into the gap and the right fielder comes over and 0:07:56.000 --> 0:07:58.040 dives and makes a great catch. You hit the balls 0:07:58.040 --> 0:07:59.760 hard as you could, but it just went right to 0:07:59.800 --> 0:08:02.840 a It's the same idea here. Preston Williams was tenth 0:08:02.840 --> 0:08:05.960 and average target distance per player profile dot Com. He 0:08:06.080 --> 0:08:09.559 was fourteenth and contested catch rate, pulling down forty seven 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:12.640 point six percent of those contested footballs. He was fifty 0:08:12.720 --> 0:08:16.280 seven in yards on passes throwing twenty yards or more 0:08:16.280 --> 0:08:19.280 down the field with one forty three, but that was 0:08:19.320 --> 0:08:21.360 from half of a season. You pro orate that to 0:08:21.400 --> 0:08:24.080 two six yards, doubling it up, and he's in the 0:08:24.080 --> 0:08:27.360 top twenty there as well. So vertical passing threats with 0:08:27.480 --> 0:08:30.440 that height who excel in a game where the average 0:08:30.480 --> 0:08:33.640 separation is less than two yards that far down the field. 0:08:33.960 --> 0:08:37.240 That is an exciting development that we had in and 0:08:37.280 --> 0:08:41.280 hopefully continues on into and back to Parker here real quick, 0:08:41.400 --> 0:08:43.880 as a little transition into our cornerback preview, I want 0:08:43.920 --> 0:08:46.280 to start adding in some camp battles that I'm super 0:08:46.320 --> 0:08:48.320 intrigued by over the next couple of days here on 0:08:48.320 --> 0:08:51.440 the Drivetime Podcast part of the Miami Dolphins podcast network. 0:08:51.600 --> 0:08:54.800 And to clarify, not actual position battles like who's gonna 0:08:54.800 --> 0:08:57.960 win the slot cornerback job or who wins the right tackle, 0:08:58.040 --> 0:09:00.920 right guard, whatever offensive line position is up for grabs, 0:09:01.120 --> 0:09:03.680 but the best matchup that we get with regards to 0:09:03.679 --> 0:09:06.160 the one on one matchups or in the team periods 0:09:06.280 --> 0:09:08.640 going against each other, and it's got to be Devanta 0:09:08.760 --> 0:09:12.080 Parker on Byron Jones. I like the idea of doing 0:09:12.120 --> 0:09:14.440 something of a tale of the Tape on these And 0:09:14.480 --> 0:09:17.000 since we already gave you the rundown on Devanta Parker's 0:09:17.080 --> 0:09:19.480 data and what led to him being the fifth leading 0:09:19.520 --> 0:09:22.760 receiver in the entire National Football League, fourth among all 0:09:22.840 --> 0:09:26.080 wide doubts and this battle of contested catches that I 0:09:26.080 --> 0:09:27.960 can't wait to see on the field, let's talk about 0:09:28.000 --> 0:09:30.280 Byron Jones, who was near the top of the leader 0:09:30.320 --> 0:09:34.000 board and so many big time advanced metric categories. Player 0:09:34.040 --> 0:09:36.840 Profile had him at number two and yards per target 0:09:36.880 --> 0:09:41.000 allowed number seven, and total cumulative yards allowed on the 0:09:41.080 --> 0:09:44.440 season number nine and receptions allowed, and he was fourth 0:09:44.480 --> 0:09:47.360 in catch rate allowed, so that tells you that he too, 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:49.839 is frequently in good position. But as we learned from 0:09:49.880 --> 0:09:53.240 Devanta Parker stats, that doesn't always matter because when UNC 0:09:53.360 --> 0:09:55.520 wants the ball, Unk's gonna go get it. And I'm 0:09:55.520 --> 0:09:58.120 not much for fantasy football, but they do have Jones 0:09:58.160 --> 0:10:01.360 at number one and fantasy point allowed per coverage snap 0:10:01.520 --> 0:10:04.400 number five and points allowed per target number three and 0:10:04.520 --> 0:10:07.720 total fantasy points allowed and fourth and catch rate and 0:10:07.800 --> 0:10:10.320 fourth in their stat that they call a coverage rating. 0:10:10.360 --> 0:10:12.920 So top five across the board there in terms of 0:10:12.960 --> 0:10:15.600 permitting fantasy guys from going off against him on the 0:10:15.640 --> 0:10:17.480 offensive side of the ball. And let's do one more 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:20.880 here for good measure, here's a next gen stat the 0:10:20.960 --> 0:10:25.000 details tight window throws as created by NFL next Gen Stats. 0:10:25.600 --> 0:10:29.120 Fifty percent of throws to Byron Jones last year to 0:10:29.280 --> 0:10:32.400 his man and coverage wound up being what they considered 0:10:32.679 --> 0:10:35.720 tight window throws. As I put air quotes on a podcast, 0:10:35.880 --> 0:10:38.079 has never worked in the history of podcasts, but I'll 0:10:38.160 --> 0:10:40.559 keep on doing it. But fifty percent of throws at 0:10:40.559 --> 0:10:43.760 Byron jones man last year were tight window throws. That 0:10:43.800 --> 0:10:46.640 was by far the best in the NFL. Number two 0:10:46.720 --> 0:10:50.400 was Jamale Dean of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He forced 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:53.440 forty eight percent of throws at his man to be 0:10:53.520 --> 0:10:56.640 into tight windows. Trey Herndon and Casey Hayward were next 0:10:56.640 --> 0:10:58.760 on that list, and for good measure, the two all 0:10:58.800 --> 0:11:01.439 Pro cornerbacks and staff On Gilmour and Trey White were 0:11:02.720 --> 0:11:05.760 in that stat respectively, So some good company there for 0:11:05.840 --> 0:11:07.960 Byron Jones to be in. So when it is Jones 0:11:08.080 --> 0:11:11.079 versus Parker, there's gonna be tight coverage because they're almost 0:11:11.120 --> 0:11:13.600 always is in the NFL, especially going up against the 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:16.240 cornerback like Jones who can stay in that hip pocket 0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:18.880 so well, there's gonna be an all out, no holds 0:11:18.920 --> 0:11:21.920 bar battle, a cage match, only instead of trying to 0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:23.880 go up and get a championship belt off the top 0:11:23.920 --> 0:11:27.000 of the cage, they're trying to pull footballs down. And 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:30.600 that satisfies my wrestling reference quota here on the podcast 0:11:30.679 --> 0:11:33.000 for the rest of the entire season. Let's go ahead 0:11:33.040 --> 0:11:35.920 now and transition up to the piece on Miami Dolphins 0:11:35.920 --> 0:11:38.000 dot Com as we continue on as we have for 0:11:38.040 --> 0:11:39.960 a couple of weeks now taking a look at every 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:43.000 position on this Miami Dolphins roster with the training camp 0:11:43.080 --> 0:11:45.880 roster preview series, and today we do go in to 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:48.760 the cornerback room that was coached last year by Josh Boyer. 0:11:48.800 --> 0:11:51.480 This year, Jeral Alexander takes things over as Boyer gets 0:11:51.480 --> 0:11:54.800 the promotion to defensive coordinator. And there's so many cool 0:11:54.800 --> 0:11:57.560 stats in this group from Pro Football Focus and otherwise. 0:11:57.600 --> 0:11:58.880 I want to go ahead and go through some of 0:11:58.920 --> 0:12:00.959 that stuff for you guys here on this edition of 0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:04.480 Drive Time, we start again in order of jersey number, 0:12:04.520 --> 0:12:06.959 which means number twenty two. Tay Hayes is up first. 0:12:07.160 --> 0:12:09.520 His first recruit season last year in the NFL, entering 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:13.000 number two with the Miami Dolphins, Appalachian state product number 0:12:13.000 --> 0:12:15.400 twenty three on the jersey, and he was really thrust, 0:12:15.480 --> 0:12:17.280 as some of these guys were late in the season 0:12:17.440 --> 0:12:20.040 into that sinker swim situation. Get on the field, how 0:12:20.040 --> 0:12:22.120 can you perform? And he did really well from the 0:12:22.120 --> 0:12:25.760 metric standpoint. The December waiver claim was targeted sixteen times 0:12:25.760 --> 0:12:29.040 in two games, one and seven snaps on defense, twenty 0:12:29.080 --> 0:12:31.400 on special teams. So he got here and he played 0:12:31.440 --> 0:12:35.000 right away, and on those sixteen targets, he allowed three completions. 0:12:35.240 --> 0:12:38.200 That's eight teen point eight percent completion for fifty five 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:41.600 yards three point four four yards per target. And just 0:12:41.679 --> 0:12:44.080 for a reference point on that last step, the best 0:12:44.080 --> 0:12:46.120 guys in the league are usually up around nine yards 0:12:46.120 --> 0:12:48.840 per target, the best receivers, and that kind of Mendoza 0:12:48.880 --> 0:12:51.240 line where it's like above average or below, it's right 0:12:51.240 --> 0:12:53.400 around seven seven and a half yards per target. So 0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:56.760 tay Hayes, although on a very short sample size three 0:12:56.760 --> 0:12:58.960 point four or four yards per target, with two pass 0:12:59.000 --> 0:13:01.440 breakups and a path star rating against of just forty 0:13:01.480 --> 0:13:04.120 one point four. He also chipped in with seven tackles, 0:13:04.280 --> 0:13:07.160 three of those for run stops. He earned comprehensive praise 0:13:07.320 --> 0:13:10.079 for his coverage and tackling from Brian Flores last year, 0:13:10.080 --> 0:13:12.240 who said, quote, t jumped right in and played a 0:13:12.240 --> 0:13:14.680 significant amount of snaps last week in his first game 0:13:14.679 --> 0:13:17.479 against Cincinnati. He made a few plays and was competitive 0:13:17.520 --> 0:13:19.800 on most of the coverage. I thought he tackled well. 0:13:20.000 --> 0:13:22.120 It's a good start. I think we need to build 0:13:22.120 --> 0:13:24.960 on that in practice meetings and walk throughs and hopefully 0:13:25.000 --> 0:13:28.360 duplicate that type of performance again. And quote up next. 0:13:28.360 --> 0:13:30.559 We talked about him already a little bit. The Dolphins 0:13:30.559 --> 0:13:32.800 free agent signing in the off season at the position 0:13:32.880 --> 0:13:36.200 Byron Jones five seasons there in Dallas, coming over for 0:13:36.320 --> 0:13:39.120 his first in Miami, number twenty four. He was thirty 0:13:39.120 --> 0:13:41.880 one in Dallas, twenty four here out of Connecticut, twenty 0:13:41.920 --> 0:13:43.719 seven years old on opening day. Is still a very 0:13:43.760 --> 0:13:45.800 young player, and there are many traits to point to 0:13:45.840 --> 0:13:49.640 Byron Jones really as the quintessential cornerback. He's durable, he 0:13:49.720 --> 0:13:53.000 missed one game in five years. He's physical and effective 0:13:53.040 --> 0:13:55.920 against the run, three d and forty nine career tackles. 0:13:55.960 --> 0:13:58.880 He's versatile two thousand and sixty seven career snaps as 0:13:58.920 --> 0:14:01.680 a corner, two thous an eight hundred thirty six as 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:05.559 a safety, and most importantly, he is a blanket and coverage. 0:14:05.600 --> 0:14:09.480 Since switching to cornerback full time and eighteen, Jones has 0:14:09.520 --> 0:14:12.400 allowed seventy six catches on one D and thirty six 0:14:12.400 --> 0:14:15.440 targets at a completion rate of just fifty five point 0:14:15.520 --> 0:14:18.560 eight percent. And we heard Flores talk about Jones on 0:14:18.640 --> 0:14:21.680 his Monday media availability earlier in the week, talking about 0:14:21.680 --> 0:14:24.960 a smart, tough player, guy that can tackle, good coverage skills, 0:14:24.960 --> 0:14:27.920 good length, good leadership qualities, a talented player that we're 0:14:27.920 --> 0:14:30.480 happy to have. And speaking of that toughness, there was 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:32.480 a play a couple of years back. I forget the game, 0:14:32.480 --> 0:14:35.400 I forget which year, exactly where they showed Byron Jones 0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:37.560 knee kind of pop out of place. There, he pops 0:14:37.560 --> 0:14:40.240 it back in, stands back up, doesn't miss a snap. Tough, 0:14:40.640 --> 0:14:44.200 durable player and Byron Jones and he is an athletic 0:14:44.280 --> 0:14:48.000 marvel to the t blew the doors off NFL combine. 0:14:48.160 --> 0:14:52.240 He paced all dbs and several categories like the vertical 0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:54.640 jump at forty four and a half inches, the broad 0:14:54.720 --> 0:14:57.200 jump which is still a world record to this day 0:14:57.280 --> 0:15:00.760 at one forty seven inches, three cone six point seven 0:15:00.800 --> 0:15:03.800 eight seconds, twenty yard shuttle under four seconds, a sixty 0:15:03.840 --> 0:15:06.640 yard shuttle under eleven seconds. He has rare length and 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:09.800 athletic combination, and that makes him a difficult task for 0:15:09.840 --> 0:15:12.400 receivers to earn clean releases on when he lines up 0:15:12.400 --> 0:15:15.240 in that press man coverage. He has the relative athletics 0:15:15.240 --> 0:15:18.800 scorecard of near perfection kent Lee Platts r a S 0:15:18.800 --> 0:15:22.720 scorecard out of ten, which takes all athletic testing at 0:15:22.720 --> 0:15:25.040 the combine, protas and stuff and puts it into an 0:15:25.080 --> 0:15:28.080 ultimate score out of ten. He ranked nine nine six 0:15:28.160 --> 0:15:31.000 on that scorecard. Again, that world record broad jump and 0:15:31.080 --> 0:15:33.800 the forty four and a half inch vertical just ridiculous 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:37.000 testing metrics there for Byron Jones and player profile dot 0:15:37.080 --> 0:15:39.840 Com to reference them once more. Has him ranked second 0:15:39.840 --> 0:15:42.960 and yards per target allowed at five point one. Last season, 0:15:43.160 --> 0:15:45.560 he allowed the ninth fewest receptions per game and two 0:15:45.600 --> 0:15:48.640 point two and the fourth fewest yards with three fifty one, 0:15:48.800 --> 0:15:51.200 and he ranked fourth in both coverage rating and catch 0:15:51.280 --> 0:15:55.320 rate allowed last year among all National Football League cornerbacks. 0:15:55.560 --> 0:15:57.800 Up next on our list, another guy that locks things 0:15:57.880 --> 0:16:00.600 down on the outside, Xavian Howard four more seasons here 0:16:00.600 --> 0:16:03.680 in Miami, entering number five, number twenty five out of Baylor. 0:16:03.720 --> 0:16:06.000 Twenty seven years old on opening day, so both he 0:16:06.080 --> 0:16:09.280 and Byron Jones twenty seven years old. Since x entered 0:16:09.280 --> 0:16:11.560 the league back in twenty sixteen, he has as many 0:16:11.560 --> 0:16:15.680 interceptions thirteen as touchdowns allowed per Pro Football Focus. He's 0:16:15.720 --> 0:16:19.000 limited opposing quarterbacks to a seventy five point three passer 0:16:19.080 --> 0:16:21.760 rating and a completion rate of just fifty five point 0:16:21.800 --> 0:16:25.040 four percent. Playing the football and disrupting the timing of 0:16:25.040 --> 0:16:27.440 the passing game are two of the Feathers and Howard's 0:16:27.440 --> 0:16:30.160 cap But he's also a very efficient tackler one d 0:16:30.360 --> 0:16:34.240 forty tackles, twenty four missed opportunities, so five percent tackle 0:16:34.360 --> 0:16:36.720 rate very good numbers out there on the edge. He 0:16:36.760 --> 0:16:39.760 plays the game with physicality and confidence. Nothing is easy 0:16:39.920 --> 0:16:43.200 when facing twenty five and aqua. He will challenge receivers 0:16:43.240 --> 0:16:45.800 every step of the way on the route at the line, 0:16:46.080 --> 0:16:48.000 at the top of the stem, at the catch point. 0:16:48.160 --> 0:16:50.400 I thought the interception last year in the Pittsburgh game, 0:16:50.520 --> 0:16:53.600 going up against Juju Smith Schuster was a great example 0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:56.080 of how physical and how challenging he can be to 0:16:56.120 --> 0:16:58.800 a receiver every step of the way, making you earn 0:16:58.840 --> 0:17:01.680 everything you get. Dolphins extended Howard in the spring of 0:17:01.720 --> 0:17:04.280 twenty nineteen, and Brian Flores had this to say about 0:17:04.280 --> 0:17:07.400 the abilities of X. Quote. He's got good length, he's 0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:09.720 got good strength at the line of scrimmage, He's got 0:17:09.720 --> 0:17:12.080 really good ball skills. He tackles well. I think he's 0:17:12.119 --> 0:17:14.840 just a good overall player. Again, he doesn't have all 0:17:14.880 --> 0:17:17.440 the answers. He's not the perfect player. I don't think 0:17:17.480 --> 0:17:20.560 there is one. Obviously, it's an imperfect game. But he 0:17:20.600 --> 0:17:22.320 does a lot of the things that we like and 0:17:22.400 --> 0:17:25.119 he's a team player. End quote. Up next on the 0:17:25.200 --> 0:17:28.640 cornerback preview jersey number thirty for the Miami Dolphins. Nate 0:17:28.640 --> 0:17:30.480 Brooks another one of these guys that came in late 0:17:30.560 --> 0:17:32.840 last year and had some pop his first season in 0:17:32.880 --> 0:17:35.760 the NFL last year, second entering here with the Dolphins 0:17:35.760 --> 0:17:38.520 out of North Texas. Twenty four years old, he signed 0:17:38.520 --> 0:17:41.600 as an undrafted free agent with the Cardinals in twenty nineteen, 0:17:41.760 --> 0:17:44.639 found his way onto the Patriots practice squad. Then on 0:17:44.720 --> 0:17:47.960 December tenth, the Dolphins signed Brooks and elevated him to 0:17:48.040 --> 0:17:50.800 the active roster. He played three games for the Dolphins, 0:17:50.960 --> 0:17:54.520 total nine one snaps on defense and fourteen on special teams. 0:17:54.680 --> 0:17:57.399 He started the Week seventeen win in New England and 0:17:57.400 --> 0:18:00.320 played the third most snaps among Dolphins cornerbacks. In that game, 0:18:00.480 --> 0:18:03.560 he permitted only two catches on five targets, playing twenty 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:06.080 eight of his thirty snaps as a perimeter corner. He 0:18:06.160 --> 0:18:08.760 broke up one pass, didn't miss a tackle on eleven 0:18:08.760 --> 0:18:12.000 attempts all season long, and also chipped in with a 0:18:12.119 --> 0:18:15.840 run stop. So some late season success there for Nate Brooks. 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:17.720 Tay Hey some of the guys that got called up 0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:20.320 late in the year and performed well down the stretch 0:18:20.520 --> 0:18:23.000 for the Miami Dolphins. Another guy that got called into 0:18:23.040 --> 0:18:25.960 the lineup after not playing much early on is Ken Webster. 0:18:26.240 --> 0:18:28.960 His first accrued season last year, entering number two with 0:18:29.080 --> 0:18:31.760 the Miami Dolphins, number thirty one out of Old Miss 0:18:31.960 --> 0:18:34.199 twenty four years old on opening day, and again he 0:18:34.200 --> 0:18:36.680 played sparingly through the first three games of the season, 0:18:36.880 --> 0:18:39.320 just nine snaps on defense and then he was called 0:18:39.400 --> 0:18:41.639 up for two hundred and seventeen snaps. The rest of 0:18:41.680 --> 0:18:44.280 the way, he made nineteen tackles and didn't miss one 0:18:44.400 --> 0:18:47.240 one percent tackler on the edge. He was terrific at 0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:50.440 getting ball carriers to the ground, wrapping, squeezing, pulling him down, 0:18:50.600 --> 0:18:53.040 and four of those tackles were run stops within two 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:55.800 yards of the line of scrimmage. And among some other 0:18:55.840 --> 0:18:58.639 young cornerbacks, he earned some praise from coach Flores for 0:18:58.720 --> 0:19:01.080 what they bring to the table. I think those guys 0:19:01.080 --> 0:19:03.840 play hard. Talking about Ken Webster, they worked the techniques, 0:19:03.960 --> 0:19:05.919 they try to be physical at the line of scrimmage. 0:19:06.000 --> 0:19:08.280 All those guys can run pretty well. We're trying to 0:19:08.320 --> 0:19:10.440 develop everyone on the team. I think you can kind 0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:13.000 of see some progress in the back end with those guys. Look, 0:19:13.000 --> 0:19:15.520 they're all hard working kids. It's very important to each 0:19:15.520 --> 0:19:18.159 one of them. They listen, they're attentive, and they've had 0:19:18.160 --> 0:19:20.080 a little bit of production and quote he was talking 0:19:20.080 --> 0:19:22.600 about Nick need Hum and Ken Webster in that quote 0:19:22.680 --> 0:19:25.639 right there, and on the topic of young cornerbacks on 0:19:25.640 --> 0:19:29.119 this Dolphins roster. Jamal Perry is up next first season 0:19:29.119 --> 0:19:32.000 in the NFL entering number two here with the Miami Dolphins. 0:19:32.040 --> 0:19:34.240 I should say, first a crude season, he was on 0:19:34.280 --> 0:19:37.000