Who could the Dolphins take in the NFL Draft to build Vic Fangio’s defense?
Jack Campbell knows at some point in his NFL career, he will be matched up with Tyreek Hill.
It’s inevitable in today’s game, with offenses looking to create mismatches everywhere, especially against a middle linebacker like him.
“I think of a frog,” Campbell, speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine on Wednesday, said about playing linebacker. “You can go in the water, you can go on the land. At linebacker you’ve got to play the run, take on blocks, you’ve got to be able to use your hands. You’ve got to be violent back there. But also you’ve got to drop back into coverage. I’m going to use this guy as an example: Tyreek Hill. I’m going to have Tyreek Hill in the slot, so I have to be able to take on 330-pound guys and defeat them and then go tackle a Nick Chubb. The next play I’m going to have to cover Tyreek Hill.”
For Campbell, that meeting with Hill could come as early as the spring when organized team activities open. The Dolphins, who have five picks in the 2023 NFL Draft and three on Day 2, are looking to build a defense to match the vision of new coordinator Vic Fangio. Miami is seemingly set along its defensive front, with general manager Chris Grier saying he’s looking to keep linemen Christian Wilkins with the team long-term. Players such as outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb are also centerpieces of the unit.
But in the second and third levels of the defense, the Dolphins need starting-caliber players who fit Fangio’s scheme to improve a unit that ranked 24th in points allowed.
At inside linebacker, Elandon Roberts, Duke Riley and Sam Eguavoen are all slated to become unrestricted free agents. Coach Mike McDaniel on Tuesday spoke positively of Channing Tindall, Miami’s top pick in the 2022 Draft, saying that he expects a “big offseason and a big jump in Year 2.” But with Jerome Baker as the only inside linebacker with starting experience on the roster for 2023, Grier on Wednesday said the team would need to “build some depth and create some competition there.”
A player such as Campbell could fit the mold. At Iowa, he received the Butkus Award, given to the nation’s top linebacker. And in a zone-heavy scheme similar to the one the Dolphins will be implementing, Campbell, 6-4 and 218 pounds, excelled not only as a run defender but in pass coverage. In 2022, Campbell recorded a team-high 125 tackles and intercepted two passes.
“Our defensive philosophy is play big zone coverages, make them do 15-play drives, chew off as much clock as you want and make a field goal,” Campbell said.
Uncertainty in the secondary could also lead the Dolphins to use one of their Day 2 picks on a defensive back. Grier did not commit to cornerback Byron Jones being on the team in 2023 after he missed the entirety of the 2022 season following an offseason leg procedure. Fellow corner Nik Needham, who tore his Achilles in Week 6, is a pending unrestricted free agent, while safety Brandon Jones is rehabbing from a torn ACL he sustained in Week 7.
Mississippi State cornerback Emmanuel Forbes is a ballhawk with the skill set to boost a defense that ranked 31st with 14 takeaways last season. During his three-year college career, the 6-0 and 180-pound Forbes led all Power Five cornerbacks with 13 interceptions and six defensive touchdowns. Forbes, who was coincidentally wearing a Marlins hat at his media availability Thursday, said he has met with the Dolphins.
“We ran a 3-3-5 [defense],” Forbes said. “So, it was a lot of man, a lot of zone. [I] had a variety of coverages to run, so I’m very advanced in a lot of coverages.”
At safety, the Dolphins need a running mate with Jevon Holland who can play in a multitude of positions in a defense that typically disguises looks pre- and post-snap. Brandon Jones has excelled a blitzer but has logged more than twice as many snaps in the box (670) as he has in a deep safety alignment (322), according to Pro Football Focus.
Illinois safety Sydney Brown said he met with the Dolphins, both at the Combine and the Senior Bowl in Mobile. While he primarily played in the box in college, Brown, 6-0 and 205 pounds, recorded six interceptions in 2022 and projects as a deep safety in the NFL. An Ontario native who played high school football at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School in Bradenton, Brown is regarded as arguably the most athletic safety in his class. He said he would relish the opportunity to play in South Florida for his professional career.
“I came into college not knowing anything. I knew how to play Cover 1, that was it,” Brown said. “I just made an active effort to learn the game and understand it. I came in with Lovie Smith and I learned what he taught me and when Coach [Bret Bielema] and Coach [Ryan] Walters came through, I understood two different schemes. You’re able to apply all of them and what you know and you learn from both.”
This story was originally published March 2, 2023 at 4:14 PM.
