Dolphins say media is more worried about secondary than they are. Here’s why
Two years ago, Dolphins general manager Chris Grier delivered a line that he has never been able to live down among fans, when he said “you guys are probably more worried than we are” about depth on the offensive line and tight end.
On Monday, the team’s secondary coach offered similar sentiments about a unit that has one former Pro Bowler (Minkah Fitzpatrick) but a lot of question marks otherwise.
“There’s a bunch of guys maybe you guys haven’t seen that you guys are probably bit more worried [than us],” Brian Duker said. “I’m encouraged about the guys that have gone out every day. I like how they’re executing. I don’t have concerns about that. I feel very good about the guys we have. There are some guys that maybe don’t have the stripes on the wall yet but they’re going to have good seasons.”
Duker and cornerbacks coach Mathieu Araujo sized up the cornerbacks competing for roles:
▪ Araujo, on second-year player Storm Duck, who has emerged as a strong contender for a starting job: “Storm’s consistency has been his biggest strength this offseason. Last year, he was.. playing with… great effort” and it was challenging to apply technique because “it was all coming at him fast and he was learning on the fly.
“This offseason and through this preseason, he’s been able to apply technique but now [he’s] seeing what the offense is giving him and being able to play with more anticipation. He’s stacking days of consistent play. That, to me, has been his biggest strength.”
Would Araujo be comfortable if Duck is starting in the opener Sept. 7 at the Colts? “Yeah.. the guys who [show consistency] and show they will do that at the highest production rate, those are the guys that will earn those spots.”
▪ Duker, on whether it’s disappointing that Cam Smith is injured again: “Yeah. We want him out there and be able to stack reps. Missed opportunity but opportunity for somebody else to take advantage of those as well.”
Duker said one goal should be “trying to be able to be durable and avoid the injuries. He’s got to consistently put that on tape. It’s something he’s working through still.”
Araujo said: “Whatever those individual things are that have shown up that have kept him off [the field], we need those to alleviate so we can get him on the field and continue to progress his technique.” ▪ Duker, on rookie fifth-rounder Jason Marshall Jr.: “Jason has shown to be a big, physical corner that has good movement skills. He had a really nice interception in practice. Like his physicality. His versatility, good movement, good quickness, good hips. He was a guy we were excited about in the draft, and he’s come out and continues to grow our excitement about him. I think he’ll be a good player for us.”
▪ Araujo, on veteran addition Jack Jones, who has a knack for takeaways but also was burned for eight touchdowns for Las Vegas last season and occasionally so far in camp:
“Jack is a sparkplug. His energy, his love for the game you see through his tape… You see how much he cares about the game. It’s taking all that energy and streamlining it into a place of focused technique, discipline and play style. That’s what we’re working on…. You will see a polished version of him as he continues to grow in his career and streamline all of his energy into the right place with technique and eye discipline.”
▪ Araujo, on new veteran slot cornerback Mike Hilton: “There’s always that level of being comfortable when you have guys that have done it before. I give coaching points but when you have players who have done it and they gave same coaching points or different insight, that catches the players’ ear a lot as well. Having that veteran presence is great.”
▪ Araujo on veteran Kendall Sheffield, who hasn’t started an NFL game since 2020 but is pushing for a significant role: “He’s been phenomenal. He came in as a rookie minicamp as a veteran and earned his way all the way to where you see him producing on the field.”
▪ Araujo, on undrafted rookies BJ Adams and Ethan Robinson:
“They both have great strengths. BJ is kind of like that corner mind-set. He doesn’t get shaken. He thinks he’s going to win every rep and he’s got the ability to win every rep. He’s got that mindset you need to play on the outside.
“Ethan on the inside is extremely versatile, has great technique, but also sees the game well and is really savvy for a young player. Really excited about what they’ve shown so far.”
▪ Araujo on Ethan Bonner: “Ethan’s consistency this year has been the best he has shown up to this point... It comes with improved technique. His footwork, especially on the line of scrimmage, he put in so much time and it’s shown. Kudos to him. We put a plan together and he went after it and he’s done an amazing job and you see more consistent play because of that.” As for the two likely starting safeties, Duker had this assessment:
▪ On Fitzpatrick: “Minkah is a great player, right?. Does a heck of a job on the back end. Very smart player. Gets the ball back. Very versatile. You can use him in a ton of ways. He just makes our secondary better immediately just from adding a good player there. On top of that, what Minkah brings is he’s a really good person and a really good professional. The off field stuff gives some of our younger players somebody to look after, this is how it’s done and someone they can try to emulate a little bit.”
▪On Ifeatu Melifonwu, who came off the non-football injury list on Sunday: “Iffy has got a lot of really good traits. I had Iffy in Detroit and knew already that he was a really good person and very intelligent player. On tape, everyone is able to see is he has great size and speed and really good physical player. Does a nice job using his hands and has good ball skills.” In explaining why he’s confident in this group of defensive backs, Duker seemed to reference Miami’s elite ‘No Name Defense’ in the 1970s.
“In the past, Miami had a lot of defenses that didn’t have guys with a lot of big names that played really good defense. There’s a history there…I’m confident in those guys from their execution. They have gone out and done exactly what we’ve asked them to do. They challenge every play. They have good technique. That’s a good way to be a good secondary.”
This story was originally published August 4, 2025 at 2:08 PM.
