Insight on what the Miami Dolphins are getting with their former Pro Bowl addition
So what are the Dolphins getting with Benardrick McKinney, who figures to start alongside Jerome Baker at inside linebacker?
Some things to keep in mind on McKinney, who was acquired from Houston for Shaq Lawson on Sunday:
▪ It’s senseless to put too much stock in 2020 because he played in only four games (37 tackles) before a season-ending shoulder injury.
But this is notable: Entering the 2020 season, Pro Football Focus rated him the 14th best linebacker in football.
Between 2015 and 2019, McKinney’s 87.8 run defense grade, via PFF, ranked fifth among the 66 linebackers with 2,000 or more defensive snaps.
“McKinney bludgeons offensive guards, going through them to turn the hole into a massacre, and strangling running backs’ paths,” Pro Football Focus said.
NFL Draft analyst Lance Zierlein said this past weekend: “McKinney is a big, tough inside backer with some rush and he fits the mold of the type of big-body bangers that New England had when [Brian] Flores was there.”
▪ More good news: McKinney was a second-team All Pro in 2016 and made the Pro Bowl in 2018. He was 30th in the league in tackles with 105 in 2018 and 38th with 101 in 2019.
▪ Here’s the bad news: In his career, he has allowed 156 of 195 passes thrown in his coverage area to be caught for 1532 yards, equating to a 9.8 average per catch.
That means on passes thrown against him, those passes are completed 80 percent of the time and for yardage nearly equivalent to a first-down on every catch.
In 2019, he permitted 34 for 39 passes to be caught for 317 yards, a 9.3 average. Not good.
Last season, he allowed 5 of 9 passes to be caught for 53 yards.
“He struggles covering on his own [but has] a good grasp on playing zone coverage and can carry out an assortment of tasks,” PFF said.
▪ McKinney also had only 2.5 sacks in his past 34 games and 11.5 in his six-year career.
But that’s misleading in the sense that he didn’t rush the quarterback on anything close to every pass rushing opportunity for his team.
As Dolphins podcaster Travis Wingfield noted, McKinney finished in the top 10 in total pressures among off-ball linebackers on two occasions between 2016 and 2019.
As Wingfield said, “when used as a rusher he would line up in different gaps on the ball. Very effective on stunts, especially when he can help set a pick and clear space.
“He was in the 93rd percentile in burst score (measures broad/vert) and you see that in the way he fires off the snap. McKinney was a high school quarterback, and it’s evident by the way he directed that Houston defense for years. High IQ player, instinctive, never saw a block he didn’t want to destroy.”
▪ He has batted down six passes in his career, so his size (6-4, 257) can be helpful in that regard.
But he also has missed either seven or eight tackles every season the past four years. That’s not a worrisome amount except for last year, when he missed seven in just four games.
▪ Miami will take on $7.75 million in salary this year, $9.5 million in 2022, and $10.25 million in 2023. But none of that money is guaranteed. So the Dolphins can move on at any time if they wish.
▪ OverTheCap’s Jason Fitzgerald made some interesting points about the wisdom of the McKinney/Lawson trade:
“For Houston this is a good trade. The salary is essentially a wash (they will lose a small amount of cap room this year) but are getting a player who may play a more impactful role on the defense. Lawson is also younger [26 to 28 for McKinney].
“For Miami I think it is a little more questionable,” Fitzgerald said. “Salary cap wise it’s similar to Houston - the salaries are a wash and they lose a little cap space - but trading younger for a little bit older especially off injury is always risky. I’d guess part of the thought process may be that a potential Pro Bowl linebacker is better than a second tier edge. It is also possible Miami could try to rework the contract to a lower salary.
“One thing I will say is that Miami clearly is not chasing the sunk costs in these players which is, over the long term, a good thing. The next step for them is to probably take a bit more of a deliberate approach in the cash structure of the deals because under no circumstance would anyone have paid Lawson or [Kyle] Van Noy the amount of money that the Dolphins did for a one year return.”
THIS AND THAT
▪ Among the many things the Dolphins did on Monday was poke around on centers. They still hadn’t spoken financial terms with free agent Ted Karras as of early Monday, though they’ve told him they want him back.
New England free agent center David Andrews remains a player of interest to Miami, and he’s certainly a possibility for the Dolphins.
▪ According to a source, the Dolphins gave fullback/tight end/special teams player Cethan Carter a three-year deal worth $8.25 million, and the contract could be worth as much as $8.7 million with incentives. That includes $2.7 million guaranteed.
▪ Among edge rushers off the board on Day 1: Matt Judon (New England), Romeo Okwara (Detroit), Carl Lawson (Jets), Trey Hendrickson (Bengals), Bud Dupree (Titans), Shaq Barrett (Tampa Bay), Leonard Floyd (Rams) and Yannick Ngakoue (Raiders).
The Dolphins still need at least two more edge players after re-signing Vince Biegel on Monday.
▪ For Dolphins fans concerned about Monday’s inactivity, I wouldn’t be. They’re still in the mix for a top receiver and they should be able to add linebacker and defensive line help at value prices because of limited cap space in the league.
Here’s my late-night story on Ryan Fitzpatrick’s move to Washington, Dolphins’ backup quarterback options and draft compensation Miami is in line to receive as a result.
Here was Monday’s live blog with me, Adam Beasley and Armando Salguero. That blog had a lot more news - including the Dolphins agreeing to terms with two players - and explained Miami’s slow approach to free agency.
Here’s my Monday Heat piece with details on the Heat and the looming trade deadline and good news on Bam Adebayo.
This story was originally published March 15, 2021 at 10:05 PM.
