Here’s how the Miami Dolphins front seven will now look. Brian Flores offered one clue
Becoming an NFL starter comes with the perk of having your name featured in flashy graphics on the network broadcasts.
But starting shouldn’t be overstated for some rotational defensive players.
For example, Nik Needham started just six games last season (Miami often opened with seven linemen/linebackers and four defensive backs) but ended up playing 60 percent of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps as Miami’s primary nickel cornerback.
So we offer that caveat in advance of discussing a mystery that will unfold over the next four months:
Who will start in Miami’s base defense besides Emmanuel Ogbah, Christian Wilkins, Raekwon Davis and Jerome Baker?
It’s a safe bet that Benardrick McKinney will start, too; the question is where.
Andrew Van Ginkel, who started 11 games last season, has a good chance to start after filling the stat sheet last season with 5.5 sacks, 48 tackles and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.
So that’s six front-seven starters for seven jobs when Miami plays four defensive backs (something it does less than half the time).
Unless Van Ginkel comes off the bench, that leaves one open starting spot among linebacker Elandon Roberts (who started 11 games last season but is coming off a major knee injury), new defensive lineman Adam Butler (four starts for the Patriots last season), Zach Sieler (who started eight games last season) and first-round pick Jaelan Phillips, who the Dolphins are listing as a linebacker after primarily playing defensive end at UM.
I also wouldn’t entirely rule out a couple of less likely starting options: linebacker Vince Biegel (10 starts in 2019 and missed last season with a torn Achilles) and fast inside/outside linebacker Duke Riley (eight starts for Philadelphia last season).
Defensive tackle John Jenkins (11 games as a backup for Chicago last year) and linebacker Brennan Scarlett (four starts for Houston in 2020) also could compete for playing time if they make the team, though both are extreme long shots to start.
Linebackers Calvin Munson, Sam Eguavoen and Kylan Johnson and defensive tackle Benito Jones simply will be battling for roster spots.
One thing that’s already clear: The Dolphins don’t want to pigeonhole McKinney as only an inside linebacker.
The Dolphins see potential for more from a player who was second-team All Pro in 2016 and a Pro Bowler in 2018 — two honors never achieved by Shaq Lawson, for whom McKinney was traded.
“I’ve watched him and scouted him for a long time,” Dolphins coach Brian Flores said of McKinney.
“He’s big, fast, physical, really good in the run game. I think he’s a good pass rusher. Versatile on the ball, off the ball and smart.
“And my conversations with him already have been about how much do we think he can do. I think he can handle a lot, so I think we’ll see him in a lot of different roles on the line of scrimmage, off the line of scrimmage, on the edge, blitzing. And hopefully we get him in here and get him going with our terminology, our verbiage, get him in with his teammates.
“It’s one thing for one person to do it, but he’s obviously going to be working with several other teammates and we’ve just got to get him going along with the rest of the group.”
That’s interesting, because McKinney hasn’t been used a ton as an edge player during his six years playing for the Texans.
McKinney, who missed the final 12 games for Houston last season because of a shoulder injury, has produced only 11.5 sacks in six seasons, including just 5.5 in his past 50 games. But the Dolphins see pass rushing as a talent that hasn’t been fully maximized or utilized.
So here’s what you could see: With Roberts coming off a major knee injury, you could see McKinney assume Roberts’ job playing alongside Baker on some downs but also play outside linebacker on some other downs.
There were some packages last season that didn’t feature Roberts but did feature Kyle Van Noy, who was jettisoned by the Dolphins and is now back with the Patriots. McKinney has a chance to fill the Van Noy role in those packages, which would essentially make him an every-down player.
So as erudite Dolphins podcaster Chris Kouffman pointed out to me, McKinney essentially could be Roberts for two-thirds of the time and Van Noy for roughly one-third of the time. The caveat, of course, is that McKinney must earn that playing time, because he will have considerable competition.
Some of Van Noy’s responsibilities also presumably will go to Van Ginkel, who played 46 percent of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps last season and should see that number increase. Phillips or Biegel also could assume some of Van Noy’s duties.
Phillips could step into a large share of the role held by Lawson, who often had his hand on the ground but was listed as a linebacker by the Dolphins.
Phillips will essentially be an edge player, so I wouldn’t get too caught up in the linebacker designation. He has some experience in pass coverage as a linebacker at UCLA before transferring to UM, where he played primarily on the defensive line.
The extent of Phillips’ role early in the season will depend on what he shows over the next few months. But as a first-round pick with advanced pass rush skills, he’s going to be given every opportunity to carve out a significant package.
There are other options, too: Miami could play Butler significant snaps alongside Wilkins and Davis, and use Ogbah more in Van Ginkel’s 2020 linebacker role while having Van Ginkel fill Van Noy’s role, with Phillips getting work in a rotation with Ogbah and Van Ginkel.
That Van Ginkel role last season was pretty straightforward: line up wide and be a fourth pass rusher. But Van Ginkel also has the ability to assume some of the coverage responsibilities that Van Noy had last season. Van Ginkel is a player still ascending and capable of taking on more assignments, a reality that likely factored into the release of Van Noy.
Butler, a defensive tackle who can also play end, played 47 percent of the Patriots’ defensive snaps each of the past two seasons but started only six games during those two seasons.
A defensive front of Davis (330 pounds), Wilkins (315) and Butler (300) or Sieler (301) would be the heftiest defensive line (in a 3-4 front) that the Dolphins could deploy, excluding young backup Benito Jones, who weighs 316.
Butler (four sacks last season) has 107 quarterback pressures during the past four seasons compared to 48 for Davon Godchaux, who left Miami for New England.
The flip side: Pro Football Focus ranked Butler only 99th of 125 interior defenders against the run last season.
So while that Davis/Wilkins/Butler three-man front would be imposing, it wouldn’t necessarily be better against the run than some smaller fronts.
Bottom line: Flores and defensive coordinator Josh Boyer — two creative defensive minds — will have plenty of options to craft this front seven, even with the departures of Van Noy and Lawson. It should make for a fascinating training camp.
This story was originally published May 19, 2021 at 3:35 PM.
