From Phillips to Noah to Bowden to Merritt, Dolphins coaches assess 10 young players
The Dolphins have seen considerable growth from some of their young players, less so from others.
This week, several position coaches sized up where 10 of them stand:
▪ Rookie linebacker Jaelan Phillips. His 8.5 sacks are tied for 25th in the league, but the Dolphins want to see improvement overall, including against the run.
He has played more than half of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps only once in the past four games and was on the field for just 37 percent of the defensive snaps against run-heavy Tennessee.
“I’m proud of the consistency and work ethic throughout the year,” outside linebackers coach Rob Leonard said of the 18th overall pick in last April’s NFL Draft. “He’s a good player. He doesn’t want to come off the field.”
Leonard said Phillips must “continue to develop overall to earn more trust in the system, whether that be run or pass. Some instances have been good and [there have been] some instances where we need to work on things.”
Leonard put it succinctly: “Flashes are great. Those don’t win you ball games. It’s consistency.”
Pro Football Focus ranks Phillips fourth worst against the run among 108 edge defenders.
▪ Rookie safety Jevon Holland is ranked by Pro Football Focus as the fifth-best of 94 safeties this season. Brandon Jones leads all NFL safeties in sacks with five.
But defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander declined to say whether he believes the Dolphins have found their long-term starting combination. (Holland assuredly projects as a long-term starter; Jones is the question.)
“What Jevon has done this year as a rookie, operating with the responsibilities we give him, has been very encouraging,” Alexander said. “He’s put himself in position for splash plays. He’s done a good job.”
Jones is a highly skilled athlete and blitzer and a reliable tackler. The concern with Jones always has been coverage skills, and that remains a question: He had a 110.6 passer rating in his coverage area this season.
So is Jones reliable enough in that area?
“Things definitely have improved,” Alexander said. “Is it to the level [we want]? We are always going to look for improvement.”
▪ Defensive tackle Raekwon Davis: The run defense was far better with him than without him. But he and several teammates struggled Sunday when Tennessee ran for 198 yards on 5.0 per carry; PFF rated him the second-worst player on Miami’s defense against the Titans.
In fact, PFF surprisingly rates Davis as the third-worst among 127 qualifying interior defenders this season. In 27 NFL starts, Davis has just two tackles for loss.
But he has consistently taken on double teams and did some of his best work during Miami’s seven-game winning streak.
Asked to assess his run defense, defensive line coach Austin Clark said: “As a run defender, Raekwon is doing what we’re asking him to do. He’s physical. I haven’t watched every snap for what he’s done this year.”
How far is he from his ceiling? “He’s got much more room to grow,” Clark said.
▪ Cornerback Noah Igbinoghene has played just 78 defensive snaps, compared with 287 as a rookie. That is a byproduct of Xavien Howard and Byron Jones staying healthy and Nik Needham and Justin Coleman beating out Igbinoghene.
So after two years, do the Dolphins even know what they have with the 30th overall pick in the 2020 draft?
“The main focus is coming to work and getting better,” cornerbacks coach Charles Burks said. “As long as he keeps doing that, when his opportunity arrives, he has to take advantage of that.”
What is his NFL skill, specifically?
“His athletic ability,” Burks said. “He has tools to be successful in the league but there’s a lot more to it than that. I’m not saying he doesn’t have those other things. There are a lot of athletic guys that have come into the league at that position.
“It’s not only being a really good athlete; it’s preparation, instincts, film,... attention to detail, being self-motivated… Not saying he’s not. If you do those at a high level, it will put you in position to do good things when you have opportunities.”
▪ Cornerback Trill Williams has played no defensive snaps, but his work in training camp and preseason left Dolphins coaches believing they could have something.
“He has versatility, a guy that can play on the perimeter, possibly match up against tight ends,” Burks said. “He has a background at safety, a guy that can potentially move around and play in the box.”
▪ Receiver Lynn Bowden Jr. was placed on injured reserve in August - meaning he wasn’t eligible to come off this season - but was healthy enough to play weeks ago.
Receivers coach Josh Grizzard is eager to see what he shows in the offseason program; he displayed flashes last season (28 catches, 211 yards) but had an uneven training camp.
“Lynn did a good job from the time we traded for him; he played a critical role for us down the stretch at the end of last season,” Grizzard said. “He did a nice job in [the 2021] offseason program. It was unfortunate to have the injury.
“I talk to Lynn on a good basis. He’s in a good place with the injury. The skill set is an ability to run after catch, make guys miss. He’s physical with the ball,... able to understand coverages and zones. He’s in a good place.”
▪ Receiver Kirk Merritt was very good during parts of training camp but played only 11 offensive snaps and had one catch for 13 yards.
“He didn’t get a chance as much,” Grizzard said. “He works extremely hard in practice and is a joy to be around. Looking forward to getting into offseason with him.”
▪ Tight end Hunter Long played behind three veterans (Mike Gesicki, Durham Smythe, Adam Shaheen) and received just 90 offensive snaps. He had one catch for eight yards; Brian Flores said he “did some nice things” filling in for Shaheen in late November and early December.
“Hunter has learned this year from those guys,” co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach George Godsey said. “We expect him to continue to improve.”
▪ Running back Gerrid Doaks: One peculiarity of this season is that the Dolphins have repeatedly protected Doaks from practice squad poaching, but haven’t played him in a single game, despite the lack of production at the position for the first three months of the season.
So what’s the deal? The unspoken message is Miami didn’t see enough to believe he would be better than what they had on the active roster.
“Gerrid has worked hard and learned the system,” co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach Eric Studesville said. “It’s an adjustment coming to the NFL... He will get better.”
Among other young players, offensive line coach Lemuel Jeanpierre declined to assess several of his players. And look for colleague Daniel Oyefusi’s stories on Tua Tagovailoa and Jaylen Waddle in the days ahead.
Here’s my Tuesday piece with Dolphins coaches addressing Tua Tagovailoa’s recent flurry of fumbles and other issues.
This story was originally published January 4, 2022 at 2:32 PM.
