Why the Dolphins must address linebacker, how their veterans played and options to upgrade
Part 9 of our 10-part series with notes and nuggets at each Dolphins position heading into free agency and the draft, with today’s focus on linebacker:
▪ Elandon Roberts and — at times — Duke Riley were solid playing alongside Jerome Baker last season, but a Pro Bowl-caliber inside linebacker could raise this defense to another level.
Roberts and Riley are free agents; Baker is under contract the next three seasons, due to earn $6.6 million, $8.4 million and $10.8 million in base salary.
Among 87 linebackers (excluding those who played primarily on the edge), Pro Football Focus rated Baker 32nd and Roberts 47th. Roberts and Riley hired Miami-based agent Drew Rosenhaus, meaning he now represents the top three inside linebackers on last year’s team, including Baker.
Roberts — a favorite of dismissed coach Brian Flores — has made a case to come back on a low-money deal; he’s still clearly an above-average run defender (rated 38th as a run-defender, among 87 linebackers, by PFF).
But there’s also a clear need for a more complete, ascending linebacker to pair with Baker and build around.
▪ Utah’s Devin Lloyd and Georgia’s Nakobe Dean would be appealing options in the draft, but Lloyd assuredly will be gone by Miami’s pick at 29, and Dean likely will be gone, too. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has Lloyd going seventh in his mock draft and Dean 22nd.
Alabama’s Christian Harris, Georgia’s Channing Tindall, LSU’s Damone Clark, Arizona State’s Darien Butler, Wisconsin’s Leo Chanel and Jack Sanborn and Texas’ DeMarvion Overshown would be options at No. 50 if the need isn’t filled in free agency.
▪ Bobby Wagner, released by Seattle this week, would be an interesting option; he’s 31 but was a Pro Bowler last season and was a first-team All-Pro six times, as recently as 2020. He will have multiple suitors after a 170-tackle season.
One report Thursday listed the Dolphins among a dozen teams that have shown some level of interest, though speculation from ESPN analysts is that he might simply relocate in the NFC West.
And other very good inside linebacker also became available this week when Arizona released Jordan Hicks, who had 118 tackles and four sacks last season.
If the Dolphins don’t land Wagner or Hicks, there are a dozen or so starting inside linebackers available in free agency.
That list — with their PFF ranking — includes Green Bay’s DeVondre Campbell (second), New England’s Ja’whuan Bentley (25th of 87 qualifiers), Cleveland’s Anthony Walker Jr. (17th), Minnesota’s Anthony Barr (24th), Dallas’ Leighton Vander Esch (35), Carolina’s Jermaine Carter (74th), Atlanta’s Foyesade Oluokun (71st); Denver’s Kenny Young (53), Chicago’s Alec Ogletree (86th), Houston’s Christian Kirksey (57), the Giants’ Reggie Ragland (29th), New Orleans’ Kwon Alexander (49th), Tennessee’s Jayon Brown (54), the Jets’ Jarrad Davis (missed half the season with an injury) and New England’s Dont’a Hightower (51, but struggled in the playoff game at Buffalo).
Wagner, Campbell, Bentley and Walker are probably the best of that group.
PFF, before Wagner’s release, rated Campbell the best inside linebacker in free agency and notes he “could very well be the best value free agent signing of the offseason. Campbell ranks among the top 10 off-ball linebackers in the league in defensive snaps played since he was drafted in 2016. He hasn’t missed significant action in his six-year career.”
PFF rates Hightower and Oluokun its second- and third-best free agent inside linebackers. But Hightower is past his prime at 31 and Oluokun has had an uneven career.
▪ PFF rated Baker the 15th-best pass rushing linebacker in football, and he continues to do some of his best work as a blitzer. His six sacks were second most among players identified as linebackers and not edge players, behind only Micah Parsons (14). His 16 hurries were fourth most, just behind Kyle Van Noy’s 17.
▪ Among 113 qualifying edge players, Pro Football Focus rated Andrew Van Ginkel 75th and Jaelan Phillips 93rd. Though Phillips had 8.5 sacks as a rookie, PFF rated him just 102nd as a run defender.
Nevertheless, PFF calls Phillips its top Dolphins breakout candidate for 2022, with this comment:
“Phillips was a situational pass-rusher and ran hot-and-cold for most of his rookie season. He had his high-end performances, like against Carolina when he produced seven pressures — three of which were sacks — and a batted ball en route to an 85.8 pass-rush grade, but he also had several poorly graded outings. The biggest thing was that Phillips stayed healthy — an area of concern in the pre-draft process — and still showed the traits that made him a first-round pick.”
Phillips must improve against the run to be trusted by the staff as a every-down player.
▪ The Dolphins wisely used Phillips in coverage on only 48 of his 603 snaps. He allowed all four passes thrown in his coverage area to be caught, but for just 21 yards and no touchdowns, equaling an 88.5 rating.
▪ Here were passer ratings against, for the other Dolphins linebackers: Riley (67.6, 6 completions in 11 targets for 53 yards), Roberts 85.8 (24 for 33 for 283 yards, a TD and a pick returned for a TD), Baker 91.1 (46 for 64, 387 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) and Van Ginkel 115.5 (22 for 26, 225 yards, 1 TD).
▪ Van Ginkel ranked fifth among all NFL edge players with 16 quarterback hits, sandwiched between Pro Bowlers T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett. He also had 45 pressures.
But he had only four sacks, and that — combined with subpar coverage metric grades — account for his low overall grade from PFF, despite the fact that the metrics site rated him the 19th-best run defender among edge players.
Van Ginkel was better than that grade indicates. The Dolphins might look to extend his contract in the months ahead; he has one season left on his deal.
With Van Noy jettisoned last offseason, Van Ginkel’s snap counts on defense rose from 480 in 2020 (46 percent of Miami’s defensive snaps) to 801 (71 percent).
Phillips is under contract for three more seasons and will earn $1.3 million next season.
Here’s part 1 of the series on Tua Tagovailoa.
Here’s part 2 of the series on the Dolphins’ wide receivers.
Here’s part 3 of the series on Mike Gesicki.
Here’s part 4 of the series on tight end options.
Here’s part 5 of the series on running backs and options to improve the position.
Here’s part 6 of the series on Dolphins cornerbacks and some issues brewing.
Here’s part 7 of the series on Dolphins defensive linemen.
Here’s part 8 of the series on Dolphins safeties.
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 6:09 PM.
