Ten defensive takeaways from Miami Dolphins training camp, which is now over
With Dolphins training camp now over (after Thursday’s stomach-flu-induced cancellation of a joint session with the Eagles), here are 10 defensive notes and observations after watching all 15 of the practices on the grounds of Hard Rock Stadium:
▪ Though Melvin Ingram has been listed as the starter on the depth chart at outside linebacker (opposite Jaelan Phillips), I’m not convinced that he’s better than Andrew Van Ginkel at this stage of Ingram’s career.
Both should — and likely will — play a lot, as will Phillips in what should be a strong three-man outside linebacker rotation.
Van Ginkel is recovering from having his appendix removed and should be back for Week 1 or 2 of the season.
While Ingram has had some good moments, Van Ginkel has had a very good camp and preseason. At the very least their snaps should be comparable.
Last season, Pro Football Focus rated Van Ginkel the 25th-best run-stopper among all NFL edge players; Ingram was rated seventh during his nine games for Kansas City after his Nov. 2 trade from Pittsburgh for a sixth-round pick. Edge: Ingram, but not by a lot.
As for pass-rushing...
Van Ginkel had four sacks and 45 hurries in 307 pass rushing snaps. For the Steelers and Chiefs, Ingram has three sacks and 42 hurries in 371 pass rushing snaps. Edge: Van Ginkel, but not by a lot.
Van Ginkel ranked fifth among all NFL edge players with 16 quarterback hits, sandwiched between Pro Bowlers T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett. But he needs to convert more of them into sacks. On Saturday against Las Vegas, he had two pressures in 12 pass rush chances.
Van Ginkel also must improve in coverage; last season, he allowed 22 of 26 passes in his coverage area to be caught for 225 yards and a touchdown — a 115.5 passer rating against.
Ingram, during his stint with the Chiefs, permitted a 105 passer rating — five completions in five targets for 47 yards. Both are clearly better suited to rushing the quarterback than dropping into coverage.
Van Ginkel played 71 percent of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps last season — up from 46 percent his first two seasons. That could drop into the 50s this season.
▪ Though Adam Butler — who was released — is 6-5, 295 and Ingram is 6-2, 250, it wouldn’t be surprising if Ingram (or Phillips) takes some of Butler’s snaps on pass rushing downs, even though they play different positions.
I would like to see defensive coordinator Josh Boyer use Ingram, Phillips and Van Ginkel together in some third-down packages. Phillips confirmed he has rushed up the middle some in this camp, much as Butler did last season.
With Butler gone, it also would make sense to play Zach Sieler more; he’s as productive per snap as any front seven defender on the team and has been excellent throughout camp.
Sieler last season played 46 percent of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps, down from 52 in 2020. He needs to be in the 52 to 60 percent range.
Pro Football Focus calls Sieler the Dolphins’ most underrated player and ranked him in the top 10 of all interior defensive linemen last season. He makes a notable play or two in every practice.
▪ Terron Armstead predicts Christian Wilkins will have a breakout season statistically, and he will if his play in camp is a harbinger of the coming months.
In some ways, Wilkins already broke out last season. With an 89-tackle season, Wilkins took the step from decent defensive lineman to a good one. He had 4.5 sacks (up from a combined 3.5 his first two seasons) and had 10 tackles for loss, up from seven his first two seasons.
If he becomes a seven-sack, 15-tackle-for-loss player, you’re talking about a huge contract as a free agent in 2024. The Dolphins exercised his $10.3 million fifth-year option for 2023.
▪ If Byron Jones isn’t ready for the opener, Nik Needham is clearly the best option to start opposite Xavien Howard. But is Needham as good on the boundary as he is in the slot?
That’s unclear.
Last season, he played only 29 boundary pass coverage snaps and had a very good 73.4 passer rating against. He played 287 coverage snaps in the slot and had an 83.8 passer rating against, per Pro Football Focus’ Ryan Smith.
He’s a better No. 3 boundary option than Noah Igbinoghene. So is Keion Crossen. Needham and Crossen are both day-to-day with undisclosed injuries.
▪ Igbinoghene was badly beaten on two crossing routes on Las Vegas’ first drive, but for all the unfortunate plays in camp, there’s sometimes a good one — like a great breakup of a pass from Tua Tagovailoa to Tyreek Hill last week.
You still see flashes of athleticism that suggest he can be salvaged, even though he might be the No. 5 corner behind Crossen.
Igbinoghene allowed five completions in seven targets for 65 yards last season; that’s not nearly a big enough sample size to make a final judgment. He permitted all three targets against him on Saturday to be caught for 34 yards.
Perhaps if he’s awful on Saturday, he could be in jeopardy. But it feels a tad premature to give up on a physically gifted first-round corner after just 365 career defensive snaps unless...
Kader Kohou again plays well on Saturday or a good corner becomes available on waivers in the next 10 days. If Igbinoghene struggles this week and if Kohou -- the promising Texas A&M Commerce rookie -- follows up the Las Vegas preseason game (when he made two good plays on the ball) with more impressive work against the Eagles on Saturday, then an interesting decision awaits, and a strong case could be made to keep Kohou, who should be on the practice squad at the very least, if he’s not on the 53.
Kohou’s ball skills portend well for his future; he has a chance to become a rotational NFL corner.
Igbinoghene averaged a strong 27.3 yards on 44 kickoff returns at Auburn, with two touchdowns, but only has had a chance to return four kickoffs as Dolphin, none in 2021 and none this preseason. To me, not giving him a chance on returns is a curious decision.
▪ Jevon Holland often has been the Dolphins’ best defender in training camp, and Xavien Howard (whose reps have been limited some days) might be No. 2.
But Duke Riley (and Sieler, Emmanuel Ogbah and Phillips) belong in any conversation of defensive camp standouts.
Riley played just 21 percent of Miami’s defensive snaps last season – down from 64 percent with Philadelphia in 2020. But his speed and instincts are assets, and he’s clearly better equipped to help now than Channing Tindall, who has made a couple of flash plays in camp and graded out well by PFF on Saturday.
▪ Toughest decisions in my view? Backup edge players. You could flip a coin among Darius Hodge, Porter Gustin, Brennan Scarlett and Cameron Goode behind outside linebackers Phillips, Ingram and Van Ginkel.
Perhaps two make it; Hodge and Gustin have had good camps; both have a handful of sacks. Goode has flashed more than a typical seventh-rounder. Scarlett missed the past 12 days with an injury but has had a solid career. The sense here is that Gustin has made the strongest case.
But of the four, Scarlett is the only one with guaranteed money ($450,000 of his $1 million salary). That complicates matters.
▪ The No. 4 safety decision isn’t easy, either. Elijah Campbell has displayed good ball skills and might have more defensive upside than Clayton Fejedelem.
Fejedelem restructured his contract, and $1 million of his $1.7 million is guaranteed, compared with none of Campbell’s $895,000.
After picking off passes on consecutive days midway through camp, Oregon rookie Verone McKinley III has had a quiet past two weeks and looks bound for the practice squad.
▪ Even though Benito Jones and Ben Stille have had good camps, John Jenkins seems the safest option at backup nose tackle behind Raekwon Davis, unless someone clearly better becomes available on waivers. None of Jenkins’ $1.1 million is guaranteed, but he still has a valuable asset for a nose tackle: He’s difficult to move.
But Stille — who had a sack Saturday — has been good enough to be discussed as an option for the 53. He has an outside chance; the p-squad is more likely for him.
There seems to be a comfort level in Jenkins’ experience; the Dolphins know what they’re getting if he needs to fill in for Davis.
“His mentality and physicality have been on another level,” defensive line coach Austin Clark said. “He’s a strong, powerful guy. His footwork has been the biggest thing. Weight loss for sure” has helped.
▪ Davis is lighter than a year ago and has had a solid camp; the question is whether he can take the step Wilkins did last season.
Though he frequently takes on double teams, it’s surprising that Davis has managed only two tackles for loss (and 0.5 sacks) in 964 career defensive snaps. Coaches have challenged him to improve in that area.
Here’s my piece with a dozen observations on the Dolphins’ offense after watching all 15 training camp practices in Miami Gardens.
This story was originally published August 25, 2022 at 5:36 PM.
