Following Day 2 of the NFL draft, the Miami Dolphins now have another cornerback in South Carolina’s Cam Smith and a running back and return man in Devon Achane. The second and third-round picks, respectively, were relatively surprising picks by general manager Chris Grier, but each makes sense when getting into the reasoning.
Although it’s arguable that tight end and offensive line may have been more pressing needs, there seems to be a method to the madness of these moves. Starting with Smith, let’s first dissect who may have been clamoring for a player such as the athletically gifted defensive back.
The new defensive coordinator in Miami, Vic Fangio, was on a coaching sabbatical in 2022, as he has called it. And, during his time away from the field, he was very much close to the game. When introduced to Miami media in March, Fangio told reporters a bit about what he was up to in his time off.
“Yeah, there’s a few things that I came up with that I’m anxious to try. We’ll try them in OTAs at some point and then in training camp as a good fit for the other things we do,” Fangio said.
Later in that press conference, he ended an explanation of his defensive philosophy and summed it up with one sentence.
“Keep them out of the end zone,” he said.
It makes sense why a defensive back was added when accounting for a number of facts. The Dolphins are in a quarterback-loaded conference, as the AFC holds the majority of the elite signal-callers in the league. These quarterbacks, such as Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert and, now, Aaron Rodgers each have several viable weapons at their disposal, so solidifying the secondary makes more sense the more you look into it.
Now, the rebuttal here could be the glaring fact that Xavien Howard and Jalen Ramsey are Miami’s top two corners, and players like Kader Kohou, Nik Needham and Trill Williams are all rostered and look to be contributors in 2023.
Digging into this a tad more, Needham is returning on a one-year deal following an Achilles injury, Williams is off an injury as well and Kohou is entering his second season. Howard dealt with injuries last year, so having a loaded secondary with multiple lock-down corners could be one of the new few things that Fangio is coming up with.
Having Howard and Ramsey at the top of the room with Smith gives Fangio massive flexibility. Ramsey could play slot or even safety, Needham is interchangeable on the inside or on the boundary and Smith is a young chess piece that could excel under proper coaching and tutelage from All-Pro veterans.
In a league that’s become pass-happy, the Dolphins are countering it with potentially the AFC’s toughest secondary, especially when considering safeties Jevon Holland, Brandon Jones and free-agent signing DeShon Elliot.
Even better, potential consistent continuity in the next few years with Howard and Ramsey and a possible torch-passing to Smith and those younger corners like Needham, Kohou or Williams.
This Dolphins defense is setting up to be potent with Fangio’s coaching, and in addition to a loaded secondary, pass-rushers like Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb and Emmanuel Ogbah could benefit here as well from the potential difficulty it’ll be for opposing targets to find separation.
As for Achane, the Texas A&M speedster ran a 4.32-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine and could help immediately in the kick and punt return games. In 2022, the Dolphins were 31st in punt return yards with 111 total on an average of 5.8 per return. In the kick return game, Miami ranked 27th in total return yards and averaged 18.9 yards per, which was 31st in the league. Adding his speed to that of Raheem Mostert, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle makes this group close to a track and field relay team going for the gold.
The drafting of Achane and the free agency signing of Braxton Berrios give the Dolphins a potent one-two punch of return men that should help in starting Miami with better field position. Speaking of field position, Fangio’s defense and the addition of Smith will have a lot to do with helping that as well.
The Dolphins are back at it on Saturday, with two scheduled picks remaining in the sixth and seventh rounds and needs at offensive lineman and tight end, which very well could be addressed on Day 3 of this draft.
