The Miami Dolphins have absorbed their first significant loss to the roster during training camp practices — 2019 breakout defender Vince Biegel is presumed to be lost for the year with what is reported to be a torn left Achilles tendon. Make no mistake, the loss of Biegel hurts for the Dolphins. He served as one of the team’s spark plugs in the front seven and served as one of Miami’s best pass rushers on the roster.
All of that coming in a player swap with the New Orleans Saints to ship away LB Kiko Alonso has the makings of a good deal for Miami. But without Biegel in the fray this year, Miami is going to have to alter their script for what the base defense looks like this season.
As Miami looks to reshuffle the pecking order, we can be thankful that Biegel’s play didn’t lull the Dolphins into a sense of security with their personnel on the edge; the team brought in several prominent bodies to man the perimeter of the line of scrimmage for Brian Flores’ defense.
Who are the best candidates to step in and fill the void left with the loss of Biegel? Here are three Dolphins defenders who could get a look.
OLB Andrew Van Ginkel
A fellow former Wisconsin Badger, Van Ginkel has two years of experience and exposure playing in the same college defense as Biegel did. The trade off between the two is simple — Van Ginkel is more athletic, Biegel is more stout at the line of scrimmage. At least that was the case at Wisconsin and was the case last year. We got a limited look at Van Ginkel in 2019 after an early season injury, but Brian Flores did offer some encouraging words of Van Ginkel this morning.
“I think he’s had a good offseason. He really works hard. His strength is up. I think the first to second year leap, as some would call it, is an important one,” said Flores.
“I think he’s kind of taken that seriously and made a lot of improvements, and you can kind of see it in his game right now. Whether or not that translates into on-field production, that remains to be seen; but I’m happy with where he is.”