The strong safety position has been a revolving door for the Miami Dolphins in recent years. After allowing Eric Rowe to walk in free agency, the team signed DeShon Elliott to a one-year deal to fill the role in 2023. In March, they Dolphins turned to Jordan Poyer, handing the 33-year-old veteran a one-year deal to be the safety in 2024.
But with no succession plan beyond the upcoming season and hardly any depth behind Poyer on the depth chart, Miami took safety Patrick McMorris in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL draft.
Could McMorris be the long-term solution the Dolphins need in their secondary? Here are eight things to know about Miami’s rookie safety:
McMorris spent four seasons in the San Diego State defense and one year as Cal’s safety. But it’s a bit surprising he never played in running back in college when you consider the absolutely preposterous numbers he put up in high school.
As a senior at Santa Ana High School, McMorris ran for 1,801 yards and 23 touchdowns on only 141 carries. That’s an astonishing 12.8 yards per carry.
Yet he was recruited as a defensive back by SDSU. Here were his thoughts at the time, via a 2019 article from OC Sports Zone:
McMorris, who earned many plaudits for his explosive ability as a running back, is not sure how he will adjust to not playing the position in college.
“I don’t know, that’s a tough one but hopefully I don’t (miss it),” he said.
McMorris was a two-time First Team All-Mountain West selection, manning a relatively unique role at SDSU.
In 2009, the Aztecs transitioned to a 3-3-5 defense under new defensive coordinator Rocky Long, who eventually became the team’s head coach. There are two cornerbacks, two “Warrior” safeties, and an “Aztec” safety in the middle of it all.
But even though the “Aztec” is the centerfielder in the SDSU defense, the position isn’t manned by the rangy free safety-type that you may expect. Instead the “Warriors” typically handle the deep quarters while the “Aztec” is closer to a strong safety who can play coverage like a nickel or even drop into the box like a linebacker.
In his last two seasons at SDSU, McMorris recorded five interceptions, five tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries, and 151 tackles.
After graduating from SDSU, McMorris transferred to Cal for one more season of college football. The decision to head north and play for the Golden Bears was largely influenced by family ties.
One of his brothers, Hakim, wrapped up his time on the Cal track and field team in 2023. Another brother, Malik, was also on the track and field team at Cal, played fullback for the football team, and is now a graduate assistant on the school’s coaching staff.
“He ended up getting a GA job during the spring, and I was able to kind of look at my options and see what the best fit for me was,” McMorris told reporters Saturday. “That just kind of all aligned and it was just perfect timing for me to go into the portal, graduate from San Diego State as well, and be a grad transfer and go to Cal and play under my brother.”
While it was his brothers who paved the way for McMorris to spend a year playing at Cal, he’s also a triplet with a pair of sisters, Catherine and Reyna.
“He’s growing into this man and is not just some little kid anymore that we tease around,” Catherine told the Daily Californian in November. “Supporting him and all of his football stuff has been so, so cool — we want him to succeed. Even if the future is not football, we know he’s going to be okay.”
At both the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine and the Cal pro day, McMorris opted against running the 40-yard dash but participated in just about everything else.
“I was healthy, I just didn’t feel properly trained for the 40s as I just got done nursing a hamstring issue,” McMorris told reporters after his pro day. “But it’s all fine now.”
McMorris recorded a 31-inch vertical and 112-inch broad jump at the combine, then improved those marks to 32.5 inches and 119 inches at his pro day.
Shortly after getting drafted, McMorris shared a humorous story about his phone ringing with the Dolphins on the other line.
“I’ve been getting spam calls, and I thought this was just another one because I picked up and nothing went through for a couple seconds so I hung up,” McMorris told reporters Saturday.
Fortunately, a second call from the Dolphins didn’t get ignored by McMorris.
While a few of the Dolphins’ draftees said they were crossing the fingers that Miami would be the team that picked them, McMorris said it was a bit out of left field for him.
“After the combine, I had not talked to the Dolphins,” McMorris said. “A text here from a scout, but besides that, I hadn’t talked to the Dolphins throughout.”
In fact, he told reporters Orlando was the closest he’d ever been to Miami before he got picked by the team.
With nearly 200 players already off the board, the Dolphins took McMorris at No. 198 overall. According to Dolphins general manager Chris Grier, it was others in the building banging the table for McMorris that led the team to make its decision.
“[McMorris] was a player that the coaching staff and scouts kind of identified, focusing on,” Grier said. “So they were blowing up Mike [McDaniel] and I here before that pick like, ‘Get this guy. Get this guy.’ And they appreciate how he’s a smart player, he’s competitive and plays hard.”