In just over three weeks, the Miami Dolphins will open training camp for the 2020 season ahead — and with it face the prospect of building upon a promising “foundation” year. The Dolphins surprised everyone last season with a 5-4 stretch to finish the year and promptly followed suit by nailing down one of the most prolific college quarterbacks in recent history, plus a slew of new faces to add to the team.
The Dolphins will hold camp this year with fan enthusiasm as high as it has been in quite some time. But amid the restrictions of this offseason due to the ongoing health crisis, can the Dolphins rise to the challenge? We’ll be taking a look at each position group for the Dolphins ahead of the start of training camp and exploring which storylines are most pressing to monitor as Miami looks to improve in Year 2 under Brian Flores.
Here are the Dolphins’ key storylines in training camp amid the safety group.
Is Bobby McCain a long-term option at free safety?
McCain was the team’s surprise solution to their free safety dilemma last offseason — transitioning from nickel cornerback to safety for the first time in his career. The results were mixed. Before an injury sent McCain to injured reserve for the second half of the season, his coverage was inconsistent and his tackling was troublesome. How bad was the tackling? McCain was credited with missing 10 tackles last season — equivalent to nearly 30% of his total attempts.
For a player who serves as the “last line of defense”, such a high rate of poor challenges can’t become normalized or accepted. McCain will need to shine better as a tackler and be more instinctive in free coverage if he’s going to be Miami’s long-term solution.