Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores is a highly regarded defensive mind — his work helped the Patriots claim their most recent Super Bowl title by putting the screws on the Los Angeles Rams in the winter of 2019 before accepting the head coaching job with Miami. With a Patriots background, it should be no surprise that the Dolphins have targeted intelligent defensive backs. A whole bunch of them. Among them is rookie safety Brandon Jones, who comes to Miami from Texas and is potentially looking at fulfilling the “Patrick Chung” role in this defense with time.
As a rookie entering his first season, Jones has the challenge of learning the ins and outs of Flores’ defense before he can claim any role — a challenge that Jones has done well to this point to grapple with. But with the pads now on, there are additional moving parts that need to be mastered. And that, according to Jones, it the biggest challenge in Flores’ defense.
“I would say just kind of getting comfortable in knowing the next step. I think I’m really good at knowing once we get a formation, what the call is and stuff like that; but kind of getting on the next level knowing that if this guy motions, this is what we’ve got to go to, and just the overall importance of fundamentals and techniques,” Jones told the South Florida media.
“It’s tough. You’re playing against the best of the best each week and a bad step or anything like that can win or lose a game, so you’ve got to be very, very critical of your fundamentals and techniques and just kind knowing ahead of time what’s next to happen if this may occur in a situation.”
Without live game situations before the team starts playing for keeps, Miami may not really know what they’ve got at any position on the field. But the safety group is one of the bigger high-stress areas where miscommunications can’t be had. You’re playing in space as the last line of defense — one false step and you may be out of position and giving up a big play. Jones was widely considered one of the sharpest safety prospects in this year’s draft — we’ll find out just how sharp he is with how big of a role he commands when the Dolphins’ season kicks off next month.