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The Miami Dolphins enjoyed one of the most dominant individual performances by a defensive back in recent memory with the play of cornerback Xavien Howard in 2020. Howard led the NFL in interceptions (10) and passes broken up (20) in 2020, placing him in legitimate conversation for the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
Howard did not collect that honor; which instead was awarded to Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (again). But Howard was an All-Pro and Pro Bowl honoree and was named the Dolphins’ Most Valuable Player in 2020. With the start of the 2021 season just around the corner, Howard is still adding to his accolades.
First, he received an amended contract from the team. And now he’s been named the No. 17 player in the NFL according to his peers in the annual ‘NFL 100’ exercise.
“Howard led the league with 10 interceptions and 20 passes defensed in 2020, which easily earned him a first-team All-Pro nod. The five-year veteran returns to the Top 100 after an injury-plagued 2019, but Howard’s reputation in coverage is well-known. The lockdown corner hasn’t allowed a deep touchdown since becoming a full-time starter in 2017, picking off seven passes on deep throws and allowing just four receptions for 186 yards on 35 deep targets since 2018, per Next Gen Stats, which named Howard as its No. 1 coverage player in 2020.” — NFL.com
Howard’s staying power on the list for next year will be tied directly to his health and durability. Howard has too big of a reputation now to fall off the list completely; even with a regression to the mean with his overall production on the football.
The Dolphins would love to see him back — but they’d also like to see another development in the coming year: Howard is certainly the only Dolphin to make the list. Miami wouldn’t mind seeing that change in time for the release of the 2022 version.