Miami Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard didn’t quite experience the kind of 2019 season that fans and coaches were hoping for. After tying for the NFL lead in interceptions in the 2018 season, Howard seemed poised to play a starring role in Brian Flores’ new defense. But things never really got on track for Howard, who only played in 5 games throughout the course of the season amid lingering issues in his knee.
By the end of the 2019 season, Howard had undergone surgery and found himself in trouble with the law after a domestic violence incident — hardly the starring role anyone from the Dolphins had in mind upon paying Howard a lofty contract last summer. Howard is hoping the new decade will result in putting a frustrating 2019 behind him — the charges in that domestic violence incident were dropped in February and Howard has since learned he will not face discipline from the NFL for his conduct.
But can he live up to expectations that come with being one of the highest paid cornerbacks in football?
Here’s what we predicted for Xavien Howard in 2019 last summer — and what we should expect in 2020 with Byron Jones playing across from him in the Dolphins’ secondary:
Dolphins Wire 2019 fearless forecast: 55 total tackles (career high), 6 interceptions and 18 passes defensed (career high)
2019 actual statistics (5 games): 17 total tackles, 1 interception, 4 passes broken up
(2019 16-game pace: 54 total tackles, 3 interceptions, 13 passes defensed)
Howard’s health isn’t necessarily guaranteed this season, either. He’s now had knee issues in three of his four career NFL seasons — and the fear that he will have additional setbacks is likely to continue to linger.
But if we were to assume Howard is back to full strength after what will be some eight months of recovery from his latest procedure, Howard should get plenty of targets in the passing game with Jones playing across the line from him. And given Howard’s aggressive mentality, that may be a double-edged sword — we may see Howard give up more plays in coverage as a byproduct of getting more targets and baiting opposing quarterbacks to throw his way.
Assuming Howard does indeed play in 16 games, we feel good about his ability to return to making splash plays in the secondary — although we won’t be quite to bold as to predict career highs across the board for Miami in 2020. Our fearless forecast for Howard in coverage this season is as follows:
45 total tackles, 4 interceptions and 14 passes defensed (career high)