Tag: Aubrey Miller

Dolphins Wire UDFA Player Profile: LB Aubrey Miller Jr.

What is Miami getting in the Jackson State linebacker?

A week after the 2023 NFL draft process, the Miami Dolphins brought in nearly two dozen rookie free agents, affectionately known as UDFAs. These undrafted free agents can get calls throughout the draft weekend. If their names aren’t called for national recognition with an announced selection by a team, another call could happen seconds after the final pick.

Miami made quick work in signing their class of 2023 UDFAs, and Dolphins fans know currently rostered players who made a name for themselves in training camp, regardless of not hearing theirs a few months prior.

Recently, cornerback Kader Kohou excelled in 2022, while tight end Tanner Conner made the initial 53-man roster last year as well. Offensive lineman Robert Jones was a UDFA who cracked the team and lineup in each of the last two seasons.

Cornerback Nik Needham is another current Dolphin who was even a practice squad player following being undrafted. About a month or so into the 2019 season, Needham was called up, so to speak, and earned his role.

Almost immediately into the 2023 undrafted time window, Jackson State linebacker Aubrey Miller Jr. was signed by general manager Chris Grier and the Dolphins.

Starting his college career at Missouri before transferring in 2020, Miller was a star for Deion Sanders at Jackson State. Miller was named All-SWAC and the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2022, while Sanders is now the head coach at Colorado.

While a bit undersized, at 6 feet tall, Miller is a very solid 229 pounds and built like a truck. A capable tackler in the open field, ball-carriers will likely remember being hit by Miller.

A solid project for linebacker-savvy defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, Miller is also a candidate to make a name for himself on special teams in coverage duties. With some appearances in college on coverage units, he showed promise. This could be his ticket to a practice squad role at least, and he could challenge for training camp social media supremacy within the fan base.

Some scouts pegged Miller as a sixth or seventh-round pick, so when looking at UDFA value, Grier may have found another diamond in the rough.

Should Miller make a run for linebacker duties immediately, his areas of strength would be blitzing as opposed to defending the pass in coverage.

With fine intangibles, he was warranted as an early signee with Miami, as his Jackson State coach Sanders gave a glowing endorsement.

“Aubrey is one of the guys that we hang our hats on in the middle of the defense, making calls, getting to the ball, flying around, and really setting the tone and the tempo,” Sanders said. “Not just on game day, but in practice as well.”

Miller was a team leader and led by example for Coach “Prime,” ranking ninth in the FCS last season with 112 total tackles, averaging 8.6 per game. He also added 6.5 sacks and five forced fumbles. He has a high motor and could be a spark-time player in multiple phases of the game.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein said Miller has “vision and anticipation to shadow runner’s lane choices. He’s fearless to crash hard and punish downhill runners and has had impressive flashes in limited special-teams snaps.”

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How Deion Sanders described Dolphins UDFA LB Aubrey Miller

That’s a ringing endorsement.

The Miami Dolphins added 21 undrafted players following the completion of the 2023 NFL draft, and one of the more interesting prospects signed was Jackson State linebacker Aubrey Miller.

Miller, standing at 6 feet and weighing 229 pounds, is a bit undersized for the NFL, but he put together a strong collegiate career. He led the Southwestern Athletic Conference with 109 tackles, and he also recorded 6.5 sacks in 2021.

Last season, he recorded 117 tackles (12 for a loss), 6.5 sacks and five forced fumbles. That performance earned him SWAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2022.

Despite playing at a smaller school in Jackson State, they had some national attention in recent years due to the arrival and departure of head coach Deion Sanders, who’ll be coaching Colorado this upcoming season.

Sanders, last November, spoke on Miller, and it really says a lot about the player the Dolphins could be getting.

“He’s matured a lot,” Sanders said (transcribed by the Miami Herald). “The guy plays his heart out. He goes about his job really professionally and hard. Aubrey is one of the guys that we hang our hats on in the middle of the defense, making calls, getting to the ball, flying around, and really setting the tone and the tempo. Not just on game day, but in practice as well.”

Energy and passion aren’t something this defense lacks, but more of it is always needed. If Miller can bring that each and every day, he could steal a spot on the practice squad or even the active roster depending on how well he performs.

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1 linebacker for the Vikings for every round of the 2023 NFL draft

The longtime Minnesota Vikings employee and equipment manager Dennis Ryan retired after being with the organization since 1975.

Earlier this offseason, the Minnesota Vikings released linebacker Eric Kendricks. That move left a large void in the linebacker room. Brian Asamoah dd show promise as a rookie last season, the linebacker room has a depth issue

The Vikings are not expected to prioritize the linebacker position until late day two at the earliest. This is due to limited draft capital and greater needs at other positions.

Even so, the Vikings still need to perform their due diligence. Let’s analyze potential linebackers the Vikings could target in each round of the NFL draft.

7-Round Cowboys mock draft with athleticism profiles, roles for each prospect

Here’s a look at who Dallas could select, but more importantly how they’d be used if brought to the Cowboys. OL gets two, but CB, WR and RB get boosts. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The toughest part about doing a mock draft simulation where AI makes picks for the 31 teams you don’t control, is what happens when prospects you have no belief will actually slide, slide. Do you pick them, knowing that in real life there’s always going to be a handful of players who the draft community is way off from NFL front office evaluations?

Do you bypass them, searching for the nexus of realism and function? The simple answer is… it doesn’t matter. Mock drafts are fun, but they are thought exercises that give one of a gazillion possibilities and shouldn’t be taken any more seriously than your morning Wordle-Quordle streaks starting over.

In our latest mock, we run into this problem with a player who was under heavy consideration in Round 2, somehow making it to Round 3. If that player dropped in real life, Dallas would more than likely sprint to the podium. So who are we to deny the fates given us by the AI overlords?

Vikings 2023 7-round mock draft: Matt Anderson’s 4.0

The latest seven-round mock draft from @MattAnderson_8 sees the Vikings trading down

The Minnesota Vikings are heading into the 2023 offseason with a lot of holes on their roster that need to be filled. With key players likely to leave in free agency the Vikings need to make smart choices in the draft to replenish their talent pool.

Fortunately, the 2023 NFL draft is loaded with talented players who could help fill these needs. In this mock draft, we’re going to take an aggressive approach and trade up when we try and secure top talent for the Vikings by using the Rich Hill trade chart.

Week in review: Top players at each position from the Senior Bowl American practice

Senior Bowl practice has concluded, we take a look at the top players from the American Team this week at each position.

The Senior Bowl practices wrapped up on Thursday afternoon, and the Senior Bowl itself will wrap up on Saturday after the game is played. While the game and practices will likely bring different stars, we should go back and highlight the top players at each position from this week’s practice.

As we break this down, the criteria will revolve around consistency, which was demonstrated day in and day out in Mobile, Alabama.

Stock Up Stock Down from second Senior Bowl American practice

The second day of practice was an intense one for the American team. @MattAnderson_8 breaks it all down

Day two of the Senior Bowl is complete, and Wednesday’s practice for the American team had a different feel than day one. while the wide receivers and cornerbacks still had a competitive day. The story of the day was with the other position groups.

The trenches were a battle throughout practice and gave us some of the best reps of the day with some intense matchups.

Let’s dive into some prospects who helped or hurt their draft stock from Wednesday’s practice.

National Team Practice

2023 Senior Bowl Preview: Linebacker

We continue our Senior Bowl preview with the linebackers

One of the most important events on the National Football League calendar is the Senior Bowl. Held the week after the conference championship games, it is the true beginning of the NFL draft cycle.

Not only do scouts and analysts like us get to see over 100 draft prospects in one place competing against each other, but it’s also an opportunity for analysts and personnel alike to get together and have discussions about a number of topics.

As we look forward to this year’s Senior Bowl, both managing editor Tyler Forness and columnist Matt Anderson will be there in person to break everything down.

We will be breaking down each position group and what to look for throughout the week. Here is the edge rusher position.

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Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive tackles
Interior offensive line
Interior defensive line
Edge rushers