Tag: jalen ramsey dolphins

How will Jalen Ramsey fit in Vic Fangio’s Dolphins defense?

Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio will have to bring the best out of Jalen Ramsey, and here’s how he might do it.

In 2022, the Miami Dolphins’ cornerbacks as a group allowed 159 completions on 258 targets for 2,303 yards, 15 touchdowns, five interceptions, 36 pass deflections, 10 penalties, an opponent completion rate of 55.8%, and an opponent passer rating of 92.5, seventh-worst in the league.

In their efforts to improve a defense that finished fourth in DVOA against the run and 25th against the pass, the Dolphins have added two very big names to their group this offseason. They hired legendary defensive coordinator Vic Fangio in February, making him the NFL’s highest-paid coach at his position.

Then, on Sunday, the Dolphins traded a 2023 draft pick and tight end Hunter Long to the Rams for the services of cornerback Jalen Ramsey. This was a salary offload move by the Rams, who were on the books for Ramsey’s 2023 cap number of $17 million as part of the five-year, $100 million contract extension he signed in 2020. Now, the Dolphins have one year in which Ramsey’s dead cap of $35.5 million makes any release prohibitive, a 2024 cap hit and dead cap hit of $18.5 million, and a 2025 situation in which Ramsey’s cap hit is $19.5 million, and the dead money doesn’t exist.

A pretty good short-term deal for a cornerback who will turn 29 on October 24, and had an up-and-down season in 2022. Per Pro Football Focus, Ramsey allowed 56 catches on 86 targets for 712 yards, 234 yards after the catch, seven touchdowns, four interceptions, 11 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 98.6. Good for body temperature, perhaps not so good for coverage. It was a down season after Ramsey’s 2021, in which he allowed 72 catches on 117 targets for 873 yards, 354 yards after the catch, five touchdowns, four interceptions, 15 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 84.5. Ramsey, as on and off as his coverage style has always been, was a primary reason the Rams nabbed their second Lombardi Trophy as a franchise at the end of the 2021 season.

Ramsey was clearly happy about the trade.

Now, it’s up to Fangio to put Ramsey in the best possible position to succeed — and based on Fangio’s track record, we’re going to take the over in a positive sense. But what might that look like on the field, based on what both Fangio and Ramsey have done in the past?