Tag: Kader Kohou

Report: Dolphins expected to finalize bringing back DB Nik Needham

The Dolphins keep another one of their DBs around.

Per Barry Jackson, the Dolphins are interested in bringing back defensive back, Nik Needham. An undrafted free agent in 2019, Needham re-signed with Miami last season, and clearly, the versatile boundary cornerback/turn slot-specialist/safety candidate’s work is not done in South Florida.

The potential deal will help maintain consistency in a secondary that will not have Xavien Howard, the longest-tenured defensive Dolphin from last year’s team. Connecting some dots, as a rookie, Needham subbed in for an injured Howard and performed well on the outside in 2019, playing in 12 games in which he started 11. He registered 11 passes defensed, including two interceptions in relief.

Needham followed his rookie year with two consecutive seasons in which he registered a pair of interceptions, and in 2021, he was considered a top-tier slot corner in the entire NFL. In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, his 2021 coverage grade from the slot was the best in the league (90.8), as he didn’t allow a single touchdown from that area of the field that season. 2022 was looking to continue that momentum until an Achilles injury occurred in Week 6 against the Minnesota Vikings, ending his season.

2023 was essentially a wash, as Needham rehabbed his injury and returned to the 53-man roster yet didn’t have ample opportunity to show his skills to then-defensive coordinator Vic Fangio during OTAs and training camp. A new defensive coordinator in Anthony Weaver could create a chance for Needham to return to his 2021 form if utilized in the slot, or should he be a prime candidate to step in for Xavien Howard, as he has proven to handle that task as well.

Intriguing as well is the fact that Needham has safety ability, and Miami does have a few more unrestricted free agents in DeShon Elliott and Brandon Jones to think about. The move to retain Needham creates flexibility, and it’s a bit unknown how this Dolphins’ secondary will look in 2024. All-World defensive back Jalen Ramsey could be used a bit more as a chess piece with this new scheme, and like Needham, fellow defensive backs Cam Smith and Kader Kohou could be moved around to different spots in the defensive backfield.

Whatever happens with the rest of the secondary, the defense, and the Dolphins, as a whole, is still up in the air. However, as this week ends, re-signing Needham was a step in the right direction. His work ethic, overall knowledge of the game, and potential are all reasons he was re-signed yet again by the team that saw his ability as a college student and took a chance on him five years ago.

Over his five-season career with the Dolphins, Needham has recorded 199 total tackles, 25 passes defensed, six interceptions, a forced fumble, and a recovered fumble. He also took an interception to the house against the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football back in 2021, a “Nik-6” as some would call it.

EDIT: The deal has been agreed to, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

3 Dolphins who should have smaller roles in 2024

A few Dolphins who should see fewer opportunities in 2024.

Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier has put together a talented roster loaded with superstar veterans and rising youngsters that was good enough to make the postseason in 2023.

While Grier will have his work cut out for him over the next several months through free agency and draft season, there are some players on the roster who should see their playing time go down next year.

Let’s take a look at three Dolphins who should get fewer opportunities in 2024.

WATCH: Top 10 sacks for Dolphins in 2023

The best sacks from Miami’s record-setting 2023 season.

For good chunks of the 2023 season, the Miami Dolphins had one of the best defenses in football under Vic Fangio’s leadership.

Before all of the injuries started to rack up on that side of the ball, they were getting to the quarterback consistently and forcing turnovers regularly for a long stretch.

Miami’s 2023 team recorded 56 total sacks which was the most for a single season in franchise history, beating out the 1983 and 2005 Dolphins that both finished their years with 49 sacks.

Now that the team is in offseason mode, Miami’s content team has been producing highlights from the last year, including a compilation of the Dolphins’ 10 best sacks from 2023.

With some recovering from serious injuries and potential departures in free agency, Miami’s defense could look very different in 2024, so let’s enjoy these moments while we can.

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Grading the Dolphins cornerbacks after their 2023 season

A look at Miami’s cornerbacks, and the year they had in 2023.

The Miami Dolphins finished their 2023 campaign with an 11-6 record and made the postseason for the second time in as many years under head coach Mike McDaniel. Unfortunately, it came to an end with a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild-card round.

While other teams are in the midst of their playoff run, it’s time to do some reflecting on the team in South Florida.

Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be reviewing and evaluating different positions for the Dolphins in 2023. Today, we’ll look at the cornerbacks.

Tyreek Hill’s Dolphins teammates react to WR’s house fire

A number of Dolphins spoke about the fire at Tyreek Hill’s home.

While Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill was putting in the work at the team’s Baptist Health Training Complex across the street from Hard Rock Stadium, his Southwest Ranches home caught on fire.

The fire, which, at one point, was upgraded to a two-alarm fire, according to WSVN, was eventually controlled by firefighters on the scene and no one was hurt.

Hill left practice to meet to deal with the matter, and he was later caught by the news helicopters at his house with his wife and mother.

The rest of his teammates finished out their practice session, but a few of them spoke about the situation afterward. Here’s what they had to say:

News, notes and nuggets heading into Dolphins-Jets Black Friday Game

Some tidbits for Friday’s action.

The 7-3 Miami Dolphins, who are in first place in the AFC East, head to New Jersey this holiday week to face the New York Jets in the NFL’s first-ever Black Friday game. Interestingly enough, this will be Miami’s fifth regular season game on a Friday in team history.

The first two were in 1966 against the Oakland Raiders on September 2, and the second was against the Jets on September 9.

Miami and New York met again on a Friday on the last game of the regular season in 1983 (December 6).

Most recently, the Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs moved up their regularly scheduled game two days due to Hurricane Wilma and played Friday, October 21, 2005.

As far as the all-time series between the rivals, the Dolphins have won 11 of the past 14 games against the Jets, including four of the past five.

Here are a few more notes heading into Friday:

Dolphins CB Kader Kohou reacts to rough performance vs. Bills

He has a level-headed approach.

The Miami Dolphins suffered their first loss of the season on Sunday, as they were beaten by their AFC East rivals, the Buffalo Bills, 48-20 at Highmark Stadium.

One of the biggest reasons for Miami’s defeat was the poor performance of the secondary against wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who recorded six receptions for 120 yards and three scores.

Matched up on him for most of the day was second-year cornerback Kader Kohou, who’s moved around a lot early on and taken on a lot more responsibility than undrafted players have this soon.

After the game, Kohou was asked if he’s ever had a game where he’s struggled to this level.

“Hell nah, my first game [like this],” Kohou said. “It’s a humbling experience. It’s a lot to learn from. We’ll go back and look at the tape.”

The former Texas A&M-Commerce cornerback keeps a level-headed approach, and he’s ready to bounce back.

“Just like when you have good games, you can’t let it get to your head, so I don’t let bad games get to my head,” Kohou said. “It was a bad game for sure, but we still have what, 13 more? If I let this dictate the rest of my season, I’m gonna have a terrible season. So, I can’t look at it like that”

Miami will need someone in the secondary to step up until Jalen Ramsey is back fully healthy, and if Kohou can be that guy, it will be extremely beneficial for Vic Fangio’s unit.

4 takeaways from Dolphins’ disheartening loss to the Bills

What we learned from Miami’s first loss of the season.

The Miami Dolphins find themselves in second place in the AFC East for the first time in 2023, as the Buffalo Bills defeated Miami by a score of 48-20 Sunday afternoon in what was an all-around beatdown.

The game looked like it was going to be a shootout when the first four drives resulted in both teams trading touchdowns, making it a 14-14 tie early in the second quarter. However, it was all Bills the rest of the way. This game shows the Dolphins still have much to learn about themselves and how they’re going to compete with the top teams in the AFC moving forward.

Here are four things we learned from the Dolphins’ first loss of the season:

The NFL’s Worst of Week 4: Matt Canada, Chicago Bears, Mac Jones, Raiders bomb on both sides

Matt Canada. The Chicago Bears, The Raiders’ offensive and defensive lines. Mac Jones’ implosion. It’s time for the Worst of Week 4 in the 2023 NFL season!

Football is a wonderful, majestic game, and it’s fun to highlight and detail the greatest games, players, and schemes when they come along.

Football is also a maddening, weird, and occasionally nonsensical game, and it’s just as much fun to highlight and detail those games, players, and decisions that make you want to perform a full Keith Moon demolition to your television.

If you’re into the latter, this article is for you. Through Sunday’s early games, here are the worst beatdowns, the most inexplicable decisions, and the most outright bat-crazy stuff we’ve seen.

Folks, it’s the Worst of Week 4 in the 2023 NFL season!

The NFL’s 11 best slot defenders

Doug Farrar continues his positional lists of the NFL’s best players with the 11 best slot defenders heading into the 2023 NFL season.

In the 2022 NFL season, defenses played nickel (five defensive backs) on 12,630 opponent passing attempts. Defenses played dime (six defensive backs) on 2,715 opponent dropbacks. With just 3,206 opponent dropbacks against four defensive backs last season, base defense is no longer base defense — nickel is the new base, and has been for some time.

Moreover, the influx of three-safety looks in the NFL has increased, as has the specific “big nickel” looks with three safeties and two cornerbacks.

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The point of this preamble? That slot defenders are more important than they’ve ever been. Whether it’s in a more traditional nickel or dime look with just one slot defender, or defenses aligning two slot defenders to the strong side of the 3×1 formation, slot defenders aren’t just pre-emptive starters anymore — they’re integral parts of modern defenses, and good luck having a great defense without at least one.

Slot defenders have their own skill sets. It’s not like it was 20 years ago, when the smallest, slowest defensive back on a roster was relegated to the slot. Now, those guys need to have the coverage skills of cornerbacks, the run-stopping abilities of strong safeties, and the blitz instincts of linebackers.

It’s a fascinating gig.

As Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup said in this week’s edition of the “Xs and Os” podcast/video, the requirements for top-tier slot defenders make it a unique position.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Building the perfect secondary

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“Slot defenders are an interesting breed. They can come in all shapes and sizes. They can be smaller, like Mike Hilton, who I think is one of the best slot defenders in the league. They can be bigger; it depends on what you want. But think of it this way — I know the numbers might be going down a bit, but teams line up in 11 personnel [one running back, one tight end, three receivers] a majority of the time. And teams are playing out of 11 personnel on first down — on second-and-3. What we consider normal down-and-distance situations where the run game is part of the offense. It’s not jst a third-down situation.

“Your slot defender is not just a pass defender. Your slot defender has to be able to defend the run, because there are a lot of teams that run toward the slot defender, because they know he’s not as good a run defender as you’d see running to the other side, where you might have bigger bodies. He also has to be part of pressure schemes. How often do we see slot defenders in today’s NFL as blitzers?

“So, not only do you have to play man coverage against receivers who have a two-way go, you also have to play underneath zone coverage, which is different than playing underneath zone coverage if you’re an outside cornerback. There are different rules, because zones all have their own rules.”

As has been the case with other defensive backs on this year’s list, the transfer of power from season to season is inconsistent, at best. Just two slot defenders from last year’s list — Derwin James and Kyle Dugger — made it in the 2023 group. Sometimes, that was about positional changes; other times, the performances from last year’s top slot defenders were simply eclipsed by the new guys.

No matter how you slice it, it’s tough to be a great slot defender in today’s NFL, and here are out 11 best heading into the 2023 season.

The NFL’s 11 best cornerbacks
The NFL’s 11 best safeties

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise indicated).