We are entering into year two of the Brian Flores/Chris Grier regime in South Florida and Miami’s duo atop the organization has now officially had a chance to put their stamp on the Dolphins’ roster. The team has been stripped down and subsequently built back up in a matter of 16 months, a feat that shouldn’t be underestimated. There has been impressive amounts of work done on this Dolphins’ roster — and the team is arguably in its best position in more than a decade.
One of the primary identities of the Dolphins’ team is going to be the secondary. This defense, under the watch of Brian Flores, is going to implement a ton of high volume defensive backs in their sub-packages. Sniffing out a “Brian Flores” defensive back isn’t hard — they need to be smart, tackle well and provide versatility on the back end.
But what other athletic traits should we be looking for? Consider this — the Dolphins’ secondary will a few holdovers in their nickel package this season between Bobby McCain (Free Safety) and Xavien Howard (boundary corner). Outside of that, the Dolphins’ secondary is bloated and filled with new talent brought in by the current regime.
Here is the projected Dolphins’ starting secondary (* denotes added in the last last 16 months):
- CB Xavien Howard (2016 2nd-RD)
- CB Byron Jones (2020 free agency)*
- NB Noah Igbinoghene (2020 1st-RD)*
- FS Bobby McCain (2015 5th-RD)
- SS Eric Rowe (2019 free agency)*
What are the measurable common denominators between this group? The Miami Dolphins’ secondary is filled with a bunch of athletic freaks, that’s the core takeaway. Consider their three starring cornerbacks in Jones, Howard and Igbinoghene. Here are their heights & weights (size), 40 time (speed), vertical jumps & broad jumps (explosiveness) and three-cone drills & short shuttles (agility) from their respective pre-draft processes.
Byron Jones
– Height: 6-foot-1 (81st percentile)
– Weight: 199 pounds (75th percentile)
– 40-time: 4.36 seconds* (92nd percentile)
– Vertical: 44.50 inches (99th percentile)
– Broad: 12 feet, 3 inches (99th percentile)
– 3-Cone Drill: 6.78 seconds (80th percentile)
– Short Shuttle: 3.94 seconds (93rd percentile)
*Denotes test from his 2015 Pro Day
Xavien Howard
– Height: 6-foot-0 (63rd percentile)
– Weight: 201 pounds (80th percentile)
– 40-time: 4.41 seconds* (80th percentile)
– Vertical: 38.50 inches* (80th percentile)
– Broad: 10 feet, 5 inches* (74th percentile)
– 3-Cone Drill: 6.94 seconds* (50th percentile)
– Short Shuttle: Did Not Participate
*Denotes test from his 2016 Pro Day
Noah Igbinoghene
– Height: 5-foot-10 (23rd percentile)
– Weight: 198 pounds (72nd percentile)
– 40-time: 4.47 seconds* (58th percentile)
– Vertical: 40.0 inches* (84th percentile)
– Broad: 10 feet, 8 inches (86th percentile)
– 3-Cone Drill: Did Not Participate
– Short Shuttle: Did Not Participate
*Denotes test from his 2020 Pro Day
If you want to play cornerback for the Miami Dolphins, you better be physical and you better be a dense, explosive athlete. Te trend continues amid the Dolphins’ safety room, too. Consider the athletic measures of their two starting safeties in each of the same drills:
Bobby McCain (percentiles versus Free Safeties)
– Height: 5-foot-9 (1st percentile)
– Weight: 195 pounds (5th percentile)
– 40-time: 4.51 seconds (77th percentile)
– Vertical: 36.0 inches (57th percentile)
– Broad: 10 feet, 10 inches (94th percentile)
– 3-Cone Drill: 6.80 seconds (82nd percentile)
– Short Shuttle: 3.82 seconds (99th percentile)
Eric Rowe (percentiles versus Strong Safeties)
– Height: 6-foot-1 (51st percentile)
– Weight: 205 pounds (52nd percentile)
– 40-time: 4.45 seconds (86th percentile)
– Vertical: 39.0 inches (87th percentile)
– Broad: 10 feet, 5 inches (79th percentile)
– 3-Cone Drill: 6.70 seconds (89th percentile)
– Short Shuttle: 3.97 seconds (92nd percentile)
Out of 22 logged tests in 5 different categories, only four individual tests for the Dolphins’ starting secondary fell outside of the top 75th percentile of defensive backs at their respective position — a pretty incredible testament to the Dolphins’ thirst for prototypes in the secondary. Four tests failed to eclipse the 75th percentile, where as nearly twice that many (7) landed inside the 90th percentile.
The Dolphins covet non-measurables at all positions in the NFL Draft — leadership, intangibles, effort, passion and so on. But in the secondary, a potential Dolphins defender is pretty easy to spot, too. Just look for the best all-around athletes.