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 defensive line. Much like the secondary, Miami has hand selected personnel to act in starring roles up front on Brian Flores’ defense — and star in multiple roles on a week to week basis as Miami looks to match personnel with the opposition each week.
But what does the personnel in place tell us about what the Dolphins are looking for in defensive linemen? In all, the Flores/Grier regime has been responsible for bringing in the following notable defensive linemen over the last 16 months:
- DT Christian Wilkins (2019 1st-RD)
- DT Raekwon Davis (2020 2nd-RD)
- DL Jason Strowbridge (2020 5th-RD)
- DE Curtis Weaver (2020 5th-RD)
- DL Emmanuel Ogbah (2020 free agency)
- DE Shaq Lawson (2020 free agency)
This list does not include OLBs Vince Biegel and Andrew Van Ginkel, amongst others, either. What trends can be picked up from this slew of talent? Miami has targeted long-armed defenders (35.5″ arms for Ogbah) and shorter-armed defenders (32.75″ arms for Lawson) alike — and seemingly with no preference when you consider the total sum of their additions. The narrative for a “Patriots-style” defender — and by extension a Brian Flores defender — is that heavy hands and long-arms are the requisites. Heavy hands are still applicable across the board for Miami’s defensive linemen, but arm length doesn’t appear to be a “make or break” proposition.
Density is important for the Dolphins’ defenders. Their four added defensive ends average 270.5 pounds. Davis and Wilkins average 313 pounds. This team wants bullies up front.
Another seemingly inconsequential measure for the Dolphins’ defensive line is agility drills at the NFL Combine. Among the six talents added to the fray, only Curtis Weaver (7.00s) and Shaq Lawson (7.16s) logged 3-cone drills that were above the 50th percentile among defenders at the NFL Combine. The Dolphins’ would rather see their defenders capable of physically overwhelming blockers in shallow angles and collapse the pocket than bend the edge and turn the corner off the outside and play with finesse.
It fits Flores’ brand and style of football — at the end of the day you need to be able to overwhelm and out-muscle the opponent to win real estate at the line of scrimmage. That linear explosiveness seems to be further reinforced when assessing the Dolphins’ additions and how well they test in the Combine jumps.
Ogbah, Lawson, Strowbridge and Weaver (at defensive end) plus Wilkins and Davis (at defensive tackle) all measure in with standing broad jump scores above the 55th percentile — and only Weaver logged a score below the 60th percentile. With a two year sample size at our disposal, being dense, playing heavy handed and showing explosiveness in straight line situations seems to be Miami’s requisites for playing along their defensive line under Flores and Grier.