The Miami Dolphins are now just a week away from engaging in the most prominent scouting event of the 2021 offseason — the Senior Bowl. With the coronavirus pandemic threatening much of the status quo in the NFL Draft process, the Senior Bowl will continue on as usual. Just with some socially distanced modifications and plenty of COVID-19 protocols for the health and safety of all involved.
The Senior Bowl, courtesy of Director Jim Nagy, has been unveiling which players are partaking in the event for which team; either the Dolphins or the Carolina Panthers.
Yesterday, the defensive backs were revealed. Here’s who Miami will be coaching throughout the week for three days of practice and then the game itself at the end of the week.
Defensive backs
Today is player arrival day at 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl. When these DBs touch down in Mobile they’ll be spending 7 days with the @MiamiDolphins. 🛬 pic.twitter.com/AVnrxBqAkG
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) January 23, 2021
So which prospects are a good fit for what the Miami Dolphins want to do?
One player who will have the eye of the Dolphins staff or sure is Cal cornerback Camryn Bynum, who played for Dolphins’ assistant Gerald Alexander prior to Miami hiring him onto their staff ahead of the 2020 season. Best of all, Bynum isn’t considered a candidate for a high draft selection so there is a fair chance Miami sees him available to them in the later rounds this April.
Former Michigan cornerback Ambry Thomas could be a fit in the earlier rounds. He is a physical cornerback who split time between the outside and the nickel; so he’d give the Dolphins a new candidate to step into their nickel corner spot — a critical piece of their defensive puzzle. Their 2020 nickel, Nik Needham, played 60% of the team’s defensive snaps. This week will be a big one for Thomas, who elected to sit out the 2020 college football season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Small schooler Christian Uphoff profiles as a developmental project that the Dolphins would probably like to tackle, too — the Dolphins are one of the teams in the NFL you’d best feel can take underdeveloped talents and pull new polish from under the direction of Brian Flores and his staff.