Five Dolphins Secondary Players to Watch Tonight

The lights will finally be on! Football is back! It might only be pre-season, but it’s a start.  The Miami Dolphins will take on the Chicago Bears tonight, where the initial starters will be limited in action, but this is an opportunity for others to shine.

Reviewing our secondary, the Dolphins know what they have in Reshad Jones, Louis Delmas and Brent Grimes.  All three players are locked and ready to go week 1 against the Washington Redskins.  What to expect as back ups and the secondary CB beta position, that is up for grabs and one of the main reasons why the NFL has pre-season games.

Let’s break down the key players to watch:

Jamar Taylor:

Make or break year for Taylor.  Bottom line, it’s time for the 2013 draft class to shine.  Taylor is entering a key year, no nagging injuries to deal with, or an experienced vet stealing his playing time. It’s now up to Taylor to show and justify his 2^nd round selection.  Within training camp, there have been reports that Taylor was moving around from slot to beta.  No need to consider Taylor for the slot, line him up against Ashlon Jeffery and let’s see if this puppy has any bite.

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Bobby McCain and Tony Lippett:

The Dolphins have always been keen on using high draft picks on their cornerbacks.  Pat Surtain, and Sam Madison both 2^nd round picks.  Vontae Davis and Jamar Fletcher both 1^st round picks.  The attention all training camp has been on two 5^th round picks that are basically stealing the spotlight.  Bobby Mac (my own nick name for him) and Lippett have been making plays almost on a daily basis.  Bear in mind that it usually against the 2^nd or 3^rd strings, but this is the NFL and we shouldn’t belittle this task.  Tonight’s game might give the fans a taste of the future. If these two start shinning any brighter, they will have to be promoted.  The combination of the two, might remind the fans of the pairing of Sean Smith (Tony Lippett) and Vontae Davis (Bobby Mac)

Walt Aikens:

Last Friday, the Miami Dolphins held their first intra-squad scrimmage that was opened to the fans.  Paying close attention to the 3^rd and 4^th quarters of the game, there was one player that started standing out, that player, Walt Aikens.  Aikens not only has disciplined himself in the weight room, but he is now understanding the speed of the game.  Aiken’s biggest progression is his game recognition, utilizing zone and man coverage schema to understand where he should be.   As Louis Delmas injury concerns never go away, it might only be a matter of time, before we see Aikens nipping at Delmas heals.

Brice McCain:

McCain has been hidden in the shadows.  He was the player that signed the same day the Dolphins signed Suh, furthermore, he was the player that was supposed to battle for the slot corner position.  Fast forward to the second week of training camp and McCain has a legitimate chance to be a starting beta corner.  McCain has made a strong impression not only on Kevin Coyle and Joe Philbin, but his teammates are starting to pay attention to his attributes.  The front office knows what they have in Grimes, tonight, against the Bears, Coyle should have McCain and Taylor as his starting corners and let’s see what happens.

Five key players battling for positional ranking within the Dolphins depth chart.  The best part of all this, it’s on them to prove where they should be inserted.  As the lights come one, I am sure everyone is finally ready for some football!