Cornerbacks That Make Sense For The Miami Dolphins

Remember the days of Sam Madison, Patrick Surtain, Sammy Knight and Brock Marion.  The Miami Dolphins had their entire secondary as pro ball players.  Add in the element of Jason Taylor rushing the edge, this secondary didn’t have to contain their responsibly that long. The truth is, the best secondary is the one that plays for the shortest amount of time.

This past season, the Dolphins secondary was a mess.  There isn’t one cornerback that should sense that they are secure, as a new coach and regimen come into town.  Reviewing the current depth chart, there could only be two players on this list that remain when Organized Team Activities start this spring; Tony Lippett and Bobby McCain.  The primary reason these two are on the list, as they were draft picks from last year that have shown progress.

Brent Grimes

Brice McCain

Jamar Taylor

Most likely all gone.

The Dolphins new General Manager, Chris Grier, was the head of scouting in his previous role, so he will ensure that both Bobby and Lippett are on the team come training camp.  Furthermore, the Dolphins would be wise to look at the drat to secure a young promising prospect, kinda what they thought they did when the Dolphins drafted Will Davis and Jamar Taylor.  Oh, wasted draft picks.  That’s a story for another day.

The focus here is who is available in Free Agency that the Dolphins might want to target? Josh Norman is the cream of the crop and most likely will be franchised by the Carolina Panther, but let’s take a closer look to see who the Dolphins should target:

Trumaine Johnson – CB:

• TJ is my primary focus this offseason. The Rams have both their starting cornerback hitting the free agent pool.  Johnson is the best of the group and will demand a healthy contract. Basically, Johnson deserves Grimes cap space, and truth be told, I would give it to him.  Johnson is a beast of corner that can play straight up bump and run and plays well in the zone.  TJ understands game recognition based on his 7 INTs this year.  The Dolphins haven’t seen that type of production since Surtain.

Leon Hall – CB

• Vance Joseph is our new defensive coordinator, and based on the reports out there he is a player’s type of coach. Joseph will look to bring in some veteran leadership to this young secondary and Hall fits that mold.  Hall is a former first round pick that has shadowed the alpha WR during his tenure with the Bengals.  Depending on how things play out, Hall could see the boundary or play inside nickel, regardless, Hall makes sense as an ideal landing spot for the Dolphins secondary.

Brandon Boykin – CB

• Boykin was traded this past year from Philly to Pit for a 5^th I don’t see the Steeler re-signing him. If Boykins hits the market, he is your everyday nickel cornerback.  His shadowing and hip movement is an ideal pairing in nickel and dime packages. Plus his speed on the spread formation allows him to play the blitz perfectly.

Players the Dolphins should stay away from:

Sean Smith – CB

• No re-union in South Beach. Although Smith played well during his tenure with the Chiefs, he is most likely looking for his last big paycheck and I doubt Miami will open their wallets for a player that has already been suspended 4 games and is one violation away being suspended the entire year. Don’t they have enough drama with Dion Jordan?  In all honestly, Tony Lippett is a copycat of Sean Smith, but his younger and cheaper.

Prince Amukarmar – CB

• Prince is great cornerback, my concern is health. He has never played a full 16 game season, why would the Dolphins offer him a contract to be a starting player that they can’t rely on?  Unless this type of contract negotiation is incentive ridden, then it kind of make sense, but when you are trying to address one of your weakest positions it doesn’t make sense to focus your attention on this type of player.

I can understand and appreciate the concern for the selected targets that I have presented, and the understanding is that you don’t build a team via free agency.  However, last year Todd Bowles, built his secondary via free agency and that resulted in great success.  Who wouldn’t want Revis, Crommartie and Skyles?

Securing Johnson, Hall And Boykins, allows the Dolphins to line up against any opposing team and provide great results. Add in the element of entertaining new young talent via the draft to learn from these veterans, you can now start thinking… or at least daydreaming about the golden days of Sammy, Patrick and Brock.