Xavien Howard a good fit in Miami
By Sean Denison
The Miami Dolphins second round draft pick Xavien Howard fits well into new defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s system. With his aggressive style of play, Howard is the clear front-runner to start opposite of Byron Maxwell.
There’s not an ounce of ambiguity when it comes to the talent the Miami Dolphins received via the draft this year. It most certainly seems that first-year GM Chris Grier put in the work necessary to provide the Dolphins with an array of talented football players who may fit quite well within the current Dolphins blueprint.
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The majority of the newly acquired players for the Dolphins reside on the offensive side of the football—except perhaps the most intriguing player: second round pick, cornerback Xavien Howard, from Baylor University.
Howard (6-0, 201) has the size and athleticism that new defensive coordinator Vance Joseph marvels at. Howard does a good job pressing receivers off the ball and can play in both man and zone coverage. Interestingly enough, Howard’s playing style and long frame were a few of the reasons why NFL scouts compared the young man to the Dolphins new cornerback Byron Maxwell.
One of the many reasons Howard is such an interesting pick for the Dolphins is his chance to start right away opposite of Byron Maxwell. Howard’s aggressiveness off the ball jives well with the kind of system that Vance Joseph wants to implement in Miami.
With the loss of pro-bowl cornerback Brent Grimes and veteran Brice McCain this offseason, it was crucial for the Dolphins to address the cornerback position. Despite picking up Byron Maxwell from the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason, the Dolphins still remained thin in the secondary.
In fact, many analysts and Dolphins fans across the country had the team selecting a cornerback with their first round pick. But Miami (holding the 13th overall pick)—with defensive backs Jalen Ramsey, Eli Apple, and Vernon Hargreaves off the board—had an opportunity they couldn’t pass up and selected offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil out of the University of Mississippi.
Although Tunsil—who appeared in a video smoking marijuana out of a gas mask and in a series of text messages conversation openly admitted to accepting money from a college coach—has gotten the majority of the attention from the media. Thus, it’s easy to overlook the value the Dolphins received with Howard in the second round.
Howard will compete day one for a starting spot. Given his size, style of play, and familiarity with the type of defense Joseph likes his cornerbacks to play, Howard is the clear front-runner to win the battle between the other defensive backs not named Byron Maxwell.
The Dolphins defense last season was dreadful; there’s no way around it. Ranking near the bottom of the league (21st in passing and 28th in rushing), the Dolphins defense, after a myriad of offseason hype, fell short of expectations and flat on their faces.
With new coaches, defensive system, and players in place, the Dolphins will have a whole new look on the defensive side of the ball. Of course, we don’t know if this will translate into a better, stouter defense. But it’s going in the right direction.
In Xavien Howard, the Dolphins potentially got a steal. Howard’s game and attitude should translate well to the next level and in the Dolphins’ new defense.