The Curious Case of Minkah Fitzpatrick
When the Dolphins drafted Minkah Fitzpatrick in the first round of this past NFL draft, a sense of hesitation filled my air. Not the same air that was present when the Dolphins drafted Ted Ginn Jr, but that same gut feeling.
Now that the draft has been completed and the fans now have a better sense of what the Dolphins wanted to accomplish the hesitation has turned into the unknown feeling. To be honest, no one can tell you that a player is going to succeed in the NFL -just ask Ryan Leaf, or Yatil Green or Dion Jordan. Teams hope that they have selected a player that they can develop in their system and hope that talent matures into a franchise player.
Since the draft, all media outlets are pouring in on how the Dolphins got a steal in Minkah. How he will be the new swiss army knife on the field or how NIck Saban has made his way back into Miami. All the scouting reports show that Minkah is a highly intelligent player that has a deep drive to learn his playbook and understand how the game will unfold. Which is everything you want to hear from your first-year player.
With all that in mind – how will Minkah look on the field? How will Matt Burke line up his team when week 1 starts? Here is what we know, Miami uses a 4-3 defensive formation, which includes two cornerbacks and two free safeties. In today’s NFL, we know that we are in a pass happy league, thereby teams are forced to cover three wide receiver sets 60% of the time during an actual game. What does that all mean, basically, what ever your main formation is, you are only potentially playing that less than 40% of the time.
The Dolphins, flirted with a hybrid nickel defense a few years back, but they rolled out of it when they realized they didn’t have the personnel to make it work. That hybrid consisted of 3 line men, 3 linebackers and 5 secondary players, or, they can switch it up and implement a 4, 2, 5 (4 linemen, 2 linebackers and 5 secondary players) and lastly the big nickel formation 2,4,5 (2 linemen, 4, linebackers and 5 secondary players).
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What this all means is that you are removing either a linemen(s) or linebacker(s) to add more secondary help. Key phrase – ADD MORE SECONDARY HELP. The Dolphins didn’t have a player on their roster that could cover a tight end or a Running back wheel route last year, which is why the wanted to address this in the NFL draft, where 2 of their top 3 picks where defensive players.
Enter Minkah. The Dolphins have two starting caliber safeties in TJ McDonald and Reshad Jones. Players that would start for almost every other team in this league, but their down fall is that they are identical players. Don’t blame the players, blame the coaches for this issue. Burke inherited Kevin Coyle playbook, rather than create his own, he kept his zebra formation (basically, where you have two players playing the same position interchangeably ). Now that Minkah is here, the Dolphins have their first true free safety since Chris Clemons.
When Clemons roamed the field, Mike Nolan was the Dolphins DC, and instead of the Zebra, the Dolphins implemented a Robber technique. The robber technique basically allowed your Free Safety to play center field and allowed your Strong Safety to drop to the line of scrimmage.
So, what does this all mean, how does the nickel hybrid, three safeties and a Robber technique all unfold for the Dolphins this upcoming season – great question – let’s break it down.
If I was Burke, my base formation would be the hybrid nickel. I would start TJ, Jones and Minkah all at the same time. TJ and Jones are valuable players that could become elite players, with the right formation. Allowing them to play close to the line of scrimmage will allow them to play a shorter amount of time. A wise man once said, “The best secondary, is the one that plays the shortest amount of time.” (Bill Parcells) Jones and TJ shouldn’t be running north and south on the field – they are best suited for sideline to sideline.
Minkah will allow those two players to do that, by playing the money position (termed by Saban) or the Robber (termed by Nolan), the Dolphins, in my eyes, will look to employ a two-drop safety net with a Robber in the middle of the field. Which will then allow all players to play at their best position and make a difference on the field. We will see TJ and Jones still running with Running Back and Tight Ends, but the Robber will provide over the top help.
I doubt that Burke will actually be that bold and start all three players and become the first DC implement a hybrid outside the base 3-4 or 4-3 sets. It’s a bold move, one where you are starting your best athletes regardless of position, that would make all other teams curious, right? Isn’t that what a first-round pick should bring to a team – A sense of curiosity?