Five Miami Dolphins players set to breakout in 2018
- Raekwon McMillan/Jerome Baker
During the 2016 College Football season, Ohio State had two of the best linebackers in the nation, who were not just good on their own but also complemented each other very well. At the time, the first of these two linebackers, Raekwon McMillan, the Buckeyes’ middle backer, was widely considered to be a first or second-round pick.
Fast forward to April and he was off the board at pick 54 and was headed south to Miami. The other, outside linebacker, Jerome Baker, was playing just as well as McMillan, if not better, despite being a year younger.
Prior to the 2017 season, Baker was a projected first-round talent. However, he struggled without his partner in crime, McMillan. Teams worried about Baker’s lack of size for a linebacker and thus baker slipped to the 3rd round in 2018 NFL Draft and landed with the same team that his pal McMillan was on.
McMillan, of course, tore his ACL on the first play of his career in the preseason, so, like Jerome Baker, has no on-field NFL experience. After a very good showing in the first preseason game, Baker took snaps with the ones this week and hopes to start this Friday in Carolina.
Finally, the two talented former Buckeyes will be on the same field again, feeding off each other, forming the same tandem that led Ohio State to the College Football Playoff in 2016.
With Bakers speed and McMillan’s instincts the Dolphins could have found themselves an ascending young tandem of linebackers that could soon rival any other in the league.
Anyone who has paid attention to Dolphins camp knows that Xavien Howard has been a standout. After ending last season looking like a lockdown corner, Howard appears to have picked up right where he left off.
DeVante Parker has been invisible through camp, and while it’s bad news for the former first-round pick in Parker, it’s very encouraging for his shadow, Xavien Howard. Howard can use his size and physicality to match up well with any big receiver but he struggles with speedy receivers.
If the Dolphins can find a fast option at the cornerback spot across from Howard, someone like Torry McTyer or Bobby McCain, to tend to the faster, quicker receivers, it will allow Howard to shadow and lock up the bigger more physical receivers.
Xavien Howard dominated late last season (4 Int’s in two-game span, Week 13, Week 14) and dominated in training camp, if this trend continues, Howard can soon become one of the best corners in the league and fulfill his Pro Bowl potential that he certainly has the talent to achieve.