The Miami Dolphins are loaded in the secondary but who’s the best safety?
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins secondary has to be good, it’s Brian Flores’ favorite position and one he knows very well but is there a best player in the safety group?
Continuing our off-season look at the Dolphins roster, we jump from offense to the deep secondary where Miami is trying to build a formidable defensive backfield that will be able to stop offensive production. Miami has put a lot of money and draft resources into the secondary. So naturally, we have to try and rank them from the top to the bottom and the bottom to the top!
We will start with the safeties. At the time of this writing, there are six players listed as safeties on the roster.
Brian Cole: Cole was on the Raven roster last year but didn’t make any appearances in games. He has no experience aside from training camp and without pre-season games, he didn’t get that experience either. He has a lot to prove.
Nate Holley: Holley played in three games last year for the Dolphins which puts him ahead of Cole and some of the others. He had three total tackles in his first NFL season.
Clayton Fejedelem: Honestly, I keep waiting to hear that Fejedelem is getting released. He is due $2.4 million this year and all of it is recoverable if cut. Fejedelem is an average safety but his value comes on special teams. He needs to stay healthy though. If he can, there is value in keeping him but this year there will be competition for those special team’s jobs.
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Jevon Holland: Holland has no NFL experience but we see the caliber of player he could become and his potential is a lot more than what we have seen in Cole or Holley. While he may be a “better on paper” prospect, he will need to prove it.
Brandon Jones: Jones looked really good at times and there is no reason to believe that at some point the Dolphins safeties will be held by Jones and Holland together. Still, he has room to grow.
Jason McCourty: McCourty has played both corner and safety in his long NFL career and Miami has him listed as a “defensive back”. Chances are we will see him in various roles within the Brian Flores system.
Eric Rowe: Rowe is the Dolphins top safety right now but he isn’t going to be around much longer. 2021 may very well be his last season with the Dolphins. In fact, the Dolphins could opt to move on from him this year. He will count over $6 million in cap space and Miami would save $5 million if they released him. That being said, right now, they need his veteran presence and last year he very good in the secondary. Next year is a more likely scenario that sees him leave but at $5 million next year, there is a lot of value in keeping him.