The Miami Dolphins have quietly built a fearsome front seven

Linebackers

Coming into this offseason, the linebackers were a glaring weakness on this defense. Their depth is still a bit of a concern, but they managed to improve greatly by adding some new players and locking down Jerome Baker.

Elandon Roberts is such a fun player to watch and someone I would never want to meet at the line of scrimmage. His ability to diagnose a play and knife into the backfield is something special. Unfortunately, he was one of the worst cover linebackers in the NFL last year. For that reason, he really doesn’t belong on the field for all three downs.

The Dolphins upgraded that second inside linebacker spot by trading for Benardrick McKinney. McKinney’s strength isn’t coverage either, but he’s more capable in that role and an even better run defender than Roberts. Back in 2018, he was a pro bowl linebacker and should greatly bolster their run defense in 2021.

On the other hand, Jerome Baker is one of the best cover line backers in all of football and earned himself a handsome pay day. His 62.2 quarterback rating allowed in coverage was the 4th best in the NFL among all linebackers (minimum of 35 targets). Couple that with his seven sacks, and it’s obvious that Baker is a real asset on passing downs.

Duke Riley was a free agent addition this offseason and will likely fill the same role that Kamu Grugier-Hill did last year-primarily as a coverage linebacker. Elandon Roberts figures to be the next man up if anyone is injured and can still be an asset on obvious running downs. Munson and Eguavoen will likely be competing for a roster spot, but aren’t likely to get a ton of reps (barring injury) in 2021.

Film: McKinney against the pass

Film: McKinney against the run

Final thoughts

If there was one part of the roster that has been most impressive for Chris Grier, it has to be his defensive front. He used a number of different ways to get here and he didn’t break the bank to do it. The edge group and interior defensive line are extremely deep and have the players to stop the run and get after the quarterback. The linebackers were a weakness in 2020, but with a few smart player additions, they could be a strength in 2021.

Over the past three years, Chris Grier has utilized numerous roster building techniques to assemble a deep and potentially elite defensive front in 2021 and he deserves an exorbitant amount of credit for doing so.