Jaelan Phillips has quietly set a team rookie record

Jaelan Phillips set a Miami Dolphins team rookie record with eight and a half sacks and it seems to have fallen by the wayside.

While Jaelan Phillips might seek and deserve the recognition, the way this seems to go overlooked is probably a good thing.

What it might show, is this defense as a whole is good, is growing, and has the potential to be even better.

This defense was built from the back end up, with the emphasis on cornerbacks, one who is a lock-down defender, Xavien Howard, and the other who is pretty good as well, Byron Jones. Stopping the run was also a focus, and players were brought in with that in mind.

The Miami Dolphins haven’t had a good free safety, in quite a while, someone who could provide good coverage, and also stop defenders dead in their tracks.

Jevon Holland was drafted early in the second round, with the pick following Jaelan Phillips, but because of the shortage of a good safety, he was probably overshadowing all of those sacks that got accumulated over the season in a sneaky fashion. Jaylen Waddle who was picked earlier also got most of the attention, and deservedly so, as we haven’t seen a receiver drafted like him in quite a while.

Jaelan Phillips along with the whole defense had a slow start to the season, but this is the part that probably stood out the most. Later on, when the whole defense was running like a well-oiled machine, the accolades he had blended in.

Could even more sacks be in the works? It is a possibility because one hand washes the other. That is to say when one part of the defense gets better, it tends to bleed over to the other parts. The back end has gotten better with coverage cornerbacks, we finally have a good free safety, and stopping the run has improved. So, because of those improvements, pressure on the quarterback, and getting sacks could be well on their way for the Miami Dolphins.