Miami Dolphins: 5 things to love from first week of training camp

Miami Dolphins training camp positive #3: Howard vs. Hill

Tyreek Hill’s arrival will obviously be beneficial to his teammates on the offense, but one hidden benefit of his presence is his ability to make the defense better, too.

Miami’s defensive backs already make up one of the premier units in the league, and they’ll only get better while having to cover the likes of Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and others during practice and training camp. The most intriguing matchup, and the one that will be most beneficial to both players, is the one between Hill and Xavien Howard.

No matter what the Madden ratings tell you, Howard is still one of the top cover cornerbacks in the league, and one of the best ball-hawking defensive backs of the current generation. His track record speaks for itself, and he is routinely one of, if not the most important player on the entire Dolphins’ roster.

He will get to go up against some serious competition every day in practice. Gone are the days of covering DeVante Parker and Jakeem Grant in camp. Howard will now go toe-to-toe with some of the fastest players the game has to offer, and one of the top wide receivers in the entire league in Hill.

Iron sharpens iron, and Tyreek Hill and Xavien Howard will hopefully be prime examples of that in 2022.