4 Miami Dolphins players that tend to be under-appreciated
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins roster is loaded with talent and some pretty impressive names to go with that talent but inevitably, there are players that simply don't get enough attention.
It's hard to view a football team, or any sports team for that matter, and not focus on the big name that continually impresses enough to make all the highlight reels.
In Miami, it is easy to see the contributions of Tua Tagovailoa, Xavien Howard, Jaylen Waddle, Jevon Holland, Jaelan Phillips, and of course, Tyreek Hill, this year, we can add Jalen Ramsey as well. The seven of them represent a small portion of a team that has 53 men on it and 11 players that play on each side of the ball.
Jerome Baker is that one player that Miami Dolphins fans keep expecting to be cut, traded, or whatever else. Fans wanted him replaced in the draft, in free agency, and by the start of camp but Baker deserves better.
In 2022, Jerome Baker posted 100 combined tackles. Foye Oluokun of the Jacksonville Jaguars led all linebackers in tackles last season. He had 28 more. That isn't a huge number.
For Baker, it is his salary that more often than not creates the negative attention. Baker is a high-motor player that can stop the run and drop into coverage. Is he great at his job? No, of course not, he has inconsistency issues and sometimes will get lost in coverage or miss a tackle that he should make but if he was paid less, fans would likely have a far different approach to him.
Over his career, this year will be number six, he has posted 79, 126, 112, 92, and 100 combined tackles. He has 21 sacks including four last season. Panthers linebacker, Frankie Luvu led all linebackers last season with 7. Baker's 4 is one-half behind Roquaon Smith's 4.5. Smith also posted 103 tackles last season.
When compared to Smith, a player that many Dolphins fans thought Miami should have traded for, you get a better idea of how underappreciated Baker is. While Smith is of course a better player, the margins are not all that big.
Both players came into the league in 2018. Smith, 8th overall in round one, and Baker a 3rd round selection. Smith leads Baker statistically with 100 more tackles and 21 more QB hits but Baker has more sacks and more forced fumbles.
By no means am I saying that Baker is equal to Smith, that is far from accurate but it is hard to say that Baker is horrible at his job, because he is not. If his salary, again, wasn't the black mark, the view on Baker would be a lot different. This year, it will be interesting to see how Vic Fangio uses him compared to how Baker has performed under the system installed by Brian Flores in 2019.