It isn’t hard to see why the Miami Dolphins have been connected with free agent defensive end Trey Flowers. He’s productive, he’s smart, he’s heavy-handed and he’s versatile. But ultimately, the reason why he’s so often projected to Miami and potentially even preferred by the Dolphins is that he’s something else.
Familiar.
The tea leaves are telling us he’ll be pretty darn expensive, too. Does Miami have other options? Ones that wouldn’t make a new member of the Dolphins one of the 6 highest paid pass rushers in the league?
What about Washington EDGE Preston Smith? Smith is flying a little bit under the radar at the moment, given the hype of Flowers and the shopping of Kansas City’s Dee Ford. Somehow, Smith has become a bit of an afterthought on the free agent market altogether.
But here’s the thing: he checks a lot of those same boxes that we’ve heard the Dolphins staff express they want and need out of their defenders. Smart. Heavy-handed. Versatile.
Stats don’t tell the whole story, especially superficial ones. But at the same time, Smith and Flowers aren’t that far off of each other over the past 3 seasons.
Trey Flowers – 45 games, 37 starts
164 total tackles, 21.0 sacks, 25 tackles for loss, 59 QB hits
Preston Smith – 48 games, 48 starts
134 total tackles, 16.5 sacks, 23 tackles for loss, 49 QB hits
Let the record state that in 2015, both of these players’ rookie years, Smith logged an additional 8.0 sacks as a rotational defender in Washington.
And with a projected annual average salary of $11M, the question begs to be asked: is Flowers’ familiarity and marginal added production worth an extra $4-5M per season?
Miami has every right to chase their preferred target. But, as with every player, the Dolphins need to stand firm on his worth and not overpay. There’s a player cut from the same cloth that may cost you two-thirds the price out there in Smith.
