The Miami Dolphins’ starting defense is going to look drastically different than the one we saw in 2019. That isn’t necessarily breaking news and the same could feasibly be said for the offensive side of the football as well — but the Dolphins’ defense has seen a flood of fresh bodies into the mix over the course of the first week of free agency. What does that spell for a Dolphins starting lineup on defense?
Perhaps the best way to identify the roles that Miami will still need to address is to lay out the blueprint for Miami’s starting defense and see where the obvious holes are.
For the sake of this exercise, we’ll pretend the Miami Dolphins are running an odd front (3-4) defense; although in truth we’ll see much more of the Dolphins running in nickel and dime sub-packages.
Projected 2020 Dolphins base defense as of 3/23:
Defensive End – Christian Wilkins
Nose Tackle – Davon Godchaux
Defensive End – Emmanuel Ogbah
Rush LB – Shaq Lawson
Inside LB – Raekwon McMilan
Inside LB – Jerome Baker
Rush LB – Kyle Van Noy
Cornerback – Byron Jones
Free Safety – Bobby McCain
Strong Safety – Eric Rowe
Cornerback – Xavien Howard
This group features two spots in need of tweaking. The nose tackle position could use a true space eater; someone who can play the early downs and occupy double teams. This would allow Godchaux to move into the B-gap, where he’s better suited to play stout and return Ogbah to his ideal role as a rotational defender with inside/outside capabilities.
The other primary spot to address is free safety. Bobby McCain, with his versatility, demands a spot in this secondary. But he has a great deal of experience at cornerback and as the nickel, returning him to such a role would get better value out of him and provide more flexibility for aggressive coverage.
So if the Dolphins resume addressing the defense, look for those two positions to serve as starting points.
