Scouring over the leftover free agents across the NFL landscape, there’s a handful who appear to make a lot of sense for the Miami Dolphins. Among them is a former 1st-round pick, defensive tackle Danny Shelton. Shelton, who was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2015 as the 12th overall pick, will likely be a fairly cheap target after missing both the first and second wave of free agent signings.
Shelton has struggled to live up to the expectations that come with being a top selection, mostly because his value as a player was never going to feature a quality pass rush. With that in mind, what Shelton does, he can be quite good at: working the A-gaps as a monster presence to occupy blockers.
The value of these players is mitigated in today’s pass happy NFL but a true nose tackle can still bring something to the table. Just ask the New England Patriots, who traded for Shelton prior to last season and strategically used him as a match-up specific player, helping them to win the Super Bowl.
Which brings us to why Shelton makes sense for Miami. The Dolphins have leaned towards players they know and have prior working experience with so far this offseason. Shelton worked directly with coach Brian Flores last season, his only one with the Patriots.
And Shelton has a few more things in his favor: he’s young and has something to prove. With the exception of veteran leaders Dwayne Allen and Ryan Fitzpatrick, Miami has trended towards young players eager to prove they can play at a high level (Rowe, Reed, Walford, Louis) after frustrating/middling careers to date. That profile fits Shelton, which further suggests that after the 2019 NFL Draft, Shelton could be a target for Miami.
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