It’s always energizing when the Miami Dolphins field a game-changing cornerback duo. They put fear into quarterbacks. They shut down wide receivers. They affect strategy.
Sam Madison and Pat Surtain. Xavien Howard and Byron Jones. Xavien Howard and Jalen Ramsey.
General manager Chris Grier put those last two together.
That’s why I’m trying to convince myself Grier can do it again and find a high-quality replacement for Howard.
At this point of the offseason, months before the team takes the field, and a few weeks before players report and new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver begins teaching his system, Grier is the man who has to find defensive answers.
I can’t stress this enough: it’s a high-priority requirement for Grier to find a standout cornerback to pair with Ramsey this offseason.
It could be slot cornerback Kader Kohou, who dipped a bit last season after a strong rookie season of 2022.
It could be Cam Smith, the 2023 second-round pick who had a disappointing rookie season with just 20 snaps from scrimmage.
It could be a top-tier free agent such as Washington’s Kendall Fuller, Buffalo’s Tre’Davious White or Dallas’ Stephon Gilmore.
It could be a first-round draft pick such as Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell.
It could even be an earth-shaking trade for someone such as Kansas City’s L’Jarius Sneed (though that seems unlikely).
Grier has made magic happen at cornerback on a number of levels in recent years.
He drafted Howard. He signed Jones. He found Nik Needham as an undrafted rookie. He found Kohou as an undrafted rookie. He traded for Ramsey.
I don’t know how Grier has does it — I’m being facetious because I know hard work and a good staff are major factors — but the guy finds cornerback talent.
It’s an absolute must that he does it again.
There’s no margin for error here.
The Dolphins defense will rely heavily, and almost exclusively, on the secondary as its strength for the first half of the season.
The strength of the secondary has to be the cornerbacks, led by Ramsey, and joined by a player to be named later.
The cause for this situation is something I don’t like.
The Dolphins plan on releasing Howard as a post-June 1 cut.
Grier said he was leaving the door open for Howard to return (at a cost much lower than the $25.9 million he was going to cost against the salary cap).
Howard replied by saying the “door is closed.”
That puts the ball in Grier’s court.
And also the coaching staff, led by coach Mike McDaniel.
They’ve got to decide how heavily to invest in cornerback in the offseason.
A top-level free agent signing?
A first-round draft pick?
A trade?
Can you use Kohou on the boundary, and hope Smith develops at slot?
Can you put Smith on the boundary, his better position, and keep Kohou in the slot?
And what about the newly re-signed Needham, who could contend for a starting job in the slot?
I’m trying to convince myself Grier can handle this part of the job.
It’ll be tough (I think nearly impossible) to replace Howard.
But I’m keeping the faith that Grier will come through.
Grier’s cornerback record isn’t perfect. He blew it with cornerback Noah Igbinoghene in the first round in 2020, and possibly cornerback Cordrea Tankersley in the third round in 2017.
Hey, you can’t win ’em all.
The Dolphins, however, have to win this one.
Cornerbacks must lead the defense for the first half of the season, at least.
There’s no other option.
Edge rushers Bradley Chubb (knee) and Jaelan Phillips (Achilles) might not be 100% healthy until midseason, or later, and Andrew Van Ginkel, who seems likely to return, is a pending free agent.
The middle of the defense will presumably be weaker if defensive lineman Christian Wilkins and linebacker Jerome Baker depart via free agency.
It’s a sketchy outlook for the front seven.
So the secondary, and more specifically, the three cornerbacks (two on the boundary and one in the slot), have to lead the way.
Yes, Grier has big decisions at interior offensive line, defensive line and No. 3 receiver.
But there’s wiggle room in those decisions.
On the interior offensive line you really just need to hit on center. On the defensive line, you have Zach Sieler as the anchor. And at No. 3 receiver, you have Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle as Nos. 1 and 2, and you have a run game.
The No. 2 cornerback, on the other hand, must be able to shine on his own or else there’s no penalty for opposing offenses avoiding Ramsey.
And if there’s no penalty for avoiding Ramsey, your best defensive player’s effectiveness has been greatly reduced, and consequently, your defense’s overall effectiveness has been greatly reduced.
The Dolphins will surely open the season with an injury-depleted defense, and it might also be free agency-depleted.
The only way this defense works early in the season is for the Dolphins to make it incredibly punitive for a quarterback to throw at their No. 1 and 2 cornerbacks. Grier has done it before.
It was that way for a few games last season with Ramsey and Howard, and it was that way a few years before that with Howard and Jones, and it was especially that way a couple of decades before that with Madison and Surtain.
It could have been that way again with Ramsey and Howard this coming season.
When training camp opens and the season begins, it’s up to Weaver, and most importantly, the players, to get things right at cornerback and on the defense overall. After all, it’s a player’s league.
At this point, however, it’s up to Grier to get the Dolphins defense back to the good ’ol days.
