Are the Dolphins Really Set at Safety?

Safety often is viewed as one of the Miami Dolphins’ most significant needs heading into the 2025 NFL draft, but the team might not agree with that assessment.

The Dolphins signed Ashtyn Davis and Ifeatu Melifonwu in free agency and also have Patrick McMorris and Elijah Campbell on the roster. Dolphins general manager Chris Grier seems to be pretty confident in that group.

In fact, Grier says the team's starting safeties already are in the Dolphins facility.

“We feel good about those three and Elijah Campbell as well is back, so we feel like we have some depth," Grier said during his annual pre-draft press conference Tuesday. "But we’ll keep looking to add like we do at every position.”

Grier hedged a bit with the final part of his answer, but his quick “yes” when the question was asked was probably the most direct response he could have given.

Players like Malaki Starks (Georgia) and Nick Emmanwori (South Carolina) have been popular mock draft picks for the Dolphins. Based on Grier’s comments, it seems unlikely Miami would consider those players in Round 1.

However, the question is whether feeling secure in the team’s current safety room is warranted.

Evaluating Miami’s Safeties

The Dolphins’ best safety is Melifonwu, who they signed to a one-year, $4 million deal this offseason. Melifonwu came over from the Lions and was widely expected to fill the role left by Jordan Poyer at strong safety.

Poyer arguably was the Dolphins’ worst starting player last season, so Melifonwu profiled as a pretty big improvement.

Melifonwu’s strengths include physicality, versatility, and ball skills — all things the Dolphins could use. His best season was 2023, when he recorded 33 tackles, three sacks, eight pass breakups, and two interceptions.

While it was easy to pencil in Melifonwu as a starter, Ashtyn Davis wasn’t given the same benefit of the doubt initially, and it’s not hard to see why. Davis’ one-year contract is for $2.5 million with incentives that can make it $3 million.

That’s not exactly “instant starter” money.

As for his on-field skills, Davis is more of a free safety. He makes most of his best plays in deep zones and has good speed to patrol the middle of the field. In just 22 starts with the Jets, he recorded eight interceptions and 15 pass breakups. On those eight interceptions, Davis recorded 116 return yards.

That’s a lot of ball production for a player who was not an every-week starter during the past two seasons. The Dolphins — if you’re taking Grier’s words at face value — are betting on Davis getting better with more playing time.

That leaves us with McMorris and Campbell, who mostly fall into the same category.

Campbell has been a core member of the Dolphins’ special teams for the past few seasons, playing sparingly on defense. Of his 359 total snaps last season, Campbell recorded just 74 on defense. His career high for defensive snaps came in 2023 when he posted 117 snaps, creating just one pass breakup.

McMorris has even less of a sample size to go on. He was drafted in the sixth round last year and didn’t become active until Week 13 because of a preseason injury. He proceeded to play just nine of his 103 total snaps on defense.

The Faults With Miami’s Safety Room

There are several issues with the Dolphins’ safety room, but the primary one is that the team doesn’t have a single player with a proven track record of success.

Melifonwu has played more than 10 games in a season once (2023). He’s been limited by various injuries but most recently missed all but four games of the 2024 season after a training camp ankle injury.

He has flashes of quality tape, and we like the idea of taking a shot on him, but it’s still a high-risk bet on a player who hasn’t stayed healthy.

Davis hasn’t struggled with injuries, but he was getting phased out of the Jets’ defense throughout the past few seasons. Davis played 51 and 88 percent of his snaps on defense in his first two seasons, respectively.

In the last three seasons, he logged 1, 19, and 26 percent of his snaps on defense, with the rest coming on special teams. For all intents and purposes, Davis was no longer viewed as a viable contributor for the Jets defense.

In a scenario where Grier feels like the Dolphins’ safety room is complete, Davis would be tasked with handling many of Jevon Holland’s coverage responsibilities from last season.

That’s a lot to ask of a player who hasn’t played a major role on defense since 2021.

McMorris and Campbell are solid depth pieces to have on the roster, but they don’t profile as players who can help in a big way this coming season.

Beyond reliability, the Dolphins lack a safety with Holland’s coverage chops. Davis can handle some of those deep-zone responsibilities, but he’s not well equipped enough to do that all the time.

It’s why we’ve been adamant about the team adding a player like Starks in the NFL draft. His coverage versatility would have tied the room together perfectly.

Why Fixing Safety Is Harder Than It Sounds

While it’s easy to point out that Miami’s safety room isn’t overly good or reliable, h upgrading that position isn’t straightforward.

The Dolphins also have massive needs at interior defensive line, offensive guard, and cornerback, which already was needed before the team let Jalen Ramsey seek a trade this week.

Interior defensive line and cornerback are viewed as far more premium positions than safety. If you assume Ramsey won’t be on the roster in Week 1, the Dolphins now need multiple high-impact bodies in both spots.

Spending pick 13 or 48 on a safety is a tough sell for a team with more pressing needs.

It could be argued that safety is a more valuable position than offensive guard. However, given Miami’s struggles at that spot in recent seasons, it wouldn’t be shocking if the Dolphins viewed it as more important.

Another important point is that Grier mentioned the team would continue to explore adding free agents after the draft. Free agents signed following the draft don’t count against the compensatory pick formula, so this is a pretty common practice.

Players like Justin Simmons, Marcus Williams, Rayshawn Jenkins, Quandre Diggs, and Julian Blackmon are still on the market. Each of those options comes with inherent flaws, but the truth is that Dolphins will have to make some difficult decisions about which positions they truly value.

The team has just three top 100 picks, and too many needs to fill with those selections. A few spots will fall through the cracks, and based on Grier’s recent comments, safety looks like the most likely option.

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