Dolphins' Current Secondary Draws Concerns For Upcoming Season

The Miami Dolphins needed a revamp of their defense going into the offseason, and they did just that through multiple free agent signings and using five out of their eight draft picks on defensive players as well. They added a lot of depth to their front seven and acquired multiple new safeties, but the one place they needed it most, cornerback, they seemed to pay the least amount of attention to.

That is the exact point that Dan Graziano of ESPN is trying to make in his new article, which has 10 questions that he is trying to make sense of. One of the questions he can not wrap his head around is why the Dolphins did not do more to address the cornerback position. They made a lot of moves that show they want to compete, but they are taking a risk on counting on their current cornerback room to be enough.

Graziano first mentions that the Dolphins do have Jalen Ramsey, but they have publicly said that they are actively looking for a trade partner to get him out of Miami. It will also be hard to swap him for another player at the same position. He then goes on to mention that once Ramsey is gone, the only starter from last year is Kader Kohou, and the only additions they made were signing 30-year-old veteran Artie Burns, drafting Jason Marshall Jr from Florida in the fifth round, and they recently signed Kendall Sheffield from a tryout.

He makes it a point that, interestingly, the Dolphins chose to wait until the fifth round to address the cornerback, even though they knew that it was a problem going into the draft. He also made the note that the Dolphins have one definite starter at cornerback, but all the other positions are up for grabs. It is also noted that second-year player Cam Smith is expected to make a big jump and propel himself into the starting role.

He ends the article by stating that the Dolphins have expensive contracts at positions like wide receiver and quarterback, so they needed to find cheap options at cornerback, but missed that opportunity by not drafting another cornerback or signing another through free agency.

 Right now, Cam Smith, Kader Kohou, and Storm Duck are set to be the three starting cornerbacks for the Dolphins, assuming they eventually move on from Jalen Ramsey. In a division with Garrett Wilson and Stefon Diggs, and quarterbacks like Josh Allen, Drake Maye, and Justin Fields they are going to want to have some reliable cornerbacks on the field. There are a lot of big playmakers that could end up making big plays against the Dolphins if they do not have the proper roster.