Recent Trends Show Value of Dolphins’ 2024 Addition

Essentially, teams are taking advantage of light boxes more than ever. When defenses adjusted for the uptick in passing that has occurred over the last decade plus,  they made a concentrated effort to put more defensive backs on the field. This was at the detriment of linebackers. The base defense of the NFL has become the nickel. With the cyclical nature of the league, it was only a matter of time before the best coaches took advantage.

Hence, the Eagles won a Super Bowl on the back of the heaviest offensive line in Super Bowl history, and one of the most potent rushing attacks of the 21st century. 

So with teams now noticing the trend of lighter players on defense and working to exploit it, it’s more important now than potentially ever to have a linebacker that can play on run and pass downs. Now that Fred Warner has just signed a record-setting contract, they’re likely no longer going to come at a value.

This is what makes the Miami Dolphins’ personnel strategy, as of late, particularly impressive. 

Over the last two off-seasons, Mike McDaniel and company have made a concerted effort to upgrade at off-ball linebacker.

A Key Acquisition

Their best move was the 2024 signing of former Seattle Seahawk Jordyn Brooks.  Brooks made an immediate impact for the team, and most importantly, showed the necessary skill set to play on all three downs, and allow the Miami Dolphins to feel safe in the nickel.

The only thing potentially more impressive than Brooks’s play in 2024 is the value Miami signed him at. Brooks’s average annual value of $8.75 million per year is 21st among off-ball linebackers, well below any logical ranking based on his 2024 performance.

The Dolphins are paying their stars a lot of money. Even with Tyreek Hill and Jalen Ramsey potentially on the way out, the team must “Moneyball” certain positions and try to create surplus value. The move to sign Brooks does that, while potentially predicting the future when it comes to linebacker contracts, avoiding a large cap charge.

The team is also potentially looking at surplus value outside of Brooks. They re-signed Tyrell Dodson, and acquired both KJ Britt and Willie Gay Jr. With Miami already having their Mike position filled, they positioned themselves nicely to take a couple high potential swings over the course of March and April.

The 2025 result remains to be seen for the Dolphins team. However, their ability to place themselves ahead of the curve at the off-ball linebacker position has set them up for defensive success in the years to come.