Offseason Preview Part 4

and explore the free agent market and draft class. Will stop by the Specialist room as well, and finally, we'll cover the latest news and what the Kyle van Nous release could mean for this football team. All of that and more on this Friday, March the fifth edition of the Drive Time Podcast. So the news was first reported

on Tuesday by Cameron Wolf of ESPN. It was then picked up by Mike Gara Folo and then rap sheet Ian Rapp report of NFL Network that Kyle van Ney had been released from the Dolphins or the discussion about his potential release was coming and the move was imminent, and then kavan himself released released a statement through Gara Folo, which serves as a pretty good source of confirmation. So in light of this first the reported cap hit would

be just over four million dollars. There was an out in his contract after next season for a cap hit just over two million dollars. But in total, it's a nine million dollar cash savings, which when you hear the term cash and cash is king in all in all walks of life, right, but especially when it comes to

football salaries. That's money owed to the player. So the Dolphins pocket that nine million and obviously are no longer beholden to the future money left on the deal that maintained that eleven to third team million dollars per year range through the season. So that's the business side of things, free up some more flexibility, but also comes with the hit there of the four million dollars on the cap hit.

As far as the non business, the on the field stuff, what Kyle Van Noyd did, he was a very strong force defender off the outside edge, really gave you some good work in the running game, final things back to the inside of the football field. But we saw some other players kind of come up in that role this season and do a good job of that as well,

like and Andrew Van Ginkle for instance. We'll talk more about him here in just one second, but what Van Noy did was offer a lot of versatility in his position. In his work, we talked about him not being a linebacker or an edge defender, just a guy that did multiple things. He played plenty of on ball work in his time in New England off ball work there as well. Was mostly an edge defender last year here in Miami, but he gives you a lot of flexibility on that

defensive side of the football. And with Ryan Fitzpatrick pending free agent this year, he was set to be the oldest player on this Dolphins roster, so you kind of think about what might be able to happen with that extra nine million dollars of spending. Is their potential plan waiting in the wings, whether it's going back to an edge defender. There's there's a very deep edge defending class in this free agency market as it hits right now.

We talked about that in the podcast on Tuesday. There's plenty of players in this draft that look like good edge defenders, Guys that have multiple, multiple scheme backgrounds and versatility to get on the field of multiple ways, the way that Kyle van Noyd did. Maybe it clears money for someone on the other side of the football, like a big time free agent along the offensive line or at the receiver position, whatever it might be. There is

now more flexibility for spending that way. Maybe you use some of that money and extend some of the players from the teen draft class, a Jerome Baker, who's played very well here and is still in his early twenties. A player like Mike Gasicki who has been as sending for the last couple of seasons as one of the

NFL's top tight ends. Maybe you go out and take care of Emmanuel Ogba, who has one year left in his contract after having a breakthrough campaign last year and showing any progress as a run stopper, and asked Rusher and his career so far, that's like Xavian Howard need

to have his contract reworks to go towards that. Plenty of different avenues this could shift towards, and it just kind of gives you one overarching theme here that you know, we hear all these potential reports about players who could get cut, who could be moved on from who could

be linked to certain teams in free agency. But I think the main thing that this tells us here is that no one really knows anything besides the people inside the building that make the calls and make the moves, because this was a pretty big surprise by all accounts, And you know, you put your trust here and Brian Flores and Chris Career and the way this team builds their roster because they've earned that trust with the way they've reshaped this thing and put this defense together in

the vision of Brian Flores. I mean, if and Josh Bowyer as well, if you're gonna question somebody who had the number one takeaway defense, number third down number one third down defense, and had the number one scoring defense heading into weeks sevent team last year, well then I would question your take on that because these guys have proud and they know exactly what they're doing, so with this move, I just can't wait to see what happens

next and how this entire our offseason plays out. Think this off season is going to be one of the most exciting ones that we've have had in quite some time. I mean, you've already had big name acquisitions and a new league year hasn't even began yet, with the Matt Stafford trade, the Carson Wentz trade, j J. Watt going to the Cardinals, all kinds of activity across the NFL, and the Dolphins now seem to be a part of that with the news that Kyle van Nou will be

released before the new league year begins. And one more part about this entire news bit and talking about the business side of it, to kind of put a cap on that is the freedom and structure of the contract or the structure of the contract that gave the Dolphins the freedom to move on after one year and to just kind of bite the bullet on the cap and and get themselves some relief that way, you know, the way of doing business, to to keep yourself flexible to

make moves year in and year out. That's an impressive stroke of of work there from the Dolphins from the salary cap standpoint, so tip of the hat there as far as the ability to get out of a contract that the coaching staff thought they needed to. So the off season is just getting started, and we talked a little bit there about xaviing Howard in that last bit, which is a good chance for us to segue into the Defensive back preview here, the fourth and final part

of our preview series. We're gonna come back later on the podcast next week and talk about some more comprehensive plans and and and what the office and could bring that way, but let's go ahead and finish up here in the Defensive back Room. And we'll also talk about the Specialist. And I was gonna cover Bruce Feldman's Freaks List because I want to get into that at some point, but we're gonna go ahead and bump that to a

future podcast. And I was going to tie in the Freaks List and kick this thing off with Byron Jones, because I mean, nobody really worked out better than he did in Indianapolis that year at the combine back in He's still holds the world record for the broad jump

in that category. And of course, Byron now entering his second year as a Miami Dolphin and by the way, still just twenty eight years old, despite what feels like a decade long career at this point of top line production for Byron Jones, and the first thing I want to mention with Byron is one of the coolest parts about this job and and being around the team every day. You see the details that just aren't available to the general public, so the eye of the casual onlooker, I mean,

especially this year without camp open to the public. One of my favorite parts of training camp this past season and even into the season sees when we're out there during the warm ups for practice, you see Byron working on the ball skills. He's out there early on the jugs machine. He's working with Coach Burke's getting you know, his his ball tracking and his ball place or ball location when he tries to turn around and locate that thing in the air. He's working on all that stuff.

He's always out there working on flipping his hips, getting into phase, locating the football and making a play accordingly. And you wouldn't know it, but he set a career high and interceptions this year, his first year with multiple

interceptions and a quick sidebar. Another thing I loved about interacting with Byron this year, you know, was his transparency and levity about the whole interception topic, because it came up time and time again, and you know, not to get too far off the point here, but just one of the more fascinating people in the league, not just for his enlightening press conferences, but his desire for nala

commitment to serving his community. Again, I highly recommend going back to the feature pod we did back in December where we talked about Byron's nomination for the Walter Peyton Man of the Year, talked about some of his work in the community, and a whole bunch more. But back onto the football field. One of the one of the game's best press cover corners, and that's just a fact. Frankly, what exaviing Howard did this year is even more impressive

when you consider the playing press man corner. Let's just go ahead and make this a point that the defense isn't solely pressed man. They do a fantastic job of

mixing coverages and looks. But by the letter of the law, the job that Byron and X do on the outside on those press man reps is to limit separation and make the quarterback think twice and have that hitch in his trigger, which then in turn gives the pass rush that extra half second to make one of those game changing plays we saw throughout the course of the season, and that's the crux of the entire defense and Jones's presence flat out was one of the main reasons it

all clicked for this defense this season, and the box score doesn't always tell you that, but the results should. So it pertains to his physical ability, strong press, exceptional recovery speed. If you're not gonna win every rep every matchup at the line against the releases of the world's best receivers in this league. But he's got smooth hips to change the direction in a short area and the intelligence to adhere to all the responsibility of playing in

a defense. So multiple thought he was terrific in year one and we'll only get better in your number two. And my favorite quote of this season, this freaking guy again. That's what Byron Jones told the media that his reaction after seeing Xaving Howard pulled down some of those picks late in the year. Yeah, that guy again. The first player with double digit i n t s in a season since two thousand seven. My favorite tape from the entire season for an individual's you know, one guy's tape

game tape this season. In one game my favorite performance was Exaving Howard against the New York Jets. Literally had three or four, maybe even five chances at interceptions in that one one of them he had his hands on and the receiver poked the way. Last second one he was gonna catch, but the receiver jump on his back and got the op I call. And then another one X just couldn't quite squeeze it. And then there was the last one that he did pull down to kind

of put that game on ice at the end. But the patients he has at all levels of the route is indicative of his confidence and that's something I think that has really grown throughout the course of his career. You take a look at the over routes on his highlight reel, on his all twenty two reel, and anybody's

real it's such a tough route to cover. Typically you have outside leverage, which means that you are giving inside access to the receiver and you're protecting us the sideline on the perimeter, and you give them that inside access to kind of run across the field and then from there it's a foot race and the corner's responsibility to

win despite starting at that disadvantage. That's why time speeds are so I think valued for you know, for a lot of people at the cornerback position, because if you can't run with these receivers you can't play with them, and obviously game based speeds more important than time speed. But you do look at that fort yar dash these guys, and if the past rush doesn't get home, then ay,

these routes become damn near and possible to cover. But Xavian just has this way of baiting quarterbacks by showing them a window and then taking it away where he goes from that outside hip to quickly undercutting the route and and studying this. It's really a bit of brilliance because the quarterback thinks he has the benefit of the open sideline to work with all that room out in front. But really what X is doing is creating a small window where if the throw is perfect, it's probably gonna

be a big play. You will, we'll give you that, But if it's under thrown at all, we're gonna intercept it and take it away. If it's high, it could be tipped and wind up in some traffic behind the play, possibly picked off that way too. And if it's under thrown like behind the receiver, then it also has a

chance to get picked there as well. And both these guys, Jones and X tackled so well on the perimeter this year, So I look at these two as the drivers of the scheme that flow and Boyer deploy and boy it was fun to watch it all kind of come together in year one, especially when Byron got back from that growing injury that took him out of two and a half basically three games for this Dolphins defense. But the hits on the secondary just keep coming. At the safety position,

Bobby McCain had a tremendous year last year. You ever wonder why the Dolphins defense was one of the stingiest in terms of allowing big plays, like a stingy in most areas, But for the sake of this argument, you know what we really saw this year breakdowns, communication issues,

and the consequential explosive play from the opposing offense. Coach Gerald Alexan talks all the time about how big plays happened through the second dary and watching the way Bobby moved in accordance on the all twenty two with the most threatening vertical options for the offense was just a stroke of brilliance. All year. I thought he was capping

over routes as a robber. He was flipping and turning backside to get to those backside posts, so he would kind of roll to one side of the field to take away that option and diagnose the route and then recognize a backside post and get back to that part of the field and really play both sides of the field. From that middle of the field safety position, he was running off the top of go routes, taking those options away.

Just did so much in coverage that doesn't get into a box score, that doesn't even show up on the broadcast because he's playing twenty yards off the football and you don't see him until you watch the All twenty two. And it's not just that as a middle of the field center field defender playing twenty yards off the ball, he was nothing short of fantastic in that area. And when you think about all those different coverages and all the checks that occur, I mean, you get pre snap motion.

Then you have to communicate the new responsibilities in a flash. I just never saw that palms up like looking at each other while the opposition cruises in for a touchdown, looking at each other wondering what the hell happened? Who had him? Remember just four or five years ago how often that happened. It pretty much never happened this year. I think McCain's job back there was a big reason

for that. You talked to Flora's boy or g A, anyone that's involved in that dB room, and they'll tell you how integral Bobby is as the captain and as the communicator speaking of underappreciated Dolphins. His running mate had himself one hell of a year in his own right, Eric Rowe. Let's just look at some of the box scores to tell the story. Eight games allowing two catches or less, only two games all year allowing more than forty receiving yards, pass breakups, I n T s, pressures

on the quarterback. Mary called that twenty eight yards sacked that Emmanuel Ogba had. You know who was first on the scene, Eric Rowe. He talked about doing better against Kelsey and Waller, the premier tight ends in the National Football League. But that's what you love about him. A fantastic season, and he's immediately thinking about the two games out of sixteen where he thinks he can improve. And I thought he was improved across the board in his

first full season at the new position. Run fitting, blitzing man coverage, playing in his own and those four guys that played the most reps in the secondary. It's such a benefit to have their skill set, their experienced, their communication, their veteran presence on that defense, and I love the depth of this position. To remember, this is a defense that utilizes a fair share of dime, quarter and dollar defenses that six seven, sometimes eight defensive backs on the field.

Two point five of the Dolphin snaps this year came from dime personnel. That was the eight highest in the National Football League. They are one of four teams with double digit snaps in quarter at seven defensive backs, and they had the most snaps in dollar that's eight defensive backs. It was only five snaps in that dollar package, but only four teams actually called eight dbs on the field a single time this year. Dolphin's five of them, Titans

with four, Patriots three, and Giants with three. That's Flora's m Boyer, Mike Frabel, Bill Belichick, and Patrick Graham. The architects, the architects of those defenses. So I mean, go figure who those guys are on where they come from. So that means you want to go into a game with at least eight able bodies in the defensive backfield. Probably more like ten. And Nick need Um was a bit of revelation in that slot last year, a position that

he didn't really play in twenty nineteen. And that's what you've gotta love here, the ability to find jobs for guys despite what their historical resumes might suggest. Now you might recall my takes on need Um from his locked on My Locked on Dolphins days, when I called him sweet feet because of how active he was and his

ability to seamlessly transition in and out of breaks. From that you tap tape, you tap all twenty two, baby, that's a hallmark of playing inside that quick feet, that the c o d change in direction, and he had a run of some really impressive numbers against guys like Cooper Cup, Tyler Boyd, Keenan Allen. But I also think it's fair to point out how the Dolphins chose to defend these teams with the slot as their primary pass option.

I mean, Keenan Allen is the go to guy there in Los Angeles, and it kind of speaks to the structure and the performance of the safeties to help bracket and cap a lot of those routes inside, and Needham did a great job with what he was asked to do as well in that trail position funnel to help they got the job done in that position. Needham is scheduled to be an exclusive rights free agent, along with

fellow cornerback Jamal Perry. And for what it's worth and a quick refresher exclusive rights free agency for those guys, what it means. They're players on expiring contracts who have three or fewer accrued seasons in the National Football League. They can only negotiate with their original team ahead of the new league year, and if they are not tendered

a contract, they become unrestricted free agents. So the most next steps in the defensive backfield went to a rookie and Brandon Jones, and he's one of my picks for a big jump in year number two. The studious nature of his game and the instincts he plays with just really pop. He had that sack in the Jets game. He nearly jumped a couple of hook up routes, one in the Jacksonville game, and I want to say the other was the home Jets game where he just hovers

keys and jumps. He's quick to the football, has really good time or game speed, plays so quickly and so instinctively. And one thing I couldn't harp on enough for years was the necessity of three safeties in this defense, and we saw that this year. You know, the big nickel package that's gonna be five defensive backs, but instead of three corners and two safeties, you go three safeties and

two cornerbacks and all the dime looks. I mean two five snaps last year with six defensive backs on the field. You need a lot of defensive backs, and all three of those safeties are former cornerbacks. Brandon Jones played a lot of slot at the University of Texas, actually was probably his best position there in college. So I look at these top seven snaptakers and man, I am excited about getting all of them back. Number seven on that list is the a rookie, Noah ig Bonogamy, and I've

been excited to get into his game here on the podcast. First, as I rewatched the games, both on the All twenty two and the broadcast copy, I want to go back to something Tony Romo said during the season opener the Week one game against the New England Patriots. People not realize he's gonna be a great player. He's got size, it's physical. He use well one of the steals of the draft right the first round around, and you hear

him talk about those traits. I thought those traits were really on display when he got some playing time against the Bengals when Xavian was ejected from the game, and first off, he played eight teen coverage reps against a J. Green. And while a J has had a bunch of bad, you know, a bad run of injuries lately in his career and the production has not been the same as it was in his all pro days. That's a savvy veteran receiver that knows how to get open, and yet

he drew just one target against the rookie. You look around the league, let's go to PFF's advanced metrics. Rookie corners are famously targeted over and over again, but eight of the top twenty two is in terms of snaps per target this year where rookies. And that includes the first cornerback off the board, number three overall pick, Jeff Okuda, who was the third most frequently targeted cornerback in all of the NFL at a target every five snaps played

this season. It reminds me of a story Channing Crowder told on the Fish Tank podcast a couple of years back when he was talking about that two thousand five Dolphins defense that had Jason Taylor Zach Thomas Jr. Say out, Sam Madison, Vonnie Holiday, Keith Trailer, who do you think the opposing offensive coordinator is going to look at on that defense and target the rookie third round pick and

Crowder right, the linebacker from the University of Florida. And that was the messaging to Crowder and a big reason why they say you're only as strong as your weakest link. Not to say that he was the weakest link, but when an O C looks at the lineup, you think he's gonna attack a rookie or a future Hall of Famer. It takes just one Bustes assignment for a play to

blow up. So back to Igbos tape. You had a match up with Stefon Digs in that Week two game, the NFL's leading re fever, and again the Week four big play against the Seahawks as well, a bit of trial by fire for the youngster again the youngest player in the National Football League. And that's why I was so curious to see how he would bounce back when he got playing time later in the season, like for instance against the Bengals, and you can see him playing aggressively,

no lost confidence. You see the star athlete that he is. He can flip the hips, throwing the old baseball head whip when he changes directions, and just flat out scoot with the recovery speed and the physicality at the top of the route as well. At camp he was one of the more impressive guys out there, and I would expect him entering his age one season to take a big step this year as well, and rounding out that defensive bat group. Clayton Federalum was a special team's ace

last year. He made several tackles on that unit. And then Nate Holly also kind of in that mold down the stretch. He came over mid season from the CFL last year. Javaris Davis is also here in a futurist contract. He was Higbo's counterpart there at Auburn within physical the impressive physical traits of his own. He signed to that futures contract as our Brian Cole and Tino Ellis. We mentioned Nick Needham and Jamal Perry as exclusive rights free agents.

Cavon Frasier is an unrestricted free agent heading into this offseason, and that brings us to the free agent market for cornerbacks and safeties and will pair these together since the position, especially in this Dolphins defense, can be somewhat fluid. And before we do that, just want to give you guys a quick reminder that these thoughts do not reflect the opinion of the team. They are the opinion of yours, truly,

Travis Wingfield here on the Drivetime podcast. Let's go ahead and jump now into the Pro Football Focus Top one, dred and fifty free agents list in the defense of secondary and it's top heavy with safeties in this class. Number six on their list is Justin Simmons from Denver. He had the game game clinching pick rather in the game against Miami last year, four picks overall, eleven pass breakups and a ninety point seven overall grade from Pro Football Focus and was his first Pro Bowl season, but

he was even better in twenty nine. He's had over ninety retackles each of the last three seasons. Just an elite player in every regard, and number seven on their list is in that same category. Anthony Harris from the Vikings, another guy that was tagged last year just before free agency. So here are he and Simmons once again. And Harris like Simmons. He's like Simmons in that their range and ball skills and instincts on the back end are among

his best traits. So if you want to get either of these guys in, you have a bit of conflict there with Bobby McCain, But you know what, having safeties that can cover there's just no amount that is enough in this league and on this defense in particular, and he talked about the importance of having three safeties. I mean, you can always shuffle the deck and give coverage, you know, take advantage of the coverage abilities of those guys like

Bobby McCain, Eric Rowe, Brandon Jones. They've all played the slot. So it gives you flexibility, like we talked about on the offensive line for how you attack this position group. Because of that flexibility, because guys can move around, it opens you up to more options in that area. And boy, both Harris and Simmons are playmakers in this league, a league that is seeing playmakers become increasingly valuable year in

and year out. Number fifteen on that same frame of mind, Safety Marcus Williams p F nine percentile coverage grade and a top ten completion array allowed or is at bottom ten. Either way, he's he's among the ten best safeties at forcing in completions since he came into the league in and not to be a broken record, but his range has always been the calling card, even back to his

time at the University of Utah. And for what it's worth, PF predicts all three of these guys changed teams this offseason, so we'll find out what happens here in just a couple of weeks. Number sixteen our first cornerback on the list, William Jackson, and this dude is among the best press cover corners in the game. Long, physical and competitive as all get out. Number eighteen another cornerback, Richard Sherman, the goat of cover three cornerbacks and really one of the

best corners of the last decade. And he can still ball man even at this stage of his career. Rear with his studious nature and preparation habits, puts him in good position more often than not. And another one, number twenty one cornerback Desmond King. I remember his slide on draft day after you know, a poor forty yard dash time like who cares? But the Chargers were the beneficiaries in the fifth round that year. They kick him inside.

He becomes one of the game's best slot corners in the game before he was traded to the Titans this season, and two things come to mind with king length and ball skills. He was a takeaway a machine in Iowa and he's continued that into the pros early in his career, with four picks in his first two years, with a forced fumble in there as well, But he hasn't picked off a pass since eighteen and has just one forced fumble since then as well. Twenty two safety Marcus May.

I mean, if you're looking for a middle of the field, deep type safety, this is the year four and even assuming if half these guys go back to their teams and half of them hit the open market, still a good chance to get one of those guys. Now. When the Jets traded Jamal Adams, May expanded his job description and acquitted himself rather well in that regard. I'd be surprised if the Jets let him walk. But this is

a versatile scheme, diverse player there with the Jets. Number twenty three, John Johnson, a safety and goodness, this list is chalk full of good players. Man, he's He's been on top the top of the line cover safety for a number of years, piled up twenty two passes, defense and five picks his first two seasons in the league. He was banged up in twenty nineteen, then came back with another big year last season. Another deep safety type

in this loaded class. Number twenty eight is our cornerback, our first, I guess, our second true slot in cornerback. Mike Hilton, a do it all slot corner. The Steelers kept him inside as he flourished in coverage, flashed the occasional effective blitz, and played the run very well. He could be a bargain given all the dbs on this list and the fact that there's probably strictly an inside guy here with Mike Hilton. Maybe you get him into bargain. We'll see if he hits the market and what his

market is. Number thirty seven another quarterback, Shaquille Griffin from Seattle. He was kind of the glue that held that Seahawks secondary together, and things took a bit of a turn when he was hurt this season. In fact, in the game of Miami last year, Griffin pitched a shutout with no receptions allowed and coming from that Pete Carol scheme again like Richard Sherman did once upon time, he is adept at playing that cover three cornerback spot on the outside.

Let's pick up the pace here a little bit. This list is long because there are so many good quarnerbacks and safeties that are potentially gonna hit the market this offseason. Troy Hill from the Rams, a slot cornerback ball skills, showed off his penchant for keying offenses tendencies this year. I mean the guy picked off a screen pass and took it to the house against the Seahawks. That very rarely happens. Number forty three hidobe A Wugier from Dallas.

I think the best is yet to come in his career. He's got a good blend of physicality and athletic ability. Number fifty is a cornerback, another guy that specializes in the slot. Brian Pool of the Jets. He's been the best Jets quarterback for a couple of years, but again mostly plays inside. Last year he got a one year, five million dollar deal with the Jets, which he outperformed, so we'll see what his market is this season. Number fifty one again, these guys just keep checking in back

to back to back. On this list is Xavier Woods, who's played cornerback and safety. He's played all over the defense for the Cowboys, and we're kind of approaching this territory where the price could become team friendly as the market kind of dictates itself as far as guys going off the first couple of days in free agency, and maybe some of these guys last for a few days or a few weeks, you can sign them later and maybe get a more team friendly contract than you might expect.

Let's go ahead and once again accelerate the pace here Again, this list is long. Quentin dunbar Ronald Darby, Jason Verrette. All three of those guys veterans in this league have played a lot of years. Give them a lot of good reps as well. Malik Hooker checks in at number

sixty nine. Nice. He is a very rangey safety there for the Colts, and he's battled injuries throughout his career, but he was one of the premier ball hawks in college coming into the NFL Kean O'Neil kind of the opposite of that, a big, physical enforcer down in the box. Patrick Peterson is a free agent this year, had one of the best careers among any quarterback of the last decade.

Number seventy eight Nickel Robie Coleman, a slot corner extraordinaire who's playing with the Rams and the Bills over the last several years. Number eighty two Mackenzie Alexander two Kwan Williams from the Niners. Number ninety three is Gary and Conley, a former first round draft pick who has bounced around a little bit in his career. Number nine but shot

Brelan Cameron Sutton. So you have four guys that are back to back to back to back on the PFF Top free agents list, and then Jaquis Guitar, a safety from the Niners, Terrence Mitchell and a j. Boyer round out the top one hundred and fifty defensive backs on the PF free agent list. So, man, how about that list of players there. It's a good thing we did this defensive backs group in one podcast because they take up a lot of names, a lot of guys that

cover here. And with that, let's go ahead and finish up with the draft class at these positions and once again working off the Draft Network's top prospects available, starting with a cornerback position exclusively here. Caleb Farley is a number five overall player out of Virginia Tech, and he and Patrick's Ertan who is number sixteen, and J. C. Horne,

who's number forty three. These three guys all have that competitive, feisty, confident swagger about them that they're gonna challenge every single route they're gonna play press. We saw plenty of press coverage from both the Alabama and South Carolina cornerbacks, and Sir tam and Horn and Caleb Farley can do everything as well out of Virginia Tech. So all three of

those guys to me are high, high level prospects. Fifty one Eric Stokes out of Georgia, fifty five Elijah Molden out of Washington, and then fifty nine out of Syracuse Effete Dave Melifon Wu, the brother of Obi melifon who I had a major draft crush on a few years ago because of elite, elite athletic traits. His little brother, Affect two, has some of the same traits at that defensive back position, Greg Knewsome, Aaron Robinson, Paulson, a Debo, a guy that went back to school for his senior

season as number sixty eight, Trill Williams number seventy. Assante Samuel number seventy six out of Florida State. Now that's junior. His father's senior was one of the best cover corners and ball hawks for a long time in the league. He's kind of in that same mold, but he is one of those tweeners, a guy that can play inside, outside, maybe a little bit of safety as well as Sante Samuel Jr. Pretty good class hero at the cornerback position.

We go over to the safety spot, where there is again another glut of players that kind of fit into the same mold. Number thirty seven on their list of overall players is their number one safety with Javon Holland out of Oregon. He is rangey, he is long. He can really start the passing game and coverage back there. And I think the best single highest safety in this class, the best rangey, middle of the field center fielder is Trayvon Morrig out of TCU, the junior safety who had

a hell of a year last year at TCU. Number sixty six, hamsaw Nisrael Dean out of Florida State six ft pounds. You might you might mistake him for some Derwin James because of the bill, because of the responsibilities he has, but he's one of those guys that can match up on tight ends and backs and really kind of being a racer and coverage that way. Maybe a sub package guy early on who develops in his career. Number sixty nine, Richie Grant from UC had a great

Senior Bowl week. Folks love his ability to cover and compete in one on one. Paris Ford out of Pittsburgh one of my favorite safeties in this class. He can close from depth and make tackles and make plays down on the las of scrimmage. He also can cover a little bit as well. Andre Cisco's number nine two out of Syracuse. You want to talk about range on that back end, he checks those boxes. And then one on

this list from Missouri, Tyree Gillespie. I was surprised to see him this low, but he's got some game tape where he really matches up with guys and coverage very well. Great closing speed and good instincts there on the back end. And then one more name on this list I want to point out is number two nine overall out of Pittsburgh, tomar Hamlin. The Dolphins had him on their team at the Senior Bowl and he played well in that game.

How to pick in that game? So go check out the draft Network, go check out Pro Football Focus is top one and fifty free agents list. Going to be an absolutely crazy, crazy offseason with plenty of activity. It has already begun here as big time names are on the move before the new league year even begins. And let's go ahead and finish up here on the podcast talking about the specialist. We don't want to leave them

off the list. Blake Ferguson is back this year his second years a long snapper, and Jason Sanders obviously on the contract extension, the number one first team All Pro kicker in the National Football League. And then also Rex Sunahara is on a futures contract. He is also a long snapper. With punter Matt Hawk as an unrestricted free agent heading into this offseason, it'll be interesting to see

what the Dolphins do at the punter position. So that's your defensive back preview, your special teams look there as well, and that wraps up our off season preview. Now next week on the podcast, I'm gonna get John Conjemmi on here and we're gonna take a more comprehensive, holistic approach at how the Dolphins could attack this off season. So check back for that next Tuesday. As for this edition of Drive Time, that's gonna be my time happy three oh five Day to folks down in South Florida in

the three oh five area code. The Dolphins have plenty of events happening all over town. You can stop by different locations, different local rest drownson check those places out. So if you're listening to this early in the morning, got nothing going on today, get on Solcial, check out our Twitter account and find out where the Dolphins are

throughout the day here on three oh five Day. In the meantime, you all please be sure to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcast, Leave us a rating, leave us a review, Follow me on Twitter at linkol NFL, follow the Dolphins at Miami Dolphins, check out the fish Tank and the Audible podcast, and of course Miami Dolphins dot com. Until next time, fins up