It is time to look at the Dolphins defensive depth chart going into their week one game against the New England Patriots. This article will also provide notes on some of the key players that could either stand out or are out with sickness or injury.
Defensive end: Emmanuel Ogbah, Adam Butler
Defensive tackle: Raekwon Davis, John Jenkins
Defensive end: Christian Wilkins, Zach Sieler
Linebacker: Jerome Baker, Duke Riley
Linebacker: Elandon Roberts, Sam Eguavoen
Linebacker: Andrew Van Ginkel , Brennan Scarlett, Jaelan Phillips
Cornerback: Justin Coleman, Elijah Campbell, Jamal Perry
Cornerback: Byron Jones, Noah Igbinoghene
Corner Back: Xavien Howard, Nik Needham, Trill Williams
Strong safety: Jason McCourty, Jevon Holland
Free safety : Eric Rowe, Brandon Jones, Clayton Fejedelem
The Dolphins are pretty solid at both ends of the defensive line. Emmanuel Ogbah is coming off a great season in 2020. Ogbah had nine sacks last year, as Ogbah was a beast at harassing and hitting the quarterback in the pocket. He had 42 total tackles with six of those tackles being for a loss. Christian Wilkins is still young and has had success with this Dolphins defense. Wilkins had 47 total tackles and one and a half sacks last season. Having both of these guys on the line should cause chaos for opposing offenses.
The linebacker core is led by Jerome Baker. Baker uses his speed and athleticism to blitz the quarterback and comes up with sacks. He totaled seven sacks in the 2020 season. The Dolphins linebacker had 112 total tackles on the season. Seven of those tackles were for a loss.
Photo courtesy of Ethan Miller / Getty Images
Baker also has help at linebacker as Andrew Van Ginkel had a good camp and he produced last year. He had 48 total tackles last year and five and a half sacks. We also have to mention Sam Eguavoen as he had a good preseason with the Dolphins. He had a terrific game against the Falcons in their week two preseason matchup. Eguavoen had 11 total tackles during that game with an impressive four sacks. Hopefully, he will get some playing time this season and produce the same type of numbers.
The Dolphins have some of the best cornerbacks in the league. Xavien Howard is the featured cornerback on this defense and should have a great game against the Patriots. Howard is a ball hawk as he led the league in interceptions last year with 10. Expect Howard to do the same this year as he is now happy with his contract being restructured during the offseason. He can now focus on doing great things for this Dolphins defense. Byron Jones is another cornerback to note. Jones had 37 tackles last season and two interceptions. He also had four pass deflections on the season. Expect this secondary to have a great season in stopping the pass.
The secondary is already good at what the Dolphins have at the cornerback position but adding who the Dolphins have at safety makes the secondary even better. The featured safety is Eric Rowe who had 91 total tackles and two interceptions during the 2020 season. Rowe also has help from Jason McCourty who is a veteran. He had 42 tackles, two interceptions and four pass deflections in the 2020 season.
Overall this defense looks solid and it will be interesting to see how this lineup plays out during the season. This has been the Dolphins’ defensive depth chart and notes against the Patriots.
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