Have their investments at the position made the Dolphins' cornerback room one of the best in the NFL? That question was answered by ESPN’s Mike Clay who used a formula to grade and sort every position unit heading into the 2024 season. Here’s where Miami’s cornerbacks rank among the rest of the league: 32. New York Giants - Deonte Banks, Cor'Dale Flott, Nick McCloud, Tre Hawkins III, Andru Phillips 31. Arizona Cardinals - Sean Murphy-Bunting, Max Melton, Garrett Williams, Starling Thomas, Elijah Jones 30. Washington Commanders - Benjamin St-Juste, Emmanuel Forbes, Jartavius Martin, Mike Sainristil, Michael Davis 29. Las Vegas Raiders - Nate Hobbs, Jack Jones, Jakorian Bennett, Brandon Facyson, Decamerion Richardson 28. Atlanta Falcons - A.J. Terrell, Clark Phillips III, Mike Hughes, Antonio Hamilton, Dee Alford 27. Pittsburgh Steelers - Joey Porter Jr., Donte Jackson, Josiah Scott, Darius Rush, Ryan Watts 26. Los Angeles Chargers - Asante Samuel Jr., Kristian Fulton, Ja'Sir Taylor, Deane Leonard, Tarheeb Still 25. Minnesota Vikings - Byron Murphy, Shaquill Griffin, Mekhi Blackmon, Akayleb Evans, Andrew Booth Jr. 24. Carolina Panthers - Jaycee Horn, Dane Jackson, Troy Hill, Dicaprio Bootle, D'Shawn Jamison 23. Jacksonville Jaguars - Tyson Campbell, Ronald Darby, Jarrian Jones, Montaric Brown, Antonio Johnson 22. Cincinnati Bengals - Cam Taylor-Britt, D.J. Turner, Mike Hilton, Daxton Hill, Jalen Davis 21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Jamel Dean, Zyon McCollum, Tavierre Thomas, Christian Izien, Bryce Hall 20. Indianapolis Colts - Kenny Moore II, Julius Brents, Dallis Flowers, Jaylon Jones, Darrell Baker Jr. 19. Kansas City Chiefs - Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, Joshua Williams, Nic Jones, Ekow Boye-Doe 18. Houston Texans - Derek Stingley Jr., Desmond King, Kamari Lassiter, Myles Bryant, Jeff Okudah 17. Los Angeles Rams - Darious Williams, Tre'Davious White, Quentin Lake, Decobie Durant, Derion Kendrick 16. Denver Broncos - Patrick Surtain II, Levi Wallace, Ja'Quan McMillian, Damarri Mathis, Riley Moss 15. New England Patriots - Christian Gonzalez, Jonathan Jones, Marcus Jones, Alex Austin, Shaun Wade 14. Baltimore Ravens - Marlon Humphrey, Brandon Stephens, Arthur Maulet, Nate Wiggins, T.J. Tampa 13. Green Bay Packers - Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes, Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine, Corey Ballentine 12. San Francisco 49ers - Charvarius Ward, Deommodore Lenoir, Ambry Thomas, Renardo Green, Isaac Yiadom 11. Seattle Seahawks - Devon Witherspoon, Tariq Woolen, Michael Jackson, Tre Brown, Artie Burns 10. Philadelphia Eagles - Darius Slay, James Bradberry, Avonte Maddox, Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean 9. Buffalo Bills - Rasul Douglas, Christian Benford, Taron Johnson, Kaiir Elam, Daequan Hardy 8. New Orleans Saints - Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alontae Taylor, Ugochukwu Amadi 7. Chicago Bears - Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, Tyrique Stevenson, Terell Smith, Greg Stroman 6. Detroit Lions - Carlton Davis, Terrion Arnold, Brian Branch, Emmanuel Moseley, Ennis Rakestraw Jr 5. Tennessee Titans - L'Jarius Sneed, Roger McCreary, Chidobe Awuzie, Tre Avery, Eric Garror 4. Dallas Cowboys - Trevon Diggs, DaRon Bland, Jourdan Lewis, Nahshon Wright, C.J. Goodwin 3. Cleveland Browns - Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome II, Martin Emerson, Cameron Mitchell, Kahlef Hailassie 2. Miami Dolphins - Jalen Ramsey, Kendall Fuller, Kader Kohou, Nik Needham, Cam Smith 1. New York Jets - Sauce Gardner, D.J. Reed, Michael Carter II, Isaiah Oliver, Brandin Echols
That’s pretty impressive if kader can match up better in this scheme and cam gives Kendall a run for his job.
Taking Kohou off the boundary is bound to yield better results. Allowing Ramsey to follow the best receiver should help, too. And, although I hate saying it, there's a reason why X is still available. I think that outside the OL, we have more opportunity for improvement among the secondary than any other unit.
I might be looking at it wrong, but I believe Kohou getting burned frequently last year was more of a fault on Fangio’s rigidity in his scheme. Only on my 2nd cup of coffee so the exact teams/players escape me but didn’t we frequently ask why was Kader guarding player X instead of Ramsey? Don’t you usually put your BEST on an opposing team’s best receiver? Wait…Diggs, wasn’t it? Kohou is a good corner, but you simply don’t match up a 2nd year undrafted player against an all-star receiver when you’re getting burned again and again and again. Fault Fangio for not adjusting.
Def part of the issue was lack of recognitions skills of talent. How else do you explain the ###hole not moving Ramsey around
I think that in a perfect world/best case scenario, the Fins can live up to that, but its far from certain. Ramsey needs to stay healthy, and he should be great. The good news is that he rarely missed time before last season. The bad news is that he's going to be 30 years old, so the wear could be showing. Fuller should be good, and a big upgrade from the 2023 version of Howard. Like Ramsey, he's been mostly healthy, and like Ramsey, will also be 30 this year. They aren't a long term solution, but could be one of the best duos this year. Kader needs to be in the slot, exclusively. That's step one, as he's toast on the boundry. Leave him there and call the right defense, and he should be solid. Not a game changer with picks, but good enough to get the job done without looking like a problem. Needham was not himself coming back from the ACL injury, and there's talk he might be moved to safety, if he makes the team at all. Fingers crossed the second year of healing brings him back to where he was in 2021, but its a big question mark. Like Kader, he's also best in the slot when he's healthy, so not an option on the boundry if we need someone to fill in for the big two. Cam Smith was an incomplete as a rookie, because he just never got onto the field. That seemed to be due to Fangio having an axe to grind with him, so hopefully the switch to Weaver makes a big difference. We really need him to live up to his draft status and be the top boundry reserve this year, and be in line to take over as a starter in 2025. Ethan Bonner showed good athletic skills in limited action last season. It would be great if he could be the #5 guy this year and contribute on ST while getting better at defense to eventually get more looks there.
