Miami Dolphins Just Received A GIFT From The Houston Texans

Miami Dolphins Just Received A GIFT From The Houston Texans

[Music] Some shocking NFL news came ringing in on Tuesday afternoon when the Houston Texans released starting safety CJ Gardner Johnson. The entire NFL world was very surprised, including the insider Ian Rapaort. And on today’s show, we’re going to talk about potentially signing him. I am Nick Rolloff. This is Dolphins today by chat sports. But I firmly believe Miami should waste no time and bring him in immediately. Gardner Johnson is a highquality safety and this is an absolute gift from the Texans in the fact they’re releasing him. Not even making anybody trade for Gardner Johnson. They just cut him. So why would the Dolphins not take advantage and sign a veteran who would be an immediate upgrade over the safeties they have been playing opposite of Minka Fitzpatrick like Ashen Davis Efatu Malafanu and Dante Trader Jr. I’ll have more thoughts on the matter coming up here but make sure you follow us over on Instagram dolphinsday IG is the handle. We’re 48 followers away from 1,200. More short form content over on IG. So go give us a follow right now. I mentioned it off the top though, this was an absolute surprise release from the Houston Texans. He was a starting guy for them and I thought he’s been playing pretty well. Now, I did look into why he may have gotten released. We’ll explain a little bit more here in a second, but even Field Yates brought up this note. The Texans converted 6.58 million of the Gardner Johnson salary into a signing bonus. They clearly envisioned him being here for the entire season and envisioned him being a key part of that Texan secondary. But as the three weeks of the NFL season went on, the Texans are 0 and3 things aren’t going so well and he ultimately got released. Now Aaron Wilson, who covers the Texans as well as the NFL, had some behindthecenes reporting on Gardenner Johnson saying that he has complained about his role. He’s wanted to blitz more and communicated to Texans that he wanted to be traded, but the Texans didn’t even want to deal with that and they just flat out released him. Moore looking into it as well. The first three games of the season, Texans lost all by one score. Jags by seven, Buccaneers by about a point, I think it was, and then you had the Rams in week one in a one-sore game. All three of those games a big play touchdown was the ultimate difference. And apparently looking into it, CJ Gardner Johnson was the reason why that big play was given up on the back end, not staying true to his assignment in the secondary. But getting back to Gardenner Johnson and why this could be a good addition for Miami. We talked about CJ wanting to blitz more. Well, you want to blitz more, CJ? Well, then the Miami Dolphins are the team for you, considering they blitz more than any other team in the NFL besides one. The Dolphins have the second highest blitz percentage in the NFL through three weeks. The only team that blitzes at a higher rate than Miami is the Atlanta Falcons and it’s by point4%. You see the top five right now. Miami likes to bring blitzes. It’s been honestly a downfall of the defense to this point because they are trying to make it too complicated and they’re not fast enough on the back end to rotate and it’s allowing wide receivers and tight ends to be open five six yards down the field when they’re bringing five six yard or guys to the quarterback and the QBs are able to read it and get it out quickly. But if you’re wondering the Texans were actually 18th in blitz percentage. So bottom half in the National Football League with a 25.8% rate. So, the Miami Dolphins have almost a 15% higher blitz rate than the Houston Texans. And when I look specifically at this Dolphins defense, they do like to bring players from their secondary. How about this? When I looked at on PFF and the pass rush percentage of the six DBs that Miami plays the most, here is what I found. Nickel corner Jason Marshall Jr. has a 13.5 pass rush percentage. Cornell Armstrong, who has appeared in just one game, had an 8.3%. But then here comes the safeties. Dante Trader Jr. at 8%. Ma Fitzpatrick at 5%, Ashton Davis at 4.8% and Efatum Malafanu at 4.3%. Rousul Douglas really hasn’t rushed the passer at all. Jack Jones had the lowest pass rush rate out of any corner. He made the list at about 3%. But CJ Gardner Johnson currently has a five.6 pass rush percent rate. So I would envision him, if he did sign with the Dolphins, having a massive uptick in potentially rushing the quarterback and blitzing like he wanted. I would see him probably take that Dante Trader Jr. role in the box and in the slot in terms of coming off the edge with blitzes. And we know Gardner Johnson in his history is very valuable at getting downhill, stopping the run, and getting after the quarterback, which we’ll show more stats on him in a second. But let me know your thoughts. Should the Dolphins sign CJ Gardner Johnson since he is the newest NFL free agent? Type Y for yes, type N for no. Pin comment on today’s show. Go let me know in the comments. I think this is an absolute slam dunk. I have no clue if Gardenner Johnson would want to sign with Miami going from one 0 and3 team to another. But if he was open to joining this Dolphins defense, Miami should be jumping at the opportunity to make that happen. This secondary can use all of the help it can get. We showed the safety pass rush percentage, but the truth is this safety room has been absolutely atrocious. It’s been arguably the worst safety room in the entire NFL. And when you think about the Dolphins, they have the worst tight end room, they have the worst cornerback room, and they very well might have the worst safety room as well. Looking at the PFF grades and rankings of every safety in the NFL, if you filter out the highest snap percentage and just say any safety who’s played 20% or more of the highest snap count, there are 84 safeties that qualify. You see the Dolphins four starters in rotation, guys playing right now. Minka Fitzpatrick is the 31st graded safety. So as a top starter in the league, but Davis, Trader Jr., Melanu, all in the bottom 25 safeties in the National Football League. It’s just been flatout unacceptable. If you’re wondering where CJ Gardner Johnson is on the list, well, he comes in right about halfway at number 40. So clearly an upgrade over Ashton Davis, over Trader Jr., over Melanoo. And this to me isn’t a siding to replace the rookie fifth round pick out of Maryland, Dante Trader Jr. No, you should probably see what you have in the rookie from Maryland, but Davis and Melanu have not been good whatsoever. So, if I had to choose between bringing in Gardenner Johnson for the rest of the year or riding with Melanu and Davis after what we’ve seen through the first three weeks, yeah, I’m going to choose the veteran who has proven it more throughout his career and is also playing at a higher level right now. More coming up here, but new sponsor alert. How about Omaha Steaks coming on board? Are you on the lookout for convenient weekn night meals? I love cooking, but it’s difficult at times with the craziness that is the Dolphins. From handcrafted steaks to delicious fall favorites, Omaha Stakes delivers the world’s best steak experience. And now during their redhot sale event, you can get 50% off sitewide at omahastak.com. Plus, our listeners get an extra $35 off with promo code NFL daily at checkout. Heartland quality food delivered right to your door. Every steak is perfectly aged to maximize tenderness and hand cut by master butchers in America’s heartland. Grass-fed grainfinish beef has more marbling for exceptional flavor and is the choice of steakous in professional chefs around the world. They also carry mouthwatering burgers, chicken, pork, seafood, and delectable desserts. Get fired up for fall grilling with Omaha Stakes. Visit omahastaks.com for 50% off sitewide during the red hot sale event. And remember, for an extra $35 off, use promo code NFL daily at checkout. That’s an extra $35 off with promo code NFL daily at checkout. They also have 50% off at omahastakess.com. See site for details. Links in the description and comments of today’s video. Back to CJ Gardner Johnson and why I like him potentially joining this Dolphin secondary. When you think about him as a player, I think there’s a lot of similarities between him and current Dolphins linebacker Willie Gay Jr. who by the way should get more snaps for the Dolphins. He’s the highest graded defender the Dolphins have this season despite only playing about 14 snaps. But S Carter Johnson is fiery. He’s physical and he does not back down from a challenge. You consistently see him jawing with the opposing team on a weekly basis. And I know maybe it’s a hot take. I need more of that in Miami. This defense has been terrible. So why not show some spirit? Why not show some fight back? Garder Johnson would bring that to this team. He would also bring another versatile safety. And we know versatility is huge in an Anthony Weaver defense. He moves people around. He sends people on blitzes. He has people in the slot, on the outside, in the box, in the free safety roaming. Well, Gardner Johnson this year so far for Houston in the box 89 times, free safety 83 times, and in the nickel 29 times. So, he could play anywhere just like Anthony Weaver really likes to have. And his coverage stats have been eh so far this season. 6 for8 when being targeted, allowing 14.3 yards per catch. Doesn’t really have a PBU or a touchdown. A QB rating when being targeted of 100.4. So, not great there for CJ Gardner Johnson. But, I think this is something where he’s improving. When you look at his last two games on Pro Football Focus, it has been significantly better. He had a rough outing against the Los Angeles Rams in week one, bounced back against the Buccaneers in week two and against the Jaguars this past week despite having a couple blown plays. And when you think of his overall PFF grades, they’ve been solid. I said it. He’s the 40th graded safety amongst the ones that qualify. 63.4 overall grade. But I love his run defense. 71.2. Yes, the coverage and tackling has been a little bit spotty. A miss tackle percentage of 20% isn’t ideal. But I talked about it earlier. He’s fiery. He’s physical. He will bring the right mindset to each and every game. You can question his locker room fit, sure, but you cannot question his fight and spirit on the football field, which is why I’m certainly intrigued with signing him. And I’ll tell you right now, folks, if the Dolphins sign CJ Gardenner Johnson, we will have you covered with a video breaking it all down. So, subscribe and turn on notifications because you don’t want to miss a thing. Two videos every day. We cover news that happened in the NFL that could help the Dolphins. We also cover actual Dolphins news like the roster moves they made on Tuesday. I briefly talked about it. I think Gardner Johnson’s been much better in the last two games, specifically in coverage, than he was in the opening one. He just had a rough go of it trying to cover some of those tight ends. I believe Tyler Davis from uh the Los Angeles Rams got him on a route. Puka Nakua, Devonte Adams. It was a slugfest game between Houston and Los Angeles, but Gardenner Johnson did give up about 83 yards, but didn’t allow a catch this past week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, at least in the PFF charting. And uh he only gave up about 30 yards in week two against the um hu the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So, I think he’s been improving and is a player that would be able to come in and I think really improve this Dolphins secondary. Talked about it earlier. It can’t get worse from where it is right now. You look at the Dolphins pass defense through three weeks. Yes, they’re playing two of the better pass offenses and Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts. Who would have thought that with the Colts? But either way, 21st in yards per game allowed, second to last in yards per play allowed via the pass. the worst defense in the NFL in EPA per pass. And then when you talk about average separation for their opposing wide receiver or running back or tight end when defended by the Dolphins, tied for 23rd, it is without a question a bottom five, if not the worst pass defense in the entire NFL. So, even if you have concerns, even if you have reservations about siding CJ Gardner Johnson because of some blown assignments in Houston and the coverage numbers not being elite, it’s still better than what you have. And I’ll mention it again, the Dolphins defense cannot get worse from what it has been through the first three weeks of the year. It could only get better. And I believe it would get better if they brought in CJ Gardner Johnson. I think this is a good move Chris Reer should make right now. Now, like I mentioned earlier as well, not sure if he’d want to come to Miami because we’re 0 and3 and it sounds like he was getting frustrated with the Texans being 0 and3, but hey, you at least got to reach out to him, put out a feeler and see if you’d be interested in dotting the Aqua and Orange. [Music]

C.J. Gardner-Johnson headlines the NFL news today as the Houston Texans released the veteran safety. This comes as a surprise as Gardner-Johnson has been a starter on the Texans depth chart through NFL Week 3. This Houston Texans roster move is a GIFT for the Miami Dolphins, who could look to sign C.J. Gardner-Johnson in NFL Free Agency! Miami has $16+ MM in Dolphins cap space, and the Dolphins roster could utilize a versatile safety like Gardner-Johnson since the Dolphins safety depth chart has been the worst in the NFL through three weeks. Miami Dolphins Today host Nic Rohloff talks about the top Miami Dolphins news, and Dolphins rumors on C.J. Gardner-Johnson in this Dolphins YouTube video.

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NFL Insider, Aaron Wilson, cited Gardner-Johnson being disruptive in the Texans locker room as a reason he was released. Gardner-Johnson allegedly wanted to blitz more, and the Texans are the 18th ranked defense in blitz-rate. The Dolphins have the 2nd-highest blitz rate in the NFL following NFL Week 3 under defensive coordinator, Anthony Weaver.

Miami Dolphins pass rush percentage, defensive backs:
Jason Marshall Jr.: 13.5%
Cornell Armstrong: 8.3%
Dante Trader Jr.: 8.0%
Minkah Fitzpatrick: 5.0%
Ashtyn Davis: 4.8%
Ifeatu Melifonwu: 4.3%

Let Rolly know your thoughts on the questions from today’s show:
– Should the Dolphins sign C.J. Gardner-Johnson? Type ‘Y’ for Yes or ‘N’ for No

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Miami Dolphins safeties ranked on Pro Football Focus:
Minkah Fitzpatrick: 31/84
Ashtyn Davis: 61/84
Dante Trader Jr.: 64/84
Ifeatu Melifonwu: 75/84

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C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s alignment:
Box: 89 snaps
Free Safety: 83 snaps
Slot: 29 snaps

PFF grades for Gardner-Johnson:
Overall: 63.4
R Def: 71.2
Coverage: 58.9
Tackling: 48.2
MTKL%: 20.0%

More Miami Dolphins YouTube shows right HERE:
– 🚨Miami Dolphins Make MULTIPLES Roster Moves + Latest Dolphins Injury News: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HRRARhcyTE
– The Miami Dolphins Have A HIDDEN GEM That They Are NOT USING!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVc596dGvJg
– Dolphins Rumors: BLOCKBUSTER Jaylen Wright Trade?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS8qDyZh0_U

C.J. Gardner-Johnson coverage stats on PFF:
6/8 REC/TGT
14.3 YPC
0 TD
0/0 PBU/INT
10.4 QB RTG

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Dolphins pass defense stats:
Pass YPG: 225.3 (21st)
Pass YPP: 7.9 (31st)
EPA/Pass: +.40 (32nd)
AVG Separation: 3.7 (T-23rd)

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