How The Dolphins’ 2025 Cornerback Room Stacks Up Versus Miami’s Biggest Weaknesses In Recent Years

How The Dolphins’ 2025 Cornerback Room Stacks Up Versus Miami’s Biggest Weaknesses In Recent Years

To say there’s some questions about the Dolphins cornerback room would be putting it mildly, but just how bad is this room relative to some of the other bad position rooms the Dolphins have had in recent years? We’re exploring that here today on Locked on Dolphins. You are Locked On Dolphins, your daily Miami Dolphins podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. All right, Miami. Welcome to another episode of Locked On Dolphins. It is your team every day here on the Lockdown Network. I’m your host, Kyle Krabs, a lifelong Miami Dolphins fan, host of Lockdown Dolphins, co-host of Lockdown NFL Scouting, author of Touchdown, Miami Substack, and NFL staff writer for a TOZ sports. Just want to give a special welcome and shout out to our everydayers because it is your team every day. We don’t just say it, we live it here on the Locked Onet. Today’s episode of Locked On Dolphins is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code locked on NFL for $20 off of your first purchase. Today on the show, looking at the 2025 cornerback room. And I had somebody who had had asked me uh just yesterday this question. Um, how bad is the Dolphins 2025 cornerback room based off of what we know right now versus the 2019 roster, right? And this is, I guess, a thing that’s going on right now on on Dolphins social media fan accounts comparing, contrasting, invoking the 19 roster, talking about the 2025 football team. Um, so I want start by looking at the 2025 quarterbacks. And then what I did is I went back through every roster, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, and finally 19. And I identified what I feel like are the worst position rooms in each one of those rosters. And there’s an interesting kind of trend between positional value and positions that are important for building a roster. And I think that’s the one thing where the cornerback room stands out is it is a premium is perceived to be a premium position across the NFL. And there’s no question when you look at the cornerback room, uh, there’s some incomplete evaluations, there’s some quality depth players, there’s rookies, there’s one sufficient level starter with how I have it graded right now, but the rest of it is just kind of we’re waiting to see, right? We want to know who’s going to get added to this room. It’s perceived that there is going to be a free agent addition to this room. Here’s who the Dolphins have now. Okay, I want to talk through the the profile of each one of these players. Kater Kohu, face to the quarterback room. Fourth year, former undrafted free agent. Very quickly outplayed that undrafted free agent status out of Texas&M Commerce. A lot of pressed man in his background coming out of Texas&M Commerce. Obviously, the Josh Buer scheme put him in a position to uh be able to have playing opportunities and lean into his strengths right away as a player. He has since diversified. He’s had three different defensive coordinators in three years. It’s the first time he has the same defensive coordinator in back-to-back season since he’s been in the NFL. Primarily a slot player through his first three seasons. I think if you tell me Kater Co who’s like one of your top two CBS and can play outside or would play outside, I think he’d be a sufficient level starter in that role and opportunity. I thought he was really good over the last six, seven weeks of the season last year. Felt like the scheme really he kind of fell into the scheme. It’s a gamble, but everything you do is a gamble and he’s back on a one-year restricted free agent tender. That’s the Kater Coo story. CB2 right now is it Ry Burns? That’s the second name out of everybody’s mouth during OTAAS and and mini camp. And talking about the Dolphins cornerback room and this is a player who has experience with the system. He was in Seattle last year with Mike McDonald of course was in Baltimore before he left to go to Seattle for the head coach which is where Anthony Weaver also was. So, a lot of time on task this past year and in 24 played the week 18 game meaningful snaps and looked really good, but is not a player who has been charged with any meaningful football for an extended period of time in quite some time. Uh, the last time that Arty Burns, I’ll make sure I get my exact numbers right here, played more than, let’s say, 300 snaps in a season for Arty Burns, 2018. as a third-year player in Pittsburgh, former first round pick. Uh he has started 14 games since from 2019 to present day. There’s not a lot of opportunity that has been had here. Now, he’s this special teams contributions and Seattle in 23. He played almost 200 snaps of special teams. So, you put him in that bucket of can be a veteran backup player, experience in the scheme, little bit of an aging player, right? He just turned 30 on May 1st, be a team’s guy for you. Ideally, that’s like a CB uh four, five, six on your death chart. In a perfect world, right now, that’s CB2. Uh you continue your way down the depth chart, you have Cam Smith. I just wrote a story on Cam Smith last night for a Toz Sports. Uh, but I think there that the Dolphins openly challenged Cam Smith, a former second round draft choice, to grow up this off seasonason. And Chris Greer said publicly, uh, we told Cam, we can’t wait to hold his hand anymore. It’s time to go. Um, he’s either going to make a leap, he’s going to continue to tease you, he’s going to be banged up like he was last year with two separate IR stints, or maybe if he doesn’t get out of the muck of players that he’s in, you could see him potentially be somebody that I I don’t think they would cut him, but they may explore exit opportunities. It’s it’s you’re talking about a million dollars in debt cap to move on because it’s a year three player uh on a rookie contract, but I think that would have to be a trade situation. I don’t I don’t think that anybody’s eager to cut Cam Smith as a second round draft choice, but the draft profile is only going to take you so far, right? and Cam Smith uh his rookie season was very um unfavored by Vic Vic Fangio. Cam played 133 defensive snaps last year. He did play 210 special team snaps as a rookie in 15 across 15 games. So that’s your top three from a experience and investment standpoint. And then you get names like Storm Guck, fifth round draft pick, Jason Marshall, Ethan Bonner, who was a UDFA from a couple of years ago, and he lapped Cam Smith in 23. Kendall Sheffield is a former veteran player that’s never really caught on anywhere, had any meaningful opportunities to play. An undrafted free agent this year in BJ Adams. An undrafted free agent from last year in Isaiah Johnson, who I really like. I personally like him better than Storm Duck based off the preseason stuff last year. That’s the room. And your CB2 is probably best served to be a CB5. It is not a good group from top to bottom based off of what we know. Now, the competition, you’re hoping people elevate and step up their game. But who is it going to be? And what is the floor and the ceiling of that group? Well, I I think for me, I classify this group. I have a sufficient level starter in Kater who I think I have a quality depth player in Arty Burns. I have an incomplete evaluation in Cam Smith. I have an incomplete evaluation in Stormduck who’s played more snaps than Cam Smith’s played in two seasons. I have a rookie in Jason Marshall who I have no idea what he is. I have Ethan Bonner who I’m inclined to believe is going to end up being a replacement level player, but um didn’t really play a lot last year. It’s if it’s going to happen, it’s it should happen now for him. I have a replacement level player in Kendall Sheffield and I have an incomplete evaluation in Isaiah Johnson and another rookie in BJ Adams. So, as you you score that out, you got a lot of closely contested, unproven players. It makes for an uncomfortable room. Now, you add another sufficient level starter to this, you could say, “Hey, if we stay healthy this year, we feel like we could work with a little bit.” Big if this is the Dolphins, right? Uh but I want to look at and compare this room before ultimately ranking it versus these other underwhelming roster spots and weak points that the Dolphins have had. As I said, I went through 24, 23, 22, 21, 20 and 19 and identified some of the worst position rooms in recent memory for the Dolphins and their offseason rosters and how this quarterback room compares to that. That’s next here locked on Dolphins. Make sure you guys stick with us. You ever decided last minute you want to head to a ball game with your family or friends? Maybe it’s game day. You suddenly realize you want to be in the stands for yourself. It’s exactly where game time comes in. It’s the easiest way to grab last minute tickets without the stress. With the money you save on tickets, you could splurge on food, drinks, merch, parking, park a little closer for the ballpark, or even invite a bigger group to come with you. Game time makes it all possible. Game time makes buying tickets fast and simple prices on the app actually go down the closer you get to first pitch or puck drop or tip whatever kickoff. But it’s not just sports. There’s concerts, comedy, theater, and more. And with their incredible last minute deals, clear seat views, and lowest price guarantee, you can take all of the worry out of buying tickets. So take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app. Create an account. Use code locked on NFL for $20 off your first purchase. terms to apply. Again, create an account and redeem code L O C K D O N L for $20 off. Download Game Time app today. Last minute tickets for the lowest prices guaranteed. So, the 24 group, thank goodness Kas Campbell happened because it would have been defensive tackle, right? You have Bonito Jones and Deshawn. I thought both those guys ended up being quality depth players, but had to play larger roles than that because uh names like Tier Tart and Jonathan Harris uh they didn’t materialize for you the way that you thought you would. Remember, they had this kind of um smorgesborg of of different role players that they brought in to kind of uh blast it and see what stuck. And it ended up being Bonito Jones and Deshawn Han. Bonito Jones obviously back. Deshawn Han left in free agency. Uh, so I ended up going with the guard group because you had Isaiah Win off of a season ending injury the year before. You ended up not seeing him until December. Whoopee. Robert Jones, Lee Mikeberg, Jack Driscoll, Lester Cotton, Jason Hines, and Matthew Jones. Those were the those were the guards last year. So when you didn’t know when, pun intended, you were going to see him and it ended up being not till late in the year. So Jones Ikeberg, obviously your starters, you thought, hey, in a perfect world, this guy’s to come off the bench and play half of football for you. He could be a guy who’s had some playing experience. There’s some positional versatility with Ikeberg. Maybe they’re quality depth players, but as starters, they are replacement level players and you you dealt with them all year. And then you surprisingly cut Jack Driscoll, who I thought gave you some of the best stuff on tape in the preseason. Lester Cotton, Jason Hines, Matthew Jones. Uh, the way that I had that this group graded last year uh was Isaiah Win, sufficient level starter, but with the injury, red flag. Robert Jones/ Liam Iikenberg with the expectation that one of them was not going to be starting. You could make the argument was was quality depth player because there’s experience and some scheme flexibility or or position flexibility within the scheme. They both obviously had their big opportunities and neither one of them proved to be anything above uh they they failed to meet expectation with the bumpers that the Dolphins played their offense with last year. Driscoll I would have as a quality depth player. Lester Cotton is a replacement level player. Jason Hines a replacement level player and Matthew Jones obviously in a complete evaluation because he hasn’t played. That’s that’s a group that has some pretty close mirrors to the cornerback room with the exception being Karo who is healthy this year coming into the year as the sufficient level starter at the top of the room. So at least versus the guards you’re not automatically taking your class player and saying see in week 15 best of luck to you. That that helps. But I’m going to rank them at the end. I’ll say say where I think the quarterbacks rank out of this. I ended up having I think nine total position rooms. The 23 tight ends uh is a doozy of a group with Durham Smi rookie at the time. Julian Hill, Eric Sawert, Tanner Connor, Tyler Croft, Elijah Higgins as a rookie who did not make the roster. Um Smi at that point I would have classified as a quality depth player as the best player. Julian Hill as a rookie. Eric Sawert I would have as a uh probably a quality depth player. Tanner Connor, what that was year two for Tanner Connor, incomplete evaluation. Tyler Croft I would have had as a replacement level player and Elijah Higgins is another rookie. So you have a quality depth player and then that’s really it. Now, obviously from a positional value standpoint, you look at cornerbacks versus guards and tight ends, you probably feel a little bit better about having those questions at guard and tight end as far as the big picture of how your football team operates. Obviously, the Dolphins felt both of those areas and their shortcomings throughout the course of the 23 and 24 seasons, but at the same time, it was one of those things where um you felt like if you had proper play at the other spots, you could probably keep your head above water and work around it where the cornerback situation, you’re banking on a non-premium position in safety and then your pass rush to offset the question that you have here at one of the areas where you could really dictate how teams play. So, that’s the big difference. Uh, in 2022, I would say probably the offball linebackers was the biggest question on the roster. Remember this that you’re back into the window where you had Robert Hunt at guard on the roster. 22 is when you signed Tron Armstead to kind of bolster the tackle room while Austin Jackson was an incomplete and unestablished player. You have Teddy Bridgewwater backup quarterback in 22. I think linebacker is the right place to look at here where it was Jerome Baker, Elandon Roberts, rookie Channing Tindall, Duke Riley, and Sam Eguon was your five line top five linebackers in 22. Baker I would have had uh as a sufficient level starter as the floor any given week. You you might have been able to say back in 22 you’d play him up to be potentially a quality starter. But then Elena Roberts I thought was a very hypersp specific role player and you really didn’t have another complimentary player like Eg was a special teams guy. Duke Riley very clearly a special teams guy. Channing Tindall is a rookie. Um I thought you you you had one player at linebacker and then a bunch of question marks. And I think you can reflect back on some of the games that you played against teams that had quarterbacks that could run in 22 with uh what Baltimore did to you offensively and and what Justin Fields did to you offensively that year and obviously Josh Allen and what he did to you in the second game that you you played in 22 and then the playoff game in 22. that group I think really hurt you when it was all said and done for what they brought and their influence and the areas where Miami really struggled which is tight ends, running backs and mobile quarterbacks. So, um, linebackers, tight ends, and guards now firmly in the spotlight. You get back to 2021, it’s another nonpremium position. It’s running backs. This is I think the closest room that you have to one that is worse than like comfortably worse than anything else that we’ve talked about because I I would say at least you had a sufficient level starter with Kohou and with win at guard last year before it was apparent he wasn’t coming back on time and Baker was a sufficient level starter. So 23 tight ends was bad but you did have two quality depth players. 21 running backs was Miles Gaskin, Malcolm Brown, Jared Dos, Patrick Lair, Savon Amed, and Jordan Scarlet. Not a good room. And then 2020 running backs was Jordan Howard, Matt Breida, Miles Gaskin, Kaylin Balage, top four backs. Um, not a great room. Just put it that way. So I think 2020 2021 running backs is very much under the microscope for me as far as how bad did this room get. I think the 2020 tackle room also jumps out at me where it was rookie Austin Jackson, Julian Davenport, Jesse Davis, and Nick Coltmeer top four tackles. you had Robert Hunt who played some tackle for you as a rookie but ultimately would go on to be an interior player. And then in 2019, I’m going to save 2019 for after the break because this roster going back and looking at it is an absolute fever dream for what you had in some spots. So, we’re going to get into that next here on Locked on Dolphins. Make sure you guys stick with us. 2019 offensive tackles, Jesse Davis, Isaiah Prince, Jamarcus Webb, Andrew Donnell, and then Julian Davenport after the Tonsel deal and Tonsel and Davenport went on IR. So Jesse Davis, Isaiah Prince, Jammarcus Web, that group is comfortably worse than anything that we just went over from the guards, the tight ends, the corners, and 25. And the edge group might be worse. Charles Harris, Taco Charlton, Sam Egoan, Trent Harris, and then a fifthround rookie, Andrew Van Ginkle, who had time on IR as a rookie in 2019. I’m not sure looking at that right now that you don’t have a player that grades better than a replacement level player for the opportunity that they had that season. Now, Andrew Van Ginkle obviously goes on to develop with time to become a quality starter at a minimum, right? Just got a nice contract extension with Minnesota. Really happy for his successes. Um, but rookie Andrew Giggle was a Jo transfer to Wisconsin who is a very good athlete and very raw and the Dolphins deserve credit for the development of him as a player. You certainly wish player that you draft and develop like that, you would have found the right price point to to retain that player. Um, but Trent Harris, Egon is a rush linebacker, Taco Charlton, Charles Harris, Charles Harris at least is going on to be a quality depth player once he left Miami, but in 19, no way. Nope. Jesse Davis, Isaiah Prince. So, that’s at least two spots on the roster uh that I think is comfortably the worst two spots on on that that we’ve gone over. And those are two premium positions with tackles and edges, right? That’s losing football. At least these other spots are running backs in 20 and 21 and linebackers and tight ends and guards. Now, it’s the quarterback’s turn. I think you are free agent signing away from putting this group at a position where it can be better positioned to be better than all of these groups in my mind. Is it the weak point on the roster? Absolutely. Are there going to be some weekly matchups where it’s really going to give you problems? Absolutely. It’s going to make you to be really passive with your coverage shells. It’s going to force you to have to win organically with your front four and win with that rush chemistry and and your rush plans and how you set a pocket and how you force quarterbacks off their spot and how you interrupt their timing with the front. The good news is if you play good early down football, you have the horses to be able to do that. Um, but it is a diff very different style than what us as Dolphins fans and you know whether it was Howard plus Byron Jones or Howard plus uh the the drafting of Cam Smith and then Howard plus Jaylen Ramsay and then Jaylen Ramsay and then bringing in a veteran player in Fuller this year. like there there’s been a lot of interest in really having established players at this spot and uh it is a big departure in that regard and I think with kind of how that position room’s played out over the last couple years it was probably due time to kind of hit a fresh restart and blank wipe the slate clean. Unfortunately, you just also had trench work that needed attention that prevented you from investing in this room the way that you probably would have if you had unlimited assets and unlimited resources. But I would say the 219 rooms, Harris, Charlton, Eguon, Trent Harris, rookie Andrew Vaninkle, who was on IR uh as the edge group, and then Jesse Davis, Isaiah Prince, Jarcus Webb, Andrew Donald, Julian Davenport, tackles. Those are two comfortably the two worst um position rooms. I think 23 tight ends. Actually, 21 running backs is is probably next on my list and then 23 tight ends. Then I would say probably 24 guards, then 22 linebackers, then 25 corners as far as like the level of questionability that I have with the entirety of the group. And I do expect them to bolster this room a little bit. Now, we’ll wait and see. If it doesn’t happen, you know, the tune can very easily change. Hope nobody hears me say out of all of the bad position groups or questionable position groups that Dolphins have had over the last six years, I think the 25 cornerback room is least concerning relative to these other ones. I hope you don’t hear me say that and then tell me I’m I’m pedlingopium on your your your your content feed. But uh that’s that’s just how I see it from a established starter sufficient level starter player perspective. But the fact that it is the premium position out of all of these going back to the 2020 groups that we looked at obviously 2019 is a different story does make it a very compelling and interesting pathway forward. That’s going to do it for us here today on Locked on Dolphins. It is your team every day. Hope you guys enjoyed the show. Appreciate you for checking it out. Keep it locked in right here on Locked on Dolphins. It is your team every day. I’m out of here. Kyle crabs. Go fins.

Miami Dolphins’ cornerback conundrum: Is the 2025 roster facing a critical weakness? Kyle Crabbs dissects the current CB situation, comparing it to recent roster shortcomings.

Dive into a comprehensive analysis of the Dolphins’ cornerback room, featuring insights on Kader Kohou, Artie Burns, and Cam Smith. Crabbs explores how this group stacks up against past positional weaknesses, including the 2024 guards and 2023 tight ends. The discussion extends to potential defensive strategy adjustments and the impact on Miami’s pass rush.

Will the Dolphins make a crucial free agent signing to bolster their secondary? Tune in for expert analysis on Miami’s roster construction and defensive outlook for 2025.

0:00 Intro: Dolphins cornerback room concerns

5:44 Analyzing the current Dolphins cornerback depth

11:51 Comparing cornerbacks to other weak positions

17:59 2019-2020 Dolphins: Worst position groups

24:13 Conclusion: Cornerbacks least concerning of weak groups

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How The Dolphins’ 2025 Cornerback Room Stacks Up Versus Miami’s Biggest Weaknesses In Recent Years
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