PHOENIX — The Miami Dolphins will need to find quality players in the secondary in the coming draft.
They’re in the midst of remodeling the unit, and in the first wave of free agency, they only added economical options as veterans at or near minimum contracts.
With two picks in the first round and seven in the first three, it seems highly likely Miami finds rookie cornerbacks and safeties to add.
Luckily for the Dolphins, new coach Jeff Hafley has a background in coaching defensive backs. Speaking at the NFL annual meeting at the Arizona Biltmore this week, he detailed what he looks for at cornerback when evaluating talent.
“There’s three things when I watch a corner’s tape, when I evaluate a tape, that I always look at,” Hafley started. “There’s three levels of play that I want to see if they can win at. One is the line of scrimmage. I call that Level 1. Can he win at the line? Can he press, can he make a guy stop and start his feet? Can he use his hands? Is he quick enough to change direction? Can he take good cutoff angles? When a guy steps out and goes in, is he fast enough to come back inside? So, can he win there?
“Level 2 is all the intermediate routes, all the in-breaks, the digs, the comebacks. Can he drop his hips and accelerate out of his cuts? Or is he a high-hip guy that can’t do that and maybe he doesn’t have to do that because he can win so well at the line of scrimmage? And then Level 3 is, can he win down the field? Can he make a play down the field?”
As Hafley works in conjunction with new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan to craft a draft board, he understands it’s a rare commodity to find a cornerback who thrives at all three levels.
“I don’t know if you’re going to find many that can be elite Level 1, Level 2, Level 3,” Hafley said. “Those are the Darrelle Revises of the world and the Hall of Famers. I’ve been fortunate enough to see some of those guys and coach some of those guys, but then, you look to see, can they at least do two out of the three? Then, I go from there, and then it’s can they do one out of the three? If they can’t do any out of three, then we’re probably going to have to find a different player.”
The Dolphins starting cornerbacks last season, Rasul Douglas and Jack Jones, are free agents. Kader Kohou, a nickel corner with the team the past four seasons but who missed 2025 due to an ACL injury, went to the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency.
Miami returns rising second-year cornerback Jason Marshall Jr., along with Storm Duck and JuJu Brents, who also had injuries curtail their season last year. In free agency, the Dolphins brought in Darrell Baker Jr., who has starting experience with the Tennessee Titans, Marco Wilson and Alex Austin. They also have Ethan Bonner, A.J. Green III, Ethan Robinson, Isaiah Johnson and Jason Maitre among players vying for roster spots.
At safety, Minkah Fitzpatrick, who transitioned to playing nickel last season, was traded. Veterans Ashtyn Davis and Ifeatu Melifonwu are free agents. The Dolphins brought in Lonnie Johnson Jr. and Zayne Anderson as free agents, while Dante Trader Jr. enters his second season.
Hafley also detailed his core principles for identifying valuable safeties.
“Intelligence and instincts are very important for me,” he said. “I want guys who can think, think on their feet. I want guys who, as I call the game through those guys, can kind of react and communicate with me and tell me what they see, and I kind of play the game within the game with the opposing quarterbacks with those guys. I want guys that understand the game, can think on their feet because they’re out there alone at that point and have good instincts.
“And then you’ve got to be a great tackler. That’s so important. You’re the guy who’s kind of like the eraser; when anything bad happens, you’ve got to get the guy down or it’s going to be a touchdown. The ball can’t get behind you. And then the skill sets after that is, there’s some that are really good in man coverage, some have really good range, some are really physical, some have all of it.”
Aside from defensive backs, Miami could surely use an infusion of edge rushers, wide receivers and offensive linemen with early picks in this month’s draft.