The Miami Dolphins were a very busy team during the first week of free agency as they made 10 free agent additions to improve the roster as they look ahead to the 2020 season. The vast majority of the signings were on the defensive side of the football as Chris Grier and Brian Flores looked to solidify the defense and improve a unit that was ranked at the bottom or near the bottom in almost every defensive category in 2019.

For those of you that know me or listen every day to the DolphinsTalk.com Daily Podcast know I am a hard marker and grader. I am often accused of being “too negative” at times or as someone who doesn’t cut the organization enough slack. So, when I say that I am very pleased and very happy with the group of free agents Miami signed this past week you should know that is coming from a person who doesn’t pass out compliments often.

With that said let’s grade each Miami Dolphins free agent signing from this past week now that each player has passed their physical and the signings are official.

 

CB Byron Jones (Five Years, $82 Million, $57 million guaranteed) Grade: B

The only reason the Jones signing doesn’t get a higher grade is because you must factor in his lack of interceptions during his time in the NFL.  Jones has spent all 5 years of his time in the NFL with the Cowboys and only has 2 interceptions and his last interception came in 2017. Now, Jones is a big and physical cornerback who has had a lot of success shutting down opponents’ top wide receivers in recent years. He is a fantastic player and playing opposite Xavien Howard will give Miami a cornerback tandem they haven’t seen in nearly 20 years. The bidding war for Jones was hot with the Giants and Raiders also offering mega-deals for the talented cornerback, but the Dolphins out-bid both and won out. A solid signing by the Dolphins and it does improve their secondary, but it was a costly one as Jones is now the 2nd highest paid cornerback in the NFL and he will be in Miami for years to come with the contract he got.  I believe the B grade is fair due to the fact of how much money he is making and due to his lack of interceptions.

 

DE Shaq Lawson (Three Years, $30 million, $21 million guaranteed) Grade: B

Shaq Lawson is a perfect fit for what Brian Flores wants out of his defensive ends in his system. In 2019 Lawson was second among edge defenders with 10 tackles for loss. He wasn’t a starter in Buffalo but is expected to be one with Miami in 2020. I believe the B grade is fair because the one issue with Lawson is, he won’t rack up big sack numbers.  Shaq only has 16 sacks in 4 seasons in the NFL and for a defensive end you would like to see more production in the area of getting to the quarterback. Overall though it’s a solid signing that improves the defensive end position for Miami and it’s a short contract that the Dolphins can get out from after 2 seasons should the signing not work out.

 

OLB Kyle Van Noy (Four years, $51 million, $30 million guaranteed) Grade: A+

My one and only A+ grade and this one is well earned as this is my favorite signing by the Dolphins this offseason. Van Noy is a “do it all” linebacker who in my opinion is the type of linebacker the Dolphins haven’t had on their roster in many years. Van Noy can rush the passer and had 6.5 sacks in 2019, he can drop back in coverage and cover a running back or tight end out of the backfield, he can play in space, he can stop the run, Van Noy does it all. Some of the things Van Noy does won’t show up in the stat sheet but he is the type of player who can be the quarterback of a defense that won’t need to come off the field often. Yes, its a big contract but I have no problem investing big money in a high character guy who produces on the field and can do so many things and do so many things well.

 

OG Ereck Flowers (Three Years, $30 Million, $19.95 guaranteed) Grade: C

Miami is essentially paying for one year of production with Flowers. Yes, Flowers was a decent left guard for half of the 2019 season, but prior to that Flowers was a miserable right tackle/left tackle, and a so-so guard for half of the 2019 season. Miami needed to upgrade their offensive line here in free agency and I am sure Flowers wasn’t at the top of their list, but as soon as the top guards and tackles were starting to get franchise tagged or signed for crazy amounts of money Miami went and signed someone who does upgrade their roster at the left guard spot, but who has a questionable past. Dolphins are hoping that the last 8 games of 2019 are what they are getting here moving forward. A lot of risk with this signing….a lot of risk!

 

C Ted Karras (one year, $4 million) Grade: B-

Much like with Ereck Flowers the Dolphins signed Karras off one full year of successful play as a starter. Karras has been in the NFL since 2016 and before 2019 he had only 5 starts. In 2019 when Dave Andrews went down to injury Karras was thrown into the starting role and started 15 games for New England. Karras makes few mental mistakes and won’t give up a bunch of sacks but he also isn’t the most athletic center in the NFL. There was a reason he didn’t have a big market and many teams blowing up his phone lines looking to sign him. While I trust Karras more than I trust someone than Flowers (hence the higher grade) I am not sure Karras is more than a one-year rental for the Dolphins. But for $4 million the rental is OK and not an expensive one.

 

RB Jordan Howard (Two years, $9.75 million, $4.75 million guaranteed) Grade: A-

To me this is a sneaky good signing by the Dolphins and one that isn’t getting enough attention. Jordan Howard has been a productive running back his entire career in the NFL with the Bears and Eagles. Now in Miami he will step into the lead running back role (yes, Miami will draft a running back to share time with him most likely.) Before he was injured last season, he was the Eagles best running back averaging 4.4 yards per carry and 2 yards after first contact which is a great statistic for an NFL running back. The contract Miami gave Howard is very team friendly and one that Howard will probably outperform in year one alone, hence the A- grade.

 

DE Emmanual Ogbah (Two Years, $15 million, $7.5 guaranteed) Grade: B+

To me the Ogbah signing is a great bargain deal for the Miami Dolphins. Comparing Lawson and Ogbah the two Miami Dolphins defensive end signings I think Ogbah is the better player and Miami got him for less money per year and less guaranteed money. Hence, the Ogbah signing gets a slightly higher grade. Ogbah last season was maybe/probably the Chiefs best pass rusher until he went down to an injury in November causing him to miss the rest of the season. If Ogbah didn’t get hurt, you can make a case he would have broke the bank this free agency period and gotten a mega-deal. For the Dolphins they add another defensive end and one who will potential and probably start for them. One who is solid against the run and is known for getting after the quarterback and racking up sacks.

 

LB Elandon Roberts (Contract Not Disclosed) Grade: B-

Tough to pass out a grade without the terms of the contract but guessing this is a one- or two-year deal at most for modest money.  Roberts has played for Flores before and started many games in New England in 2017 and 2018. In 2019 he was voted defensive team captain and he wasn’t even a starting linebacker for the Pats in 2019, which goes to show you the respect he had among his teammates. In Miami Roberts will be a back-up linebacker and fill a similar role he had in New England and because he has familiarity with what Miami does on defense this is a solid signing.

 

LB Kamu Grugier-Hill (One year, $3 million) Grade: C+

Grugier-Hill started 16 games for the Eagles over the past 2 seasons including 6 in 2019. He is known for his speed as well as his special teams play. He provides Miami more depth at linebacker as well as someone who will stand out on special teams. This is a one-year show-me deal as Miami already has two very similar linebackers on their roster with Andrew Van Ginkle and Vince Biegel. If Grugier-Hill plays well he could be in store for an extension with the Dolphins, if not then it’s a 1 year “no harm-no foul” type of contract.

 

S Clayton Fejedelem (Three Years, $8.5 million, $3 million guaranteed) Grade: C+

Diving into the details of this contract it is essentially a 1-year deal in which Miami can move on from after the 2020 season with very little dead money. The Dolphins are thin at safety and Fejedelem will provide some quality depth there, but this signing is mainly one for special teams which is where he excels. This signing ends the tenure of Walt Aikens in Miami as the Dolphins “special teams ace” as that role will now belong to Fejedelem.

As I said at the beginning of this article, I am a hard marker and I do not pass out top grades often. As you can see from the grades, I passed out I am very pleased with the Dolphins free agent class overall. Mostly A and B grades and the couple grades that were C or C+ in my opinion show the risk involved with the signing or the payout for the lack of possible playing time the player may get in 2020. Overall though a heck of a job by Chris Grier and the front office in improving the talent on the Dolphins. Now, on to the draft!

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