The Miami Dolphins have a huge gaping hole at the safety position heading into the off-season. Jevon Holland, Jordan Poyer, and Elijah Campbell are all scheduled to be free agents. The only safety under contract is second-year safety Patrick McMorris, and the Dolphins don’t know what they have in him. The Dolphins are to blame for this situation because last year, the Dolphins let Brandon Jones and Deshaun Elliott walk as free agents.
The Dolphins could have gotten ahead of this and tried to resign one of them, especially Jones because the Dolphins drafted him and developed him. It’s best to keep your homegrown players. However, general manager Chris Grier isn’t good with that, and the Dolphins are in the same boat this off-season, especially with Holland, and the safety position is going to look a lot different next year.
A lot of mock drafts have the Dolphins taking at pick 13 safety Malaki Starks from Georgia. Starks is considered one of the tops at his position in this draft. He has great closing speed, makes plays, and can play a variety of positions in the secondary. My thing is, I’m not sure safety is the position to go at pick 13. I believe teams should build their offense and defense in the trenches and work their way out, which is what the Dolphins have to do this off-season 10 players not under contract on the offensive and defensive lines. The other thing is safety isn’t a premium position. Typically, you don’t see safeties go high in the first round.
The Dolphins have had good fortune with getting safeties later in the draft in the 2nd round and beyond, such as Holland and Jones recently. They also in the past have drafted Reshad Jones, Chris Clemmons, and Yeremiah Bell to name a few and I grant you those players were a while ago, but they had productive careers with the Dolphins for years.
The Dolphins have been burned in the first round at this position. Nick Saban took Jason Allen in the first round years ago, in 2006, and that move didn’t work out at all. The Dolphins drafted Mincah Fitzpatrick, and he was talented, but he had an issue with former coach Brian Flores regarding how he was being used, and the team traded him. Grier should have stepped in on the Fitzpatrick situation to try to resolve the issues, but he catered to his coach, as always, and let an all-pro get away.
I’m not saying the Dolphins shouldn’t draft a safety at pick 13. If Starks is the best player on their board, then I’m fine with it. However, I feel that the Dolphins should build upfront because I feel that a strong defensive front will only help the other players on the outside and in the secondary. I think the Dolphins should take one a little later in the draft.
