Never can have too many CBs
That’s why Igbinoghene gets selected in opening round
The Miami Dolphins made Bryon Jones the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL earlier this offseason.
Just a year ago, they did the same with
Xavien Howard.
Still, the Dolphins decided to use the last of their three first-round picks in the 2020 NFL draft Thursday to select Auburn cornerback Noah Igbinoghene with the 30th pick, adding another athletic and versatile defensive back to their secondary.
“[He was the] best player on the board for us,” Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said of Igbinoghene, who was joined by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and offensive tackle Austin Jackson that night as Miami’s newest members.
“We felt really good about Noah. We got to know him.
“This is a passing league, as everyone says. You can never have enough corners. … [coach] Brian [Flores] came from a really good defensive team when we hired him and they had a lot of corners.
“The way this league is offensively, it’s a premium position and the more you have, the better. It breeds competition. [He’s a] competitive kid that we really liked in the process.”
The Dolphins traded back four spots from No. 26 to acquire Igbinoghene with the No. 30 pick, and they also netted a fourth-round pick from the Green Bay Packers.
Igbinoghene, who also competed in the
long jump and triple jump, comes from an athletic family with impressive track and field credentials.
His mother, Faith, captured a bronze medal with the Nigerian 4x100 relay team in 1992 and finished fifth in 1996.
Igbinoghene’s father, Festus, attended Mississippi State and won a total of five SEC championships in the long and triple jumps.
Igbinoghene started his college football career at Auburn as a wide receiver, rated as a four-star, top-40 high school prospect, who had just six catches for 24 yards as a freshman in 2017.
Igbinoghene decided to switch over to the other side of the football after recommendations by three people, according to AL.com: his barber, his pastor and Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin
Steele.
Now, he uses his experiences lining up against cornerbacks to be a fierce defender.
“I remember being a receiver and I knew how bad I was when a cornerback got in my face and was physical with me,” Igbinoghene said early Friday morning.
“That’s exactly play like that.”
Igbinoghene will join a Dolphins secondary headlined by Jones — who signed a five-year, $82.5 million deal, which includes $57 million guaranteed at roughly $16.5 million annually when free agency began in March — and Howard, who signed a five-year, $76.5 million contract with $46 million guaranteed, which is $15 million annually, last year.
With the two cornerback spots set, and veteran Bobby McCain potentially remaining at free safety, Igbinoghene will find himself competing with 10 other defensive backs vying why
Ifor significant playing time as a nickel or field cornerback in Flores’ defense.
The Dolphins also have defensive backs Eric Rowe, Nik Needham, Jomal Perry (formerly Jomal Wiltz), Cordrea Tankersley, Tae Hayes, Ryan Lewis, Nate Brooks and Ken Webster on their roster. And another onewas added Friday when Miami selected Texas safety Brandon Jones in the third round with the No. 70 pick overall.
“Chris and I, we’ve always been on the same page as far as never having enough corners in this league,” Flores said. “With the receivers — the receivers coming off the board [Thursday], there were a lot of good ones. So you’ve got to defend those guys.
“We feel good about all of the corners we have on our roster and we felt like we had an opportunity to add one, another good one, and that played a role in the decision.”