Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Dolphins fill their needs with top DB
What’s not to like? The Dolphins needed help for last year’s 29th-rated defense. They got their choice of top players the way the draft fell Thursday night.
They needed someone to prevent offenses from attacking them with three-receiver formations, as happened 65 percent of downs, and with tight ends, who ran wild against them. They got a versatile player who plays safety and cornerback.
They wanted a winner who brings that mindset to a franchise stuck in mediocrity. Minkah Fitzpatrick held up his hands after being the Dolphins top draft pick Thursday night, showing fingers bejeweled with three title rings from Alabama.
“I’ve got to fill the rest of them,” he said. “I’ve got to fill the rest of them.”
He laughed. “I’m trying to fill the rest of those things up,” Not one, not two, not three, not four … No, we won’t do that to him. This was a night the Dolphins draft couldn’t have broken much better for answering their defensive needs. They had the choice of taking Fitzpatrick or the second-rated linebacker by most analysts in Virginia Tech’s Tremaine Edmunds, who was taken by Buffalo at 16th.
“He’s a Swiss army knife,” Dolphins General Manager Chris Grier said of Fitzpatrick. “He does a lot of things really well.”
The draft raised two questions, one of which won’t be answered for years, if ever. UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen nearly was available to them. Then Arizona traded with Oakland for that pick and drafted Rosen. Thus ended the months-long debate on whether the Dolphins would draft a quarterback to compete with Ryan Tannehill.
“The way it all played out, we didn’t think any of the quarterbacks would make it to us,” Grier said.
The second question comes out of the Fitzpatrick pick: How will the Dolphins
use him with veteran safeties Reshad Jones and T.J. McDonald? The combination of Jones and McDonald didn’t work well last season, the concern being they have similar, bighitting skills and couldn’t cover tight ends.
So in some form Fitzpatrick fills that need. Also, the Dolphins surely will try to use all three at times, especially in the six-defensive-back “dime” package they have rarely used in recent seasons for lack of the right players.
“That will play out in the spring and summer,” Grier said. “For him, it’s a great mix now. He has a different skill set than the other guys. It’s all about competition.”
It’s all about ramping this defense up to the modern NFL, too. It was big and slow and not very versatile last year. Defensive coordinator Matt Burke stressed last December the need to add another safety, especially to help with tight ends. The Dolphins, after all, rated 29th in covering tight ends last year.
“I did that in college,” Fitzpatrick said, adding, “I’m physical, and I know they can’t run by me. Coach Saban trusted me to do my job.”
Yes, former Dolphins coach Nick Saban keeps churning out top college talent. Kenyan Drake was the first for the Dolphins. Now comes Fitzpatrick, who has all the stories you’d expect. Like Saban was tough on him.
“At first, I was frustrated,” Fitzpatrick said. “Even when I was making good plays, he was finding something to tweak, finding something to get on me . ... He told me it was because he realized how great I could be, and he wouldn’t allow me to get away with slacking, with not doing the right thing.”
If Dolphins draft nights have taught one thing, it’s to temper the enthusiasm. April’s hope becomes September’s question. Just look at the list of top pick in the last decade: Jake Long, Vontae Davis, Jared Odrick, Mike Pouncey, Ryan Tannehill, Dion Jordan, Ja’Wuan James, DeVante Parker, Laremy Tunsil and Charles Harris. Not a lot of impact there. But you don’t have to give up your hard-earned right to not get carried away while agreeing they got a player who fits what they need. Big. Versatile. A fit for the modern NFL. And a playmaker? He had nine interceptions at Alabama. He returned four for touchdowns.
If he adds just one ring to his hands