Is Anthony at risk of getting lost in shuffle?
Defensive coordinator Burke says linebacker has tools to be playmaker.
DAVIE — Amid all this talk about three-safety formations, the return of linebacker Raekwon McMillan and the drafting of linebacker Jerome Baker, former first-round pick Stephone Anthony has been lost in the shuffle.
Anthony is still here, and actually, as of right now, he’s a starting Dolphins linebacker.
Anthony is still young and still fast and still strong and still has the potential to make a positive impact.
“He earned it by the same way all guys earn it,” Dolphins defensive coordinator Matt Burke said of Anthony taking many spring reps with the starting group. “He’s been working hard. It’s always difficult to come in the middle of the season, come from a different scheme and pick things up. He works
really, really hard. He’s a big athlete. He’s almost 6-foot3. He’s 240-something. He can run and we like those body types.”
Burke believes a full off- season with Miami will really benefit Anthony, who was criticized in New Orleans for his inability to consistently diagnose offensive plays. The Dolphins consider Anthony, 25, a part of their 2018 draft class, since he was obtained for a fifth-rounder.
“We’re trying to really overload him a bit and give him a full offseason, a full year of coaching with us, and see what he can do,” Burke said.
Matt Burke Dolphins defensive coordinator on linebacker Stephone Anthony
‘He works really, really hard. He’s a big athlete . ... He can run and we like those body types.’
“I think we’re doing the same thing at linebacker. I think a lot of our other linebackers are younger guys right now. So Steph’s been here. He has a little bit of history in the scheme, so I think there’s just a little bit of comfort level with him in terms of knowledge.”
The Dolphins have shown in the past they want rookies and newcomers to earn their playing time. So it’s completely possible that by the time the season starts or say, Week 5 of the 2018 season, Baker the rookie will have surpassed Anthony as Miami’s third linebacker.
But from a physical standpoint, there’s no reason Anthony can’t contribute when called upon. And right now he’s a starter.
“Stephone is another guy that can do it all,” Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso said. “He can drop into coverage, play the run. (He’s a) high-energy guy. He’s another guy that (is) a playmaker.”