South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Xavien Howard on verge of a payday
Dolphins CB is trying to send a message to his team and the NFL.
Xavien Howard is sending a message to the Miami Dolphins and the NFL.
Just look at his celebrations with teammates after he snatched two interceptions out of the air from Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck last week.
Howard leaped up to intercept a pass intended for Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton while in man coverage near the Dolphins sideline and tucked the football deep between his left elbow and body. Then he proceeded to make some imaginary cash rain from his hands.
Just seven seconds later after a Dolphins turnover, Howard baited Luck to throw to tight end Eric Ebron in zone coverage and secured his second interception. Then Howard celebrated by rubbing his fingers together as if he could already touch the money that could come his way during the offseason.
Howard, the third-year Dolphins cornerback worthy of consideration for his first Pro Bowl, is ready to get paid.
“I feel like my hard work is going to pay off at the end,” Howard said this past week ahead of the Dolphins (5-6) hosting the Buffalo Bills (4-7) on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Hard Rock Stadium.
Howard’s performance against the Colts was the fourth time in his career he has had at least two interceptions in a game. Luck, Tom Brady, Derek Carr and Trevor Siemian have had to learn the hard way about throwing in
Howard’s direction.
Howard’s five interceptions this season is second in the NFL, and his nine career interceptions in the past 16 games is the best in the league during that span. It is also a clear sign the Dolphins have a potential lockdown cornerback on their defense, one worthy of a contract extension at season’s end.
“There’s a lot more opportunities out there [with] five weeks of football,” Howard said looking ahead to the final stretch of this season.
“Each game I’m going to take advantage of the opportunity if they throw the ball my way.”
Howard’s surge as one of the most talented, young cornerbacks in the NFL has been aided by his offseason workouts with Chad Wil-
son, a former University of Miami standout who has coached at area high schools such as American Heritage Plantation and University School for 15 years.
Wilson’s playing and coaching experience helped Howard understand ingame situations similar to the consecutive defensive plays on which he intercepted Luck last week. Wilson has also helped Howard fine-tune his footwork and body mechanics to create efficient movements to capitalize on his dynamic knack for making plays on the football.
“I’m happy for the kid — he’s been ball in ’,” said Wilson, who created the GridironStuds high school recruiting app and runs his All Eyes DB Camp for area defensive backs.
“They’re definitely going to have to pay him because they’re struggling at that cornerback spot without
him. I really hope he gets that Pro Bowl vote because he’s playing about as good as anybody at the position this year.”
Wilson has worked with a number of players finding their way in college and the NFL, such as Atlanta Falcons safety Damontae Kazee, who leads the NFL with six interceptions, one more than Howard.
Wilson’s youngest son, Marco, is recovering from an ACL injury during his second year at the University of Florida. His oldest son, Quincy, is a secondyear defensive back for the Colts who nearly intercepted Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill on a deep pass to receiver Kenny Stills near the end of the first quarter last week.
Howard and Quincy Wilson exchanged jerseys and posed for photos together to commemorate their offseason work coming to fruition in an NFL game.
“I spend my whole second offseason with them, and I can definitely see the improvement in my game from just working out with him,” Howard said of Chad Wilson.
“He’s a football head. He’s been playing for a long time, coaching it. He has two sons, one in college and one in the NFL, so he’s been around it a lot. He knows what to expect from a corner.”
Dolphins coach Adam Gase says Howard is on the cusp of being one of the NFL’s most feared defensive backs, similar to players such as Darrell Revis and Richard Sherman in their prime, if he can continue playing like an all-around cornerback.
“[When] other teams start respecting to where he’s not getting any targets, that’s when you can say, ‘Hey, he’s that good’ where teams don’t want to even throw at him,” Gase said.