This years Miami team has very few holes, especially when you compare it to the team two years ago. When you ask people what Miami’s biggest concerns are the answering consist of either the offensive line or the running backs. Both are reasonable answers but there is one concern that is bigger than both of those. This hole that may come back to bite Miami later in the season is linebacker, but not an edge rushing linebacker, an inside linebacker.
Explanation
Even on paper, Miami’s selection of inside linebackers is paper thin. The only starters we have on the team are Jerome Baker (who was just signed to a massive extension) and Benardrick McKinney. Outside of those two, only role players and special teamers remain.
Elandon Roberts played exceptionally well last season against the run and in clutch moment. That being said, he is not someone I would want on the field every play. Other than those three players, Miami has Calvin Munson, Kylan Johnson, Sam Eguavoen, and Brennan Scarlett based on ESPN’s Miami Dolphins depth chart. All of those players are not bad, but are not on the same level as Baker or McKinney.
If either Baker or McKinney does go down, expect the linebacker play to be severely different. This happened to Miami last season at the safety position, when Bobby McCain got hurt against the Kansas City Chiefs and Clayton Fejedelem went in. This is one of the first plays Fejedelem went in:
Solutions
Miami has a ton of solutions to fix this hidden issue. One solution would be signing a veteran such as K.J. Wright to not only come in if someone gets injured but also brings a champion mentality to the team.
As of right now, it seems unlikely Miami goes out and signs a linebacker (unless something drastic happens) but Miami has some internal solutions as well. Brian Flores loves versatility and he has exactly that with safety Brandon Jones.
Jones can come down and play in the box and play the run or pass if needed (just looks what Reshad Jones did in Miami for years). This may not be the best solution because Jones can not play the run like a linebacker and may fall for some play action, but it gives Miami some flexibility if someone does go down.
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