It’s no secret that there’s going to be a lot of turnover for the Miami Dolphins come 2020. The 2019 roster is universally considered to be one of the worst NFL rosters in history. Any hope of a return to the playoffs means a roster overhaul is crucial. However, this does not mean there isn’t some talent worth retaining going into the future. Not counting the obvious choices like Jerome Baker and Xavien Howard, of course.
Brian Flores and his coaching staff have done an excellent job of developing what little talent is available. Thus, it’s time to go over the top five players worth keeping around for further development in 2020 and beyond.
Nik Needham – CB
If there is anyone who’s deserving of a roster spot based on improvement alone, it’s cornerback Nik Needham. Needham went from an undrafted free agent out of UTEP to Miami’s best (available) cornerback in 2019. Obviously, he doesn’t compare to Xavien Howard, but Needham is on the field while Howard is on injured reserve. Therefore, technically, Needham is the best. Is that saying much considering the talent on defense? Yes and no.
Remember where Needham came from. During the preseason, Needham notoriously made error after error. Everyone watched it happen. Social media lit up with cries for Needham to be cut immediately. Yet, the Dolphins coaching staff deemed it necessary to keep him around, and it turns out they were right to do so.
Needham has come alive with the experience he’s gained this season. He only has one interception all season, and he has made a few mistakes here and there, but teams haven’t had nearly as much success throwing in his direction as they did earlier this season.
Is Needham worthy of being named the starter opposite Xavien Howard next season? Definitely not. He still has a lot of growing to do before he gets to that point. However, in the modern NFL, a stacked secondary is crucial for success. Should something happen to the starters next season, Miami could do much, much worse than Needham.
Credit the Dolphins coaching staff for seeing what fans and media could not.
Patrick Laird – RB
Out of all the undrafted free agents Miami signed this year, Laird is possibly the one with the least fanfare. Laird came out of Cal as a solid runner, but with no traits that made him stand out physically. He doesn’t boast blistering speed, he can’t run people over with raw power, and he doesn’t have the ability to make people miss with shifty moves.
Or at least, that’s what everyone assumed when he came out. While Laird isn’t wowing people with physical gifts, his pure effort each time he gets the ball makes up for his lack of overall talent. Laird, in many ways, is the physical embodiment of Brian Flores’s “Takes No Talent” philosophy.
Not only has Laird won the hearts of fans, there was also a distinct difference in results running the ball when Laird took over for the injured Kalen Ballage. There was hope Ballage would be able to develop into something special, but so far that doesn’t seem to be the case. Laird displays vision that Ballage doesn’t have, taking what’s given to him rather than forcing something that isn’t there.
Now the same question asked of Nik Needham needs to be asked of Laird. Does he have what it takes to be a starting running back in the NFL? Some have said he could be a poor man’s Christian McCaffrey. Given just how good McCaffrey is, that’s a bit of a stretch. Comparisons to Danny Woodhead, however, are much easier to swallow. They’re also more accurate.
Laird can definitely contribute in 2020, and he almost certainly will. But that doesn’t mean Miami will be content to use him as the starter next season. Laird will be a change of pace back, letting someone else take charge. Unless he can somehow continue developing further.
John Jenkins – DT
Basically the only veteran on this list, John Jenkins has turned out to be more of a contributor than anyone expected. Between he and LB Raekwon McMillan, Miami’s run defense up the middle has been solid these past few weeks. Having a nose tackle like Jenkins is a major boon to the defense, giving the Dolphins someone they can count on to handle two blockers at once.
By the start of the 2020 season, Jenkins will be 31 years old, and he’s a free agent after this season. Jenkins should still be a relatively cheap option for Miami to re-sign if they decide not to focus on DT in the draft.
Of course, being cheap isn’t necessarily something the Dolphins need to worry about, given they’re projected to have more salary cap space than they’ll know what to do with in 2020, with room to make even more by cutting/trading dead weight. They could easily look elsewhere and sign the likes of Danny Shelton for a little extra.
But Jenkins is more than sufficient at a fraction of the cost. If Miami is smart, they’ll sign Jenkins to another deal in the offseason and let him keep clogging up the lanes on running downs. He and McMillan already make a formidable duo, why mess that up?
Vince Biegel – LB
If there’s any question about who won the trade between Miami and New Orleans, here’s a tip for you: It’s the Dolphins. While Alonso offered support when the ball was right in front of him, he struggles when in coverage. Biegel, on the other hand, is proving to have a lot more to offer in the versatility department.
Biegel is relentless when attempting to rush the passer, he can go sideline to sideline, and his coverage ability – so far, at least – far outweighs that of Alonso’s. That alone makes this trade a win for Miami.
Versatility is key in the Dolphins defense, which makes Biegel a valuable commodity worth retaining. Come 2020, it would not come as a surprise to see Miami offer him a new contract to stick around and continue bringing his gritty, effort-fueled level of play to the team.
Is he likely to become a superstar anytime soon? Not at all. But once again, it’s incredibly important to have depth and solid role players all throughout the roster. When injuries hit, and the race to the playoffs heats up, it’s the teams who have depth to fill in the holes left behind that ultimately come out on top.
Taco Charlton – DE
The final player who needs to be a keeper from 2019 on is defensive end Taco Charlton. Now before anyone says Josh Rosen should be the last person on the list, you’re right. He should be on the list. However, Rosen staying goes without saying. So it doesn’t need to be said. Charlton, on the other hand, isn’t a shoe-in to stay. He should be though.
Charlton got picked up off waivers from the Dallas Cowboys back in September. Since then, he leads the team in sacks with a total of five. That isn’t nearly the same impact that Robert Quinn has had with Dallas since being traded there (9.5 sacks in 11 games), but it’s certainly more than first-round pick Charles Harris has ever done for the Dolphins.
That being said, Charlton was recently benched as “part of the gameplan,” according to head coach Brian Flores. Then defensive line coach Marion Hobby stated that Charlton needs to be more consistent against the run. So clearly, Charlton is contributing more than Harris, but he has work to do to keep improving. He most definitely is not the answer to Miami’s pass rush problems.
But Charlton is cheap labor for 2020. At the very least, his contributions are about on par with veteran Andre Branch, who thrived in a reserve role while with the Dolphins, but fell off as soon as he was asked to take on more responsibility. Having Charlton as a backup pass rusher at DE would be the ideal scenario, and hopefully Miami feels the same way.
Luis Sung has covered the Miami Dolphins for numerous outlets such as Dolphins Wire for six years. Follow him on Twitter: @LuisDSung
