2023 Dolphins Training Camp Preview: Safeties
The Miami Dolphins approached the offseason like a team contending for the Super Bowl. They made a big splash by trading for cornerback Jalen Ramsay and bringing in highly touted defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.
The Dolphins are looking to build off last year’s success, which saw them finish 9-8 and make the playoffs for the first time since 2016. However, the team lost to the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round, extending Miami’s playoff winless streak to 22 seasons.
To prepare fans for a highly anticipated season, we’ve decided to break down each positional group on the roster by giving an outlook for each player, awarding superlatives, and analyzing key questions.
We wrap up our series of countdowns with a look at the safeties.
DOLPHINS SAFETY OUTLOOKS
Jevon Holland
2022 Stats: 96 tackles, 2 interceptions, 7 passes defended, 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble
2023 Outlook: Holland arguably has the best outlook on the entire team this season. The Dolphins adding Fangio should be a huge boon for the third-year safety's play.
Fangio loves to move his safeties around post-snap, and Holland has all the tools to play all three traditional safety roles — deep, box and slot. Getting voted to the Pro Bowl is a little overrated these days, but Holland should get there if he meets expectations this season.
He shouldn't be counted out as a potential All-Pro, either. He’s certainly got the talent for it.
Brandon Jones
2022 Stats: 49 tackles, 3 passes defended, 2 sacks
2023 Outlook: Jones was placed on injured reserve in October of last season and was limited him to only seven games. For this season, Jones should be the Dolphins' No. 2 starting safety with Holland.
Jones is an interesting fit in Fangio’s system. One of Jones’ best traits was his blitzing, which isn’t something Fangio has historically done a lot. Regardless, Jones will get plenty of snaps to make plays this season.
DeShon Elliott
2022 Stats (Lions): 96 tackles, 1 interception, 3 passes defended, 1 forced fumble
2023 Outlook: The Dolphins signed Elliott this offseason, likely hoping he could be the team’s third safety. Fangio likes to put three safeties on the field, so having Holland and Jones as established starters wasn’t enough.
Elliott has experience playing all three safety spots. Last season, he took 364 snaps at free safety, 279 in the box and 124 at slot cornerback.
Elliott is also good insurance if Jones doesn’t hit the ground running when he returns from his season-ending knee injury last season.
Verone McKinley III
2022 Stats: 15 tackles, 1 interception, 1 pass defended
2023 Outlook: McKinley made the team’s practice squad as a UDFA last season, and he ended up playing in 10 games while making two starts.
This season, McKinley projects best as a primary backup for Holland. McKinley does his best work in deep zones, where Holland will see most of his reps. A strong showing on special teams should seal McKinley’s roster spot this summer.
Elijah Campbell
2022 Stats: 12 tackles, 1 pass defended
2023 Outlook: Campbell is the perfect back-end-of-the-roster player. He’s got experience playing safety and cornerback. Plus, he’s a stalwart special- teamer. For all those reasons, it would be a surprise to see Campbell not on the 53-man roster.
Keidron Smith
2022 Stats (college): 47 tackles, 2 interceptions, 4 passes defended, 1 forced fumble
2023 Outlook: The Dolphins signed Smith as a UDFA out of Kentucky, and he’ll have an uphill battle making the team.
Each of the safeties listed ahead of him in this piece has a clearly defined role and path to making the final roster. Smith’s best shot is likely getting onto the team’s practice squad.
Bennett Williams
2022 Stats (college): 72 tackles, 2 interceptions, 6 passes defended, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles
2023 Outlook: Williams makes it three Dolphins safeties who went to Oregon. Like McKinley last year, Williams’ best shot to make the roster will be through the practice squad.
DOLPHINS SAFETY SUPERLATIVES
Best Man Coverage: Jevon Holland
Best Zone Coverage: Jevon Holland
Best Run Defender: Jevon Holland
Best Blitzer: Brandon Jones
Best Ball Skills: Jevon Holland
MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION FOR DOLPHINS SAFETIES
How does Brandon Jones fit in Vic Fangio’s defense?
The Dolphins don’t have a lot of questions at the safety spot. The group is led by a stalwart young player (Holland) with quality depth and versatility behind him.
However, there are a few question marks regarding how Jones will adapt to Fangio’s scheme. Simply put, Fangio values coverage ability from his back-seven players, and he puts a lot of pressure on his safeties.
Fangio’s calling card is moving his safeties after the snap to confuse offenses. The more versatile his safeties are, the harder it becomes for quarterbacks to clue in on what the defense is doing pre-snap.
How does Jones fit into this? Jones’ best traits are his run defense and blitzing ability from the secondary. He’s an explosive athlete who thrives in the box.
There certainly is a spot for that in Fangio’s defense. None of this is to say Jones is completely out of place. However, Jones isn’t known for his strong coverage ability, which could put him in Fangio’s doghouse at some point this season.
None of this even considers that Jones is returning from a major injury that cost him the final 10 games of last season.
While Jones should be expected to start, there’s also a chance all of the uncertainty with his scheme fit and injury lead to Elliott starting in his place. Elliott has multiple years of starting strong safety experience from his time with the Lions and Ravens.
Elliott doesn’t quite have the same amount of upside as Jones does, but he’s proven to be a reliable player. If Jones isn’t healthy, Elliott can definitely hold down the fort.
Again, the Dolphins don’t have a lot of question marks at this spot. But how Jones transitions to the new scheme and whether he’s the starter out of camp is an underrated storyline.
