Why David Long Jr. Is a Good Fit for the Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins' acquisition of linebacker David Long Jr. in free agency on a two-year deal reportedly worth $11 million has been received with major praise by most of the national media, and there's a good reason for that.
Along with getting an A+ from Farrar of the Touchdown Wire, the signing of Long (which will become official Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET) also got an A+ from the MMQB.
Known for his instincts and ability to find the football, Long saw his role continually increase throughout his four years in Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel’s defense. In 2022, he recorded his best season with 86 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, and 2 interceptions. ProFootballFocus graded Long as the sixth best run-defending linebackers in 2022 with a mark of 89.0.
Long has struggled with injuries, having missed 12 games over the past two seasons. Vrabel even called Long a “repeat soft-tissue offender” in his end-of-year press conference. He finished the 2022 season on the injured reserve list after suffering a hamstring injury prior to Week 14.
He had 26 career starts in Tennessee, as well as five in the postseason, with 230 tackles.
Health concerns aside, Long should be a welcome piece to the Dolphins defense. He was the third-best linebacker in PFF’s free agent rankings and will provide a boost to what was one of the team's worst units in 2022. Jerome Baker was one of the few bright spots, with an overall PFF grade of 74.6 (16th among linebackers). Duke Riley (57.1) and Elandon Roberts (55) both were ranked outside of the top 50.
HOW DAVID LONG JR. WILL HELP THE DOLPHINS DEFENSE
Long is a solid fit for new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s system.
His athleticism and versatility will be heavily relied upon, especially as a complementary piece in the run game. Fangio’s gap-control fronts ask the edge defenders to push the pocket inside, a role perfectly suited for a strong-side defender like Bradley Chubb. Long’s ability to quickly get off the snap, diagnose and shoot to the edges makes him well suited for a unit that already was stout against the run in 2022, allowing 103-yards per game, the fourth-fewest in the NFL.
In the passing game, Long’s coverage skills are tailored for a zone scheme, where he won’t often be required to stick slot receivers, tight ends and running backs. In Fangio’s disguised-zone coverage system, he’ll be asked to read-and-react and drop down into a space. Over the past two seasons, Long has four interceptions and an impressive 11 pass breakups playing a similar role in zone coverage.
It’s anticipated that moving forward under Fangio, the Dolphins will blitz far less than they did under former defensive coordinator Josh Boyer — Miami had the third-highest blitz percentage in the NFL in 2022 at 33. That again works to Long’s abilities because he’s not known for providing much in the pass rush — he has zero career sacks. Long won’t get stuck diagnosing run fits or coverage assignments; rather his quick instincts have earned him the reputation for always being around the football.
With Baker and Riley, the Dolphins have two linebackers who are better in coverage than defending the run. When the team blitzed at a high clip, their deficiencies became less of a liability. Long should prevent that group from having those liabilities exposed while being able to move away from sending the extra defenders.
