Dolphins Rookie Igbinoghene Ready to Apply Lesson Learned
First-round pick Noah Igbinoghene already has experienced some of the growing pains that come with playing cornerback in the NFL, and he's hoping the lesson he has learned will make him better.
Igbinoghene could be in line for a big role for the Miami Dolphins secondary again Thursday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars because of the uncertain status of starting cornerback Byron Jones.
It was Jones' groin injury early in the first quarter that put Igbinoghene in the tough position of having to cover star Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs for most of the game, a tough assignment for any cornerback, let alone a rookie playing his second NFL game.
Diggs finished the game with eight catches for 153 yards and a touchdown, but the biggest play was a 47-yard catch right after the Dolphins had taken their only lead of the game in the fourth quarter.
It clearly was a tough outing for Igbinoghene, but he showed a lot by making himself available to talk to the media after the game.
“It’s definitely a teaching moment," Igbinoghene said. "I learned a lot today, not only about this team but about myself. Of course, I didn’t play up to my standard at all. I’ve got to move past it and move on to the next game. That’s all I can do, just learn from it”
Igbinoghene, who did have a fumble recovery in the game for the Dolphins' only takeaways, ended up playing 57 of 61 defensive snaps after Jones left the game.
Logic would suggest it will be Igbinoghene in the starting lineup against Jacksonville opposite Xavien Howard if Jones can't play.
A lot has been about the Dolphins' decision to have Igbinoghene cover Diggs after Jones left the game instead of having Howard handle that assignment, though it needs to be pointed out that Igbinoghene would have to cover John Brown under that scenario — and that's no easy task, either.
Either way, head coach Brian Flores is confident Igbinoghene will be better in the long run for having gone through that experience.
“Noah is a mentally tough kid," Flores said. "I think playing against a receiver of that caliber the entire day after an injury, getting put in that position, he had some instances where he covered him well and then he had a lot of instances where Diggs was able to get open against him. I think it’s a good experience for him. I think he’ll learn from it. I think just watching it, there are some things he could easily do better to put himself in a little bit better position. I think hopefully in the long run this will be a good thing for him.”
