Dolphins Safety Competition Should Be Friendly But Fierce
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DeShon Elliott was more than just teammates with Brandon Jones at the University of Texas, but that won't stop him from coming for his job with the Miami Dolphins.
Jones is the incumbent starter at the safety spot opposite Jevon Holland, though he is returning from a torn ACL that cut short his 2022 season after seven games, but assuming he'll be handed the job again with Vic Fangio on board as the new defensive coordinator would be a mistake.
And the biggest factor is the credentials Elliott brought with him when the Dolphins signed him as a free agent from the Detroit Lions, a resume that includes 35 starts in his 36 games the past three seasons, including 13 starts in 2022.
So something is going to have to give when it comes to the starting lineup, though it's fair to anticipate both Elliott and Jones getting a lot of playing time on defense next season.
“Vic Fangio is a very intelligent football coach, a very intelligent DC," Elliott said in a Zoom media session this week. "I’m sure he has his plans on what he wants to do with us. But, I mean, when I came in, I talked to him. I mean, I knew I was going to compete. It’s the NFL, we’ve all got to compete, and nothing is given to you. Nothing is going to be handed to you. So I came here to compete. I know what I can bring to the table and I know how hard I’m going to work. So, the results will show."
What Elliott can bring to the Dolphins defense is a thumper out of the secondary, while Jones made his mark in his first two seasons in the NFL by quickly becoming one of the best blitzing safeties around.
If there's a question with either safety, it's in coverage, and that's where the competition could be settled in training camp.
“It’s going to be fun; I mean shoot, we all plan to compete," Elliott said. "We’re going to just compete and try to see how our chemistry can work together. I’m sure Vic has some plans on how we’re all going to fit together and try to get the best out of all three of us. We all bring different things to the table. But at the same time, we’re all really great football players. So, I think we’ll sort that out and when the time comes, y’all will know.”
THE DeSHON ELLIOTT-BRANDON JONES RELATIONSHIP
Elliott and Jones played together at Texas in 2016-17 before Elliott entered the NFL draft as an underclassman, and quickly became close.
“Back in college, I think I was a sophomore and Brandon was a freshman when we first started playing together," Elliott recalled. "We both got a chance to sit back and watch. We both didn’t start when we first got there, obviously. That was when he was a freshman. So, we really got to sit back and watch and kind of like see how the college game was and during that time period, as a young guy, it’s frustrating so we were able to bounce ideas off each other and when we finally got a chance to play together, that’s like my little brother man. I don’t have any brothers so me and Brandon grew up together basically going through college. I feel like I played a role in him being married to the woman he’s with now. I feel like I kind of played Cupid in that in a certain way.
“I think I have Twitter DMs to this day about her asking me about Brandon. I think I do right now. She was like a recruiter already. She was like a recruiter at Texas for the player personnel thing. But when he became a freshman, I think she had hit me up. She was just like, ‘what’s up with that that one guy?’ I was like, ‘shoot I don’t know, let me hear it’. So, the middleman, just a little middleman.”
Of course, once Elliott's comments this week surfaced on Twitter, it didn't very long for Mr. and Mrs. Jones to reply.
Elliott explained that he knew Brianna because his ex-girlfriend in college was her best friend.
In any event, Elliott is happy to be back with his former college buddy.
"Man, it just feels good to be back being around ‘B’ (Brandon Jones)," he said. "When I told him ... actually I didn’t tell him. I don’t know how he knew. Him and Jevon (Holland) texted me quick and fast. It was so fast. My phone was freezing up, so I didn’t get a chance to really like answer the way I wanted to, so I just put both of them on a call, a group FaceTime and, shoot, them boys were going crazy. Man, it’s going to be fun.”
