Where Does Rookie Cam Smith Fit into Dolphins Secondary?
Any cornerback style or approach Cam Smith wants to learn is readily at his disposal.
Not only does the rookie have Sam Madison, one of the best cornerbacks in franchise history, as his position coach, but the Miami Dolphins’ 2023 second-round pick will be able to shadow and learn from two All-Pro caliber cornerbacks in his first year.
If he wants to master the art of pressing, getting physical with receivers Jalen Ramsey is his man.
If he wants to study quarterbacks and routes, learning how to play the ball he can turn to Xavien Howard.
The hope is that Smith won’t get comfortable playing behind Ramsey and Howard, and will become a sponge, soaking up all the knowledge and growing at a respectable rate.
“I’ve heard a lot of people say it. I know it. I’ve come into the right position,” Smith said when asked about Ramsey and Howard, who collectively have been selected to 10 Pro Bowls. “Being under two All-Pro corners, dudes that are the highest-paid at their position, dudes that have done stuff the right way, just being underneath them and picking their brains every day is going to be big.”
A couple years ago Howard openly acknowledged that his transition from Baylor to the NFL would have been smoother if he had a mentor who played the same position at a high level around. Howard said he wished Brent Grimes, who was one of his favorite players to study during his college days, was around when he was a second-round pick.
But 2016 was the offseason the Dolphins released the Pro Bowl cornerback to clear cap space, and Grimes wound up finishing out his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Byron Maxwell, whom Miami traded for to replace Grimes, was around during Howard’s rookie season, but it wasn’t long before the newcomer knew more than the high-priced veteran, and played better too.
Rookies typically lean on veterans to learn how to take notes, watch film, practice, care for their bodies, and assist with playing strategies.
The hope is that Ramsey and Howard, along with the Dolphins' other veteran cornerbacks, take an open-armed approach to Smith, who has been told he’ll spend his first couple of camp practices working on the boundary.
SMITH DOES HAVE COMPETITION
Smith likely will compete with Trill Williams, Noah Igbinoghene, Keion Crossen and Justin Bethel to become one of the main primary backups on the boundary, if not the best.
If he masters those spots, it’s possible that Miami could test him out as a nickel cornerback, but that type of experimentation isn’t necessary at the moment because of Nik Needham’s return from the Achilles injury he suffered last October, and the emergence of Kader Kohou, an undrafted rookie who played well in the 13 starts he made last season.
The nickel spot takes a unique skill set that requires a keen understanding of route concepts, quick feet, and the physicality needed to mix it up close to the line of scrimmage.
Smith has all those traits, but teams typically put small doses on a rookie’s plate and assess whether he can handle that before they add more to the workload.
Nickel and boundary work, along with a possible special teams assignment, likely would be overload for his first couple of weeks, no matter the rookie's talent level.
And Smith, who broke up 15 of the 70 passes thrown in his direction the past two years, and picked off four others, indeed is talented.
Many analysts felt Smith was a sure-fire first-round pick, but the cornerback fell to the mid-second round, which was a surprise to some because the 6-foot-1, 180 pounder possesses upper-echelon feet, which helped him excel in man coverage or one-on-one situations.
KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF
The knock on Smith is that at times he can get too physical, and his tenacity could draw penalties, and that could be costly in a division that features talented receivers such as Stefon Diggs, Garrett Wilson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and more.
The Dolphins rated Smith as a top 50 prospect, so they were thrilled when he was there at pick number 51, despite the fact cornerback wasn't a position of need.
“In this league, especially in the AFC with a lot of talented quarterbacks and teams, you can never have enough cornerbacks, as we experienced last year with the rash of injuries that we dealt with,” General Manager Chris Grier said, referring to the seven cornerbacks Miami used last season because of the numerous season-ending injuries players in the secondary suffered.
According to Smith, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has encouraged him to “get rid of the hand (use),” in his game, and to “stay with my feet,” which is a reference to trying to make too many plays away from him.
Cleaning up his technique will be a major point of emphasis during these OTA sessions, which feature no tackling and minimal pads.
“I try to stronghold people a lot and assert my dominance on people. Sometimes that gets me into trouble,” Smith said, addressing one of his struggles. “Just playing controlled, playing within myself, and not really trying to do too much and just try to make a play.”
In time, and maybe with a little coaching up, he’ll learn the balancing act between making plays, and fulfilling his assignment.
