Where Do the Dolphins CBs Rank in the NFL ... And Where Should They?

It's that time of year when the countless TV talk shows and Internet media outlets try to stir up debates and conversations by rankings players and position groups around the NFL.

So it was that NFL Live asked former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark and former NFL and college head coach Herm Edwards to rank the top five cornerback tandems in the NFL.

Clark put the Miami Dolphins' very own Xavien Howard and newcomer Jalen Ramsey at No. 1 ahead of the Dallas Cowboys duo of Trevon Diggs and Stephon Gilmore, the Jets tandem of Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed, and the Eagles tandem of Darius Slay and James Bradberry.

"They get Jalen Ramsay, you had Xavien Howard already," Clark explained. "This is a ball guy (Howard) and a lock-down physical guy on the other side (Ramsey) that you can move inside defensively. I think that those guys will be the best cornerback duo in the entire league."

Edwards countered by putting the Eagles duo of Slay and Bradberry at the top for the peculiar reason of them benefiting from playing behind the best pass rush in the NFL. With all due respect to Edwards, it's a very weird stance because the discussion is about cornerbacks and not cornerbacks as they operate behind a particular pass rush. Would Ramsey and Howard not be better than Slay and Bradberry if they played behind what was the best pass rush in the NFL in 2022?

And who's to say that the Eagles pass rush again will be the best in the NFL in 2023 (thought that's a different discussion for a different time)?

Clark isn't the only analyst at ESPN who's very high on the Dolphins cornerbacks because NFL Prognosticator Mike Clay put Miami at the very top of his position ranking, though his includes the entire cornerback group.

But it's obviously Howard and Ramsey who put Miami at No. 1 on his list ahead of the Jets, Eagles and Green Bay Packers.

DOLPHINS PAYING THE PRICE FOR QUALITY CORNERS

It may be fitting that the Dolphins have such a highly regarded cornerback group because they certainly are willing to spend at that position.

In fact, nobody is using more cap space at cornerback in the NFL in 2023 than the Dolphins, per overthecap.com, and it's not particularly close.

The Dolphins come in at $46.9 million, per OTC, comfortably ahead of the second-place Buffalo Bills, who are at $38.3 million.

For those wondering, yes, cornerback is the position where the Dolphins are using the most cap space, ahead of wide receiver ($39 million) and the offensive line ($38.5 million).

This also marks the fourth consecutive year the Dolphins have ranked in the top 3 in cap space devoted to cornerbacks — they also were first in 2021, and were third in 2020 and 2022.

Of course, the whole thing started with the big contract the Dolphins gave Byron Jones as a free agent in 2020 to join Howard to form a lock-down 1-2 tandem.

After Jones missed all of last season with a lower leg injury, the Dolphins replaced him this offseason with Ramsey after acquiring him in a trade with the Rams.

RAMSEY-HOWARD AMONG DOLPHINS BEST CB DUOS

Based on credentials, the Dolphins have a cornerback tandem now to rival the best in franchise history, which was Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Howard and Jones had their moments in 2020 and 2021 as teammates in the secondary, but Jones didn't quite live up to the contract that made him the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL at the time of his signing.

Ramsey and Howard in particular are coming off seasons that could be considered below their standards, but there were extenuating circumstances, mainly injury issues with Howard himself and with the Rams defense that put Ramsey in tough spots.

The bottom line is the Dolphins are expecting big things from Howard and Ramsey in 2023 in terms of anchoring what should be a much-improved defense under new coordinator Vic Fangio.

In short, the Dolphins are hoping to get their money's worth.