Am I getting the point across to you that if they don't draft two cornerbacks, they'll probably have to sign another one in the back end of free agency -- someone such as unsigned slot cornerback Leon Hall, who last I heard was recovering from back surgery and was asking such a hefty contract, practically no teams have seemed interested this offseason?
If I've failed to draw that portrait allow me to grab more crayons (my favorite writing utensil) and continue:
Taylor should currently be the most obvious choice to vie for a starting job opposite veteran Byron Maxwell. Taylor, entering his fourth NFL season, has started in the past and has the draft pedigree to be a starter, having been picked in the second round of the 2013 draft.
Except that Taylor has been progressively worse the past two years. He showed some signs of becoming a player his second season after sitting out most of his rookie year. But last year he backslid. He was handed the starting job in training camp and lost it quite quickly. He was forced into the lineup by injuries and lack of performance by other players. Then he suffered his own lack of performance to the point coaches didn't even want him active on Sundays.
Taylor was a healthy scratch three of the final five games, and had another game in that stretch when he was active but did not play. So Taylor finished the season, sitting four of the final five games because nobody trusted him on the field.
And he's a candidate to start for this team right now.
By the way, I understand the coaching staff is brand new. I understand the Dolphins are going to play different techniques on defense this year. I get all that. I'm sure Lou Anarumo, the defensive backs coach last year and the defensive backs coach this year, has told the players in his room as much.
Anyway, the next best option to start right now is Tony Lippett. He was a receiver in college. He was basically redshirted much of last year until about the final month when he was pressed into service. And he served. He showed a spark, a potential, a possibility. We'll see. But can any coach on the Dolphins stand before us and say, "Tony Lippett is a sure-fire starting caliber NFL cornerback?"
I haven't heard it.
Bobby McCain is one of Miami's eight corners. He played a lot as a rookie. He was pressed into service as practically everyone else was. And he showed potential. He seems best fit at slot. But here's the thing: If the Dolphins are going to camp having awarded the starting job to McCain, it doesn't say much for their Plan B in case everything doesn't go absolutely, positively perfectly -- as it never does in the NFL.
Chimdi Chekwa is one of Miami's eight. He was out of football in 2015 after he was not tendered a contract by the Oakland Raiders, signed by the Patriots, cut by the Patriots two months later, signed by the Raiders, then cut by the Raiders. Checkwa, in his fifth season, has played 32 NFL games with three starts. He has four passes defensed and zero interceptions in his career.
Ekpre-Olomu had a couple of huge victories recently when the Dolphins claimed him off waivers from the Cleveland Browns. First, he just traded living in Cleveland for living in South Florida. Next, he is still on the team.
