Dolphins facing several free agent decisions in the secondary

Prior to former Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio departing for the Philadelphia Eagles, I would’ve said that Brandon Jones had played his last down in Miami. However, with the new hiring of Anthony Weaver to replace Fangio and the influx of blitz-minded new staff members, there could be an entirely fresh philosophy for the Dolphins defense, one that could fit Jones’s strong suits.

Remarkably, a year prior to last season’s ACL injury, Jones was the NFL’s leading defensive back in sacks in 2021 with five. In a completely different blitz mindset from last season, in 2021, he was sent on 69 blitzes in 15 games played and caused 14 pressures with those sacks. Coverage, however, was an issue, yet that was on an upward trajectory prior to that injury last season. In his seven games played, his sack total was pacing similar if not more than 2021 at two, and his quarterback rating when throwing at was decreasing yet again from his rookie season. In 2020 that figure was 105.2, then in 2021 95.7, and in 2021 78.0.

In Fangio’s system, there were basically no blitzes, four to be exact all season in 16 games played. To put this to scale, Jones has blitzed more than four times in a single game 12 times from 2020-2022.

Another intriguing aspect of Jones was another move in the right direction in that coverage stat of quarterback rating. While not the end-all-be-all in grading defensive backs, Jones moved that number down for the fourth consecutive season, at 75.3 in 2023. He had a career-high in interceptions, which happened to occur in the same game against the New York Jets in December at home.

Diving deeper into his improved coverage metrics, his completion percentage as a rookie was simply not good at 80% of the 25 targets thrown his way. That number actually moved up a tad in 2021 to 81.8%, yet in 2022, it took a dip in a good way down to 62.5%. 2023 saw a similar figure of 68.8%, yet it was targeted just 16 times all season. He had a career-high with four passes defended as well.

With the new defensive staff looking like a blitzing bunch and very linebacker-heavy behind former defensive lineman in his own right, Anthony Weaver, it would be interesting to see if Jones could be re-signed and used more as a linebacker-type “jack-of-all-trades,” who can get back to pressuring the quarterback and seeking the ball-carrier, as he is a heat-seeking missile as a tackler.

Jones had a $3 million cap…