There is arguably no NFL team that made better, more consequential moves on defense this offseason than the Miami Dolphins. Not only did Miami acquire Jalen Ramsey — long thought of as one of, if not the single-best cornerback in the league — for a discount on the trade market, but the Dolphins also hired the legendary Vic Fangio as their defensive coordinator.
It’s safe to say that the former is very excited about the latter. Especially because he now gets to play for the originator of the defensive scheme in which Ramsey has been playing for the past few years.
“It is a very complex defense but it’s a very fun defense. I’ve been able to be in this defense for the past three years now just because of some of his proteges,” Ramsey said at Dolphins OTAs. “I’m lucky — it was very strategic and calculated on my end that I’m here and Coach Vic is here. I’m very familiar with the defense and I’m excited about it. But he does have his own flavor. He is kind of the guy who innovated it.”
As for where, exactly, Ramsey will play within the defense, he was understandably tight-lipped. “I’ll fit in wherever [Fangio] needs me to fit in,” Ramsey said. “I don’t want to give anything away. But I think a lot of guys we have in the secondary are very versatile so we can have some fun with it.”
After operating mostly as a boundary corner through his first few years in the league, Ramsey took on a lot more work in the slot and in the box over the past few seasons. It remains to be seen if Fangio will tap into that versatility, or simply deploy Ramsey and Xavien Howard on the outside.
Either way, Ramsey feels that he and Howard are the league’s best cornerback duo.
“We are,” Ramsey said. “I’m very confident in saying that, and we’ll prove that this year on the field. But even if you just look on paper, we are. That’s kind of like a fact. But we have to go out there and prove it because this is our first time playing together.”
That duo will certainly face some challenges in practices, what with Tua Tagovailoa throwing passes to one of the NFL’s most explosive wide receiver duos in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Hill and Waddle test defenses with an absurd amount of speed, and Tagovailoa has head coach Mike McDaniel scheming them open. It’s all very tough to stop.
Asked how he views Tagovailoa in comparison to other quarterbacks so far, Ramsey deferred to his track record.
“I think he’s a winner and I think that’s the most important part,” Ramsey said. “I don’t think none of us really care about the rest. But he’s been a winner. He’s had success. He’s a leader. I see the way he leads the offense. I see the way he interacts with everyone in the locker room and out here on the field. I think that’s what’s most important. Everything else will come with it.”
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Author: Jared Dubin
June 8, 2023 | 5:09 pm
