Kevin Dern
@KevinMD4
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Husband, Dad | Miami Dolphins, Arsenal F.C. | UD & NKU alum | Contributor @DolphinsTalk
Greendale, IN
Joined December 2011
Smart, relatively low-risk addition with the contract structure to course correct if it doesn't work. In a vacuum, I like Minkah being added quite a bit (very wary of Ashtyn Davis, still am and Melifonwu's ankle injury history).
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TLDR: Minkah, much like Kenneth Grant up front, is a force multiplier - he'll allow others to become better by how they're used. Minkah's smart, he'll be "traffic cop", and is still good at getting downhill vs. the run and underneath passing stuff.
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It means they want the ability to add it to their menu (think 10% increase). It ALSO, means that having the body-types they do at CB, you can disrupt timing and releases; especially helpful to Cover-2 stuff Miami runs, and you can do it in Cover 3 (see Seattle LOB days).
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Back to the whole press man thing. I know where this originates from, and it doesn't mean Miami's going to be shifting to Cover-1 heavy stuff they way they were under Flores/Boyer, or how New England was in the last stages of their dynasty.
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And, if this doesn't work, Minkah's '26 money isn't guaranteed, so you can course correct if it comes to it.
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. defense, especially given Melifonwu's injury history and Davis/Trader being new in the scheme. I'd imagine Dante Trader latches onto Minkah in terms of studying, work habits, etc. given what we know of Trader's work ethic, so that's an ancillary boost.
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Minkah's SMART and a good tackler in space (albeit with a dip in '24). That's something that should boost Miami as Poyer was absolute garbage and Holland was. selective. at best, when it came to tackling. His recognition skills and ability to play "traffic cop" will aid the. .
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. while playing it safe (i.e. using him as a flat defender in Cover 2) and not relying on him to play deep 1/3 or man-to-man in Cover-1 variations (more on this later).
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Kohou was pretty good at playing Cover 2 (zone) and some of quarters assignments, BUT he also rotated a lot into a 1/2 field safety in a lot of assignments with all of Miami's disguised coverages. This could be an added benefit of having Minkah - you can tap into his CB skills. .
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Easiest solution is to have Minkah and Davis be your 2-deep guys with Melifonwu playing a Kyle Hamilton-ish role (Baltimore-Weaver influence). This allows you to keep Kader Kohou on the perimeter when needed.
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What this move ought to bring about is Miami not having to rely on Ashtyn Davis as a full-fledge starter (a good thing, IMO). Minkah and Melifonwu should be the top tandem, BUT, what this move also does is enables Miami to play more 3-safety looks; something they didn't do in '24.
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Melifonwu should be used to that given Brian Duker is also now in Miami. Minkah should be used as a MOF S in Miami's Cover 3 packages and as a split-field safety when they use Cover 2. You can use him interchangeably left and right when in Quarters.
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First, I think it's imperative that Miami use him as a FS in more a true sense than the Steelers did in 2024. Using Minkah as more of a box safety is a disservice and not the best use of his skillset. That role should belong to Iffy Melifonwu, reprising that role from Detroit.
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🧵#PhinsUp. As promised, here's a thread on Miami's addition of Minkah Fitzpatrick. I'll give my thoughts on moving Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith on the podcast (recording tomorrow, had a personal issue to attend to). This thread is strictly about Minkah's fit in Miami's Defense.
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