Examining the Dolphins' draft options at safety

Grant Delpit, Xavier McKinney and Antoine Winfield are among the top prospects at the one defensive position the Miami Dolphins are likely to address in the early stages of the 2020 NFL draft, but one of them might stand out as the best fit.

The Dolphins took care of most of their needs on defense through free agency, but one area that still could use some help is safety.

That’s why many draft prognosticators have the Dolphins selecting Xavier McKinney from Alabama with one of their last two first-round picks.

McKinney had some similar traits to former Alabama teammate and 2018 Dolphins first-round pick Minkah Fitzpatrick, so it’s easy to see the fit there.

But if the Dolphins don’t use a first-round pick on a safety — and that’s possible given their needs at running back and tackle, plus the possibility of using one or more of those first-round picks to move up in Round 1 — there will be options in Round 2 and beyond.

And it’s hard not to look at Antoine Winfield Jr. from Minnesota.

Winfield is a gritty defensive back with playmaking ability, as evidenced by his seven interceptions last year.

And Winfield plays a lot bigger than his size, much like his father.

And his father, Antoine Winfield, was the player Dolphins coach Brian Flores named last December when he mentioned his all-time favorite defensive back.

Minnesota S Antoine Winfield Jr says he wants to prove that he’s his own man in this league, and there’s “no pressure” for him to fill his dad’s shoes. His father, Antoine Winfield, played 14 years in the NFL for the Bills and Vikings pic.twitter.com/TRBrkDexHy

— Madelyn Burke (@MadelynBurke) February 28, 2020

The younger Winfield explained at the combine the similarities between his father and himself.

“We’re almost about the same in size,” Winfield said. “My dad had a lot of heart, and that’s kind of what I looked up to in him. Seeing him go out there against professionals and great guys that you see on TV all the time, that’s something I kind of modify my game after. It’s not about how big you are, how tall you are … it’s about how much fight you have.”

Winfield, of course, has seen plenty of highlights from his father’s NFL career with the Buffalo Bills and the Minnesota Vikings. While he sees similarities between his father and himself, Winfield said he modeled his game more after former LSU star and current Kansas City Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu.

“He’s a guy like myself where he can play anywhere on the field and plays bigger than his size,” Winfield said. “That’s how I feel I play, as well.”

Along with McKinney and Winfield, the top safeties in the draft include Cal’s Ashtyn Davis, who played for new DB coach Gerald Alexander, Kyle Dugger from Lenoir-Rhyne, Terrell Burgess from Utah, and Grant Delpit from LSU.

Xavier McKinney is getting in some work by any means necessary ahead of the NFL Draft. pic.twitter.com/0UYaJjfcAJ

— Touchdown Alabama (@TDAlabamaMag) April 3, 2020