The Dolphins Defense, Continuity and What History Tells Us

The Miami Dolphins have their top 15 leaders in defensive snaps back from last season

With their offseason moves, the Miami Dolphins could not have been clearer that they felt their defense was good enough to help the team get to the playoffs if the offense could take a step forward.

It was obvious when they retained Josh Boyer as defensive coordinator, along with several assistants on that side of the ball, and it was even more obvious when they began re-signing their defensive free agents.

When defensive tackle John Jenkins signed a new contract Thursday, he became the eighth free agent on that side of the ball that the Dolphins have re-signed this offseason.

But even before then, the Dolphins had made sure their defense would return intact — or close to it. But just how rare is having the same group on defense? And what does history tell us in terms of what it could mean?

Dolphins with a First This Millennium

After re-signing Emmanuel Ogbah, Elandon Roberts and Nik Needham this offseason, the 2022 Dolphins not only will return all 11 of their defensive starters but furthermore the 15 players who logged the most defensive snaps last season.

Along with those three, the Dolphins also re-signed linebackers Sam Eguaoven, Brennan Scarlett and Duke Riley, along with safety Sheldrick Redwine and Jenkins.

Based on the most starts each season, this will mark the first time since 1999 that the Dolphins will return every defensive starter from the previous year.

Along with Ogbah and Roberts, the returning starters (based on most starts) in 2022 will be Christian Wilkins, Raekwon Davis, Zach Sieler, Jerome Baker, Andrew Van Ginkel, Xavien Howard, Byron Jones, Brandon Jones and Jevon Holland.

For historical reference, the returning 1999 starters were Kenny Mixon, Tim Bowens, Daryl Gardener, Jason Taylor, Derrick Rodgers, Zach Thomas, Robert Jones, Terrell Buckley, Sam Madison, Calvin Jackson and Brock Marion.

The Dolphins have had nine returning starters on defense a few times in the 2000s, and the most recent occurrence was just last year when the only two starters gone from the previous year were Kyle Van Noy and Bobby McCain.

By contrast, the Dolphins had only three returning starters on defense in 2005 after Nick Saban took over as head coach and changed the Dolphins from a predominantly 4-3 look to a 3-4.

What the Dolphins Are Counting On

Obviously, the desire to keep intact the defense is a sign the Dolphins feel very confident in that group and its ability to be even better than it was in 2021.

To be clear, the defense was the driving force behind the seven-game winning streak that brought the team back from a 1-7 start to a position where it controlled its playoff fate. As proof, the streak included five wins where Miami allowed 10 points or less (17-9 vs. Houston, 22-10 vs. Baltimore, 33-10 vs. Carolina, 20-9 vs. the New York Giants, and 20-3 vs. New Orleans).

Despite having the same starters, there clearly will be hope (maybe even an assumption) that both Holland and Jaelan Phillips will be even bigger contributions after playing significant roles as rookies in 2021.

On the flip side, the one concern has to be that the Dolphins defense was able to feast during that winning streaks against lower-echelon quarterbacks such as Tyrod Taylor, a struggling Cam Newton, Mike Glennon and Ian Book.

Having said that, the Dolphins defense did have strong performances against Josh Allen in the home opener and in the Thursday night victory against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens.

What Dolphins History Tells Us

So how did that 1999 defense, with all its returning starters, perform? Very well.

The 1999 Dolphins ranked in the top 10 in practically every defensive category, and came in first in third-down defense and in the red zone. That defense helped the Dolphins make the playoffs in Dan Marino and Jimmy Johnson's final year despite the offense ranking 20th overall.

The Dolphins were fifth in total defense in that 1999 season, and they've finished in the top 10 seven times in the 22 seasons since.

Their best showing came in 2002 when they ranked third when they had eight returning starters, though that defense was helped greatly by Ricky Williams leading the NFL in rushing with 1,853 yards.

The Dolphins have finished in the top 10 in total defense only once in the past 15 seasons — it happened in 2020 when they were sixth.

The Dolphins defense had seven returning starters and featured two Pro Bowl selections — outside linebacker Cam Wake and defensive lineman Randy Starks.