Weaver Vows to Keep Jalen Ramsey Versatile in Dolphins Defense

Don't expect Jalen Ramsey to be stationary in the Dolphins defense under new coordinator Anthony Weaver, who views the cornerback as the "ultimate chess piece"

Jalen Ramsey's main complaint about the 2023 season is that he was bored for most of the games.

In Vic Fangio's defense, the seven-time Pro Bowl cornerback was locked on the right side of the field for all but one of the 11 games he played last season, and rarely allowed to switch sides, change roles, or shadow the opposition's best players.

As a result, teams shied away from throwing to the receiver Ramsey was defending, and he often left games feeling underutilized, and was vocal about it.

In his introductory press conference as Fangio's replacement as the new Dolphins defensive coordinator, Anthony Weaver labeled Ramsey the prototype for what an NFL cornerback should look like and vowed to vary up his usage to keep opposing offenses guessing.

Ramsey was utilized in multiple roles, and often shadowed the opposition's best receiver during his tenure with the Los Angeles Rams.

"There's a guy at least every there's probably multiple guys on every level of defense that you can get excited about," said Weaver, who will begin his second season as a defensive coordinator, previously serving in that capacity with the Houston Texans in 2020.

What will Weaver's defense look like?

Weaver plans to run a multiple defense, one that will fluidly move from a 3-4 and a 4-3 front, and will utilize man and zone coverage, and he prefers to blitz with "calculated" intentions.

As for the cornerbacks, he plans to vary Ramsey's role, calling him the "ultimate chess piece."

"To have him sit outside and be a field corner or something like that, I think is a detriment," Weaver said of Ramsey, who allowed a career-best 51.1 passer rating when targeted by opposing quarterbacks this season. "We got to find ways to move them around where he can be most impactful, and we're committed to doing that."

Ramsey likely will serve as the cornerstone of a secondary that gets remade this offseason.

Changes coming to Miami's secondary

Xavien Howard, who has started 99 of the 100 games he's played for the Dolphins the past eight seasons, is recovering from a foot fracture he suffered in the Baltimore Ravens loss, and is a prime candidate to be released in an effort to clear cap space since the Dolphins are $52 million over the NFL's projected salary cap and need to cut payroll.

Cutting Howard, and declaring him as a June 1 release would clear $18.5 million in cap space, but it's not a complete certainty he'll be gone because he has injury protections in his contract, and there's a possibility he could restructure his deal to remain in Miami.

Who could potentially replace Howard will be one of the biggest decisions made this offseason.

Miami's options to replace Howard

Cornerback Cam Smith, the Dolphins' 2023 second-round pick, sparingly played on defense as a rookie because he spent the entire year in Fangio's doghouse, and Kader Kohou had a second-year slump, which featured significant regression from his impressive rookie season.

Last season Kohou allowed eight touchdowns, and opposing quarterback completed 89.1 percent of passes thrown to receivers he was supposed to be defending, and had a 131.0 passer rating when throwing to offensive players Kohou was responsible for.

The Dolphins secondary will likely feature an influx of newcomers since Howard's future is uncertain, and Nik Needham, Eli Apple, and safeties Deshon Elliott, Brandon Jones, and Elijah Campbell are all expected to become unrestricted free agents when the free agent period begins in March.

But with a healthy Ramsey as a cornerstone piece, one that possible defends the opposition's best receiver, the Dolphins should have a solid foundation to build the secondary on.