Returning to Vic Fangio's Scheme may Be Exactly What Malik Reed Needs

Reed's role in Pittsburgh never develop fully after he had led the Broncos in sacks under Fangio, now Miami's DC after being the head coach in Denver

All but one of Malik Reed’s NFL sacks came from playing in a Vic Fangio defense.

That’s 15 of 16 of the new Miami Dolphins linebacker’s career sacks, or 94 percent of his quarterback takedowns, being credited to the team’s newly appointed defensive coordinator.

That’s why it’s no surprise that the fourth-year veterans targeted the Dolphins, coveting a reunion with the Denver Broncos’ former head coach, when free agency opened up last week, and ended up signing a deal with Miami.

“To come in the league and being in coach Fangio’s system, I feel like was huge for me, personally as a player,” said Reed, a 6-foot-1, 238-pound edge rusher, who has carved out a career for himself as an undrafted player from the University of Nevada, where he finished his four-year collegiate career with 22 sacks.

Last season Reed was traded to the Steelers for a swap of 2023 sixth and seventh round picks a week before the regular season started. He ended up contributing a career-low 25 tackles and one sack in the 14 games he played on a Steelers defense that missed T.J. Watt for most of the season.

"I like his motor," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said upon acquiring Reed. "He appears to be an attention to detail guy. He plays bigger than his measurables. He's got a nice inside long arm. He is capable of rushing from both sides. There is a lot that is attractive about his game."

While Pittsburgh’s scheme might have been similar to what Reed played in with the Broncos, the role wasn’t. As a result, the production wasn’t there.

The hope is that familiarity - Reed’s to the scheme, and Fangio to him - will get this 27-year-old back to being the type of player who led the Broncos in sacks during the 2020 season.

Reed was Denver’s version of cornerback Nik Needham, an undrafted player who scrapped and clawed for everything he received under Fangio.

He started 34 of the 45 games he played in over three seasons with the Broncos, recording 118 tackles (71 of them solo stops), 15 sacks, forcing three forced fumbles and recovering two.

In Miami he’ll likely compete with Andrew Van Ginkel and Cameron Goode for the role as Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips’ backups as the edge players in Fangio’s 3-4 scheme. And it’s hard to not envision his familiarity with the scheme, and its conductor, giving him an edge.

“I learned so much about the game [from Fangio], a lot about the outside linebacker position, to be on the edge, setting the edge or in coverage as well,” Reed said. “I’m excited to get back to work with him.”

New Dolphins tight end Eric Saubert, who played with Reed in Denver for a couple seasons, labeled the pass rusher as “relentless,” and believes he'll bring his non-stop motor to the Dolphins.

"I use what God has given me and use my tools to my advantage," Reed said. "I’m not the tallest guy, so I like to use leverage in my game and be able to get under tackles and get to places that are hard for them to bend to. That’s how you can summarize my game.”