Which defensive linemen will Dolphins coach at Senior Bowl?
The Miami Dolphins are now just a week away from engaging in the most prominent scouting event of the 2021 offseason — the Senior Bowl. With the coronavirus pandemic threatening much of the status quo in the NFL Draft process, the Senior Bowl will continue on as usual. Just with some socially distanced modifications and plenty of COVID-19 protocols for the health and safety of all involved.
And throughout the course of this week, the Senior Bowl, courtesy of Director Jim Nagy, will be unveiling which players are partaking in the event for which team; either the Dolphins or the Carolina Panthers.
Yesterday, the defensive lines were revealed. Here’s who Miami will be coaching throughout the week for three days of practice and then the game itself at the end of the week at perhaps the team’s most pressing need.
Defensive linemen
The @dolphins defense made a huge jump this year and there’s plenty of versatility and pass rush talent on the National squad, including arguably the best 3-tech in the 2021 draft (U of Washington’s Levi Onwuzurike).#TheDraftStartsInMobile pic.twitter.com/yO8myBmuqS
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) January 21, 2021
So which prospects are a good fit for what the Miami Dolphins want to do? You can start with Pittsburgh’s Patrick Jones II — who fits the size prototype that Miami has gravitated towards with their edge defenders. But Jones would likely command a top-50 pick, which may not be an investment Miami is willing to make at this point in their rebuild and with all the needs on offense.
Don’t sleep on Notre Dame’s duo of Ade Ogundeji and Daelin Hayes. Ogundeji physically resembles another Miami Dolphin — Emmanuel Ogbah. He’s considered a late bloomer but would be a strong addition for a team that likes to gravitate towards traits and “uncoachable” qualities before worrying about the fundamentals after the fact. Hayes, on the other hand, currently projects as a bit more of a hybrid player. He dropped weight into the 250’s this past season and looked as though he’d be physically capable of manning some of Miami’s rush linebacker reps.
Jonathon Cooper of Ohio State is another prospect in the same mold as Hayes, giving Miami plenty of attractive scheme fits to work with and, just as importantly, an array of draftable ranges to keep their plans for adding to their pass rush group flexible in 2021.
