Details on the Dolphins’ newest Oregon defensive back, and two other Power 5 secondary additions

The Dolphins aren’t required to add an Oregon defensive back every April. It only seems that way.

Undrafted rookie safety Bennett Williams is the latest addition, joining 2020 second-round pick Jevon Holland and 2021 undrafted rookie Verone McKinley III.

Williams picked Miami over “a few” other offers after the draft, because “I have connections here already,” he said during a conversation at the team’s rookie minicamp last weekend. “And I like what they’re about. I like the culture around here.”

Those connections — Holland and McKinley — called him immediately after he struck a deal with the Dolphins during the first hour on the third day of last month’s NFL Draft.

“Verone called me and Jevon was on the phone,” Williams said. “They were all together. It was awesome. It’s great being able to be on the same team as those guys.

“Jevon and Verone are both younger than me, but I looked up to both of them, definitely Jevon when I first got there [at Oregon]. I got to see him couple weeks ago at the Oregon spring game.”

Bennett has eight career interceptions and play can safety and nickel corner.

What does he do particularly well?

“I like to say a lot of things — versatile guy, can play different positions. High football IQ is something I can bring. I can pick up this defense quickly. Down the road I can see myself being a leader in the secondary.”

He caught the eyes of scouts last season with 72 tackles, two interceptions and two forced fumbles.

But he also allowed five touchdown passes last season, and 43 of the 59 passes thrown in his coverage area were caught for 496 yards, an 11.5 average, per Pro Football Focus. That adds to up a 112 passer rating in his coverage area in 2022.

Williams (6-0, 205 pounds) will compete with McKinley III and Elijah Campbell for the No. 4 safety job or a spot on the practice squad.

“If Williams were 20 pounds heavier, he would be in consideration for a linebacker role in the NFL thanks to his nose for the football and style of play,” NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein said.

“He’s at his best near the line of scrimmage and playing the run, but his athletic deficiencies are hard to ignore as it pertains to his ability to hold up in coverage at the next level. Williams needs a very specific role as a box safety and will need to prove he can be a star on special teams.”

In Part 4 of our four-part series on the Dolphins’ 21 undrafted rookies, here’s a look at their two other new rookie defensive backs, aside from South Carolina cornerback Cam Smith, who we wrote about here and here:

▪ Kentucky cornerback/safety Keidron Smith:

He was appealing to Miami because of his size (6-2), ball skills (seven career interceptions) and versatility. He has started games at safety and cornerback, and has played in the slot, on the boundary, in the box as a safety and as a deep safety.

He’s also a diligent film-studier and became better at it after being coached by former Dolphins cornerback Terrell Buckley at Mississippi.

Smith began his career as a cornerback with the Rebels, then moved to safety in his final season there, and then transferred to Kentucky, where he returned to cornerback in his only season there (2022).

Last season for the Wildcats, he had two interceptions (including one returned for a touchdown), a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, 46 tackles and five passes defended.

And this was impressive: Smith permitted an exceptional 55.5 passer rating in his coverage area last season, with 22 of 37 targets caught for 234 yards (10.6 average) but no touchdowns and two interceptions.

Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White told the Louisville Courier-Journal that Smith has “a savviness, an intelligence. He sees quarterbacks’ shoulder angles. Understands which way the ball is going to come out — is it high? Is it low? Are they looking intermediate? Are they looking deep? He [knows] when he can sit at the top of the route, when he has to go.”

This Dolphins administration has been very good at spotting cornerback gems after the draft (Kader Kohou, Nik Needham). They hope Smith will be another.

▪ Stanford cornerback/safety Ethan Bonner:

The Dolphins gave him $60,000 guaranteed and will initially give him a look at cornerback, according to one of his associates.

Last season, his metrics were sterling: only 18 completions in 41 targets for 260 yards (11.4 average per reception), with one touchdown and 73.2 passer rating in his coverage area, per Pro Football Focus.

He has good size (6-1) and speed; he ran a 4.31 at his Pro Day.

He started 10 games at cornerback last season and had 29 tackles and five pass breakups. Injuries were an issue earlier in his college career.