Dolphins explain their decision on Igbinoghene, take steps to prevent losing players

A six-pack of Miami Dolphins notes on a Tuesday:

▪ The conventional thinking, at the start of the season, was that the Dolphins could get first-round cornerback Noah Igbinoghene on the field by playing him in the slot in nickel packages, with former Pro Bowlers Byron Jones and Xavien Howard obviously on the boundary.

But Igbinoghene subsequently struggled in two of his three games on the boundary and the Dolphins have decided — at least for now — not to try Igbinoghene in the slot and instead play undrafted players Nik Needham (primarily) and Jamal Perry in that role in nickel packages.

All of Igbinoghene’s practice work is on the boundary.

What’s the thinking behind that?

“For us, for Noah, how we trained him so far, nickel [cornerback] is a totally different position than the perimeter corner,” defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander said Tuesday. “The nickel is not just plugging in a corner and saying he’s a nickel. There are a lot of things that nickel does, whether it be in man defense, in zone defense, being able to fit on the run game, possibly coming in on pressures.

“I’m sure Noah is capable of doing it. But one thing you have to be careful of — with a guy like Noah or any young player — is putting too much on their plate too soon, which gets them to hesitate and play slower. Noah is a developing player for us. He’s done a good job with the reps he’s had so far. Right now, he’s more of a perimeter guy for us [behind] Byron and X in our defense. That can change throughout the season.”

Per Pro Football Focus’ Ryan Smith, Igbinoghene allowed one reception in four targets, for 6 yards, when he lined up at nickel corner for Auburn in 2018.

Last season, he allowed three receptions in 11 targets, for 37 yards when playing nickel corner, which computes to a 41.1 passer rating against.

“I wanted to put Noah inside some this past year but we couldn’t afford to take him off the edge,” Auburn defensive backs coach Wesley McGriff, who coached at the University of Miami from 2007 to 2010, told me in May.

“Noah knows [nickel corner]; he’s been baptized in the meeting room. With his learning ability — he’s got a strong football IQ — he will be ready to go inside. After the draft, he said, ‘You got to get me up to speed to go inside.’”

But Alexander said Tuesday: “This isn’t Auburn” and the Dolphins believe they’re doing the right thing by having Igbinoghene exclusively on the boundary.

Needham played well in the slot on Sunday; for the season, he has allowed 8 of 12 passes thrown in his coverage area to be caught for 125 yards, which is equal to a 101.0 passer rating.

Perry has permitted six of seven passes thrown against him to be caught for 58 yards, equal to a 101.2 passer rating.

Igbinoghene, working exclusively on the boundary, has yielded the most yards of any cornerback in the league (293), permitting 16 completions in 24 attempts, including three touchdowns. The passer rating against him is 148.1.

▪ With Davon Godchaux to be sidelined most or all of the season with a biceps injury, the Dolphins could add a defensive tackle from outside the roster or promote one of two rookies from the practice squad — tackle Benito Jones or end/tackle Nick Coe.

But curiously, the Dolphins did not include either of those rookie defensive linemen on the list of players who cannot be poached by another team this week. Teams can protect four players from poaching, but the NFL said the Dolphins protected only three so far: long snapper Matt Orzech, quarterback Reid Sinnett and tight end Chris Myarick.

▪ We’re told one reason the Dolphins moved running back Salvon Ahmed to their 53-man roster is that the Los Angeles Chargers showed interest in signing him last week.

▪ So how has Tua Tagovailoa really looked in practice?

One player conveyed that he hasn’t been perfect but has been “pretty good.”

But the Dolphins believe Ryan Fitzpatrick’s experience and intimate knowledge of NFL defenses make him the better option, with Chan Gailey offering this eyebrow-raising assessment of one one of Fitzpatrick’s greatest gifts.

▪ Receiver Preston Williams conceded that improved health — coming off last November’s knee injury — factored into his best game of the season on Sunday.

“I’m getting closer to that year mark with my knee,” he said. “I’m starting to get more comfortable out there. It’s been like a couple years since I actually ran a route the first game of the season. I’m just getting my football feet back under me. I know a lot earlier in the year I was falling off some routes. Now I’m starting to feel better every week.”

If Williams continues to play like he did on Sunday, the Dolphins won’t need to worry about finding a boundary receiver early in the 2021 draft.

▪ We’re told there is no significant structural damage to Austin Jackson’s foot, and he has told people he expects to play again this season. A November return remains a possibility. Among other things, there’s some pain management involved …

The Dolphins-49ers game produced a thoroughly underwhelming 8.1 local rating (meaning it was viewed in 8.1 percent of Miami-Ft. Lauderdale homes with TV sets), compared with a 12.2 local rating for the Heat-Lakers NBA Finals Game 6 that started a half hour after the Dolphins game ended. That’s a difference of about 66,000 households.

Here’s my Tuesday piece with details on Davon Godchaux’s major injury and news from Gailey.