Dolphins hoping to develop Verone McKinley III as second Oregon safety. Where he stands
Part 3 of a series on 2022 Miami Dolphins rookies
The Dolphins, to their credit, found two NFL-quality defensive backs amid the chaos and fierce competition of post-draft free agency.
With Kader Kohou, they know they have a starting-quality NFL cornerback, according to position coach Sam Madison.
With Verone McKinley III, the Dolphins know they have at the very least, a developmental safety with upside and a special teams player. The question is whether they have a long-term rotational player on defense, something that must still play out.
“There’s growth that he needs to make as a young player and those things will come with time, but I think he’s done a really good job of being a mature player, understanding the situation that he’s in and trying to go out and execute at a high level and communicate and do things that we need to do to try to win football games,” safeties coach Steve Gregory said in late December of McKinley, before Gregory was fired five days after the playoff loss to Buffalo.
McKinley played 253 defensive snaps this past season and allowed only one of the three passes thrown in his coverage area to be caught, for 8 yards and an interception — a passer rating of 2.8. That’s exceptional.
He said his strength is taking the right “angles” as a defender and “understanding the game and where they’re trying to attack us, what they’re doing at the line, what their favorite concepts are, who they are trying to go at, maybe the weakness.”
He said the biggest question that he needed to address with scouts was “speed. You get to your pro day, you overthink it.
“It doesn’t go as well as you think, but at the end of the day, when I get on the field, I’ve shown I can play to the speed of the NFL. It’s different when you’re running a 40 and playing in games.”
Does he have confidence now that he’s an NFL player?
“I had confidence before, but learning and growing and getting in games has helped me get a little bit more comfortable for sure,” he said.
Having his friend and former Oregon teammate, Jevon Holland, with him for his first pro season was a tremendous help.
“We don’t live that close to each other — 15, 20 minutes, apart,” McKinley said. “But he lived with me when he was renovating his house. We’re here [at Dolphins headquarters at Hard Rock Stadium] all the time together and do stuff outside the facility. It’s been a blast.
“Just from the jump when you have kind of your best friend and somebody you’ve spent a lot of time with, it makes it a little easier. Just understanding Miami, how the NFL works, our system, has definitely been a big help.”
McKinley said he has watched a lot of tape with Holland outside of team meetings.
“After games, even throughout the week, early on when I wasn’t playing, I was still watching film so I could learn what we’re doing. We’re together all the time.”
He appreciates that Miami Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal, his former coach at Oregon, has checked in on them.
“He always stays in touch with me, my family, he’s like family to me,” McKinley said. “He has been in touch, been very supportive of my journey. He’s believed in me from the jump, so it’s not a surprise to him.”
What the Dolphins think of McKinley will be reflected in the type of investment they make in a third safety this offseason, behind Holland and Brandon Jones, who’s coming off a season-ending ACL injury.
If the Dolphins spend on two former starting safeties, that might not bode well for McKinley earning a lot of playing time on defense in 2023. If they re-sign Eric Rowe or sign only one veteran, that could create an opportunity to earn playing time beyond special teams.
“I would say the fact you’re undrafted, you definitely have a chip on your shoulder,” McKinley said. “I still see it as opportunity. You get your opportunity, you have to make the most of it.”
Here’s Part 1 of the series on Channing Tindall.
Here’s Part 2 of the series on Erik Ezukanma.
