Xavien Howard

by CarsonChris Wed Dec 02, 2020 9:19 am

The other corner in Miami’s vaunted secondary leads the NFL in interceptions.

Do you remember it was rumored the Phins were shopping him?

I don’t trust Grier and I’m sure many of the players on the team feel the same way.

by **JMP** Wed Dec 02, 2020 9:27 am

I don't know that Howard was ever seriously being shopped. I think it was more a case of teams asking about him after we signed Byron Jones. I think the Dolphins' plan all along was to have two top corners to make this defense work, and X was clearly a part of that plan.

Regardless, Howard is currently the best player on the team and has a pretty cap-friendly contract. He's not going anywhere...unless another team decides to give us a Tunsil-like haul of picks.

No reason for any fan or player not to trust Grier - he has shown that he'll reward the players the team wants to keep.

by white1 Wed Dec 02, 2020 9:36 am

Agree, you don't trade away lock-down cover corners who generate turnovers.

Trading Tunsil was a different story entirely. Earlier in the rebuild (day 1 essentially) was the first key. Second, the insane amount of draft capital Houston offered - I don't see that happening again. Finally, Tunsil is just too mistake prone. He COULD be elite, but hasn't shown he ever will be. He's not nearly the talent that Howard is. And I'd argue as important LT is, CB is far more important.

Howard will be a Fin a long, long time.

by HalCHorn Wed Dec 02, 2020 9:47 am

We got terrific value out of that 2016 draft. Howard is obviously every bit the pick that Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain were back in the late 90s (2nd rounders also) and the insane amount of draft capital offered by Houston for Tunsil simply couldn't be turned down. And since Bill O'Brien's ultimate fate after offering it is now known, I doubt any team will be offered that kind of value for a non-QB ever again.

Not a knock on Tunsil, who is a good player, but that was about as close to a Herschel Walker trade as anyone is likely to get these days. And one reason to trust Grier, since he kept holding out for more from O'Brien once they expressed interest in Tunsil weeks earlier.

by finfanatic Wed Dec 02, 2020 12:58 pm

Yeah, the only knock on X is he gets injured some.

Bill O'Brien must have figured the Texans were one solid LT away from winning the SB. Otherwise, that trade was absolutely awful.

by **JMP** Wed Dec 02, 2020 1:51 pm

finfanatic wrote:

Bill O'Brien must have figured the Texans were one solid LT away from winning the SB. Otherwise, that trade was absolutely awful.

The ironic part is that even after acquiring Tunsil, the Texans OL still sucked.

What O'Brien failed to realize is that LT is no longer the be all, end all of the offensive line like it was years ago. Defenses bring pressure from everywhere these days, and it isn't enough to have a stud LT. You need to have a strong offensive line - period. What good is a Pro Bowl LT if the other 4 linemen are below average???

Never mind the fact that Tunsil is a lazy blocker and led the entire NFL in penalties last season.

by white1 Wed Dec 02, 2020 1:55 pm

Never mind the fact that Tunsil is a lazy blocker and led the entire NFL in penalties last season.

This is exactly why I believe Grier and Flores pulled the trigger. They held their cards close to the vest but really didn't value Tunsil at an extremely high level. Throwing Stills into the deal was a total non-factor. He's already off the Texans roster.

by DolFan 316 Wed Dec 02, 2020 2:25 pm

white1 wrote:This is exactly why I believe Grier and Flores pulled the trigger. They held their cards close to the vest but really didn't value Tunsil at an extremely high level. Throwing Stills into the deal was a total non-factor. He's already off the Texans roster.

WOW I had no idea Shocked

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. He probably called the Texans' owner a racist or said the rioters weren't going far enough.

by DolFan 316 Wed Dec 02, 2020 2:38 pm

HalCHorn wrote:We got terrific value out of that 2016 draft

You're not joking Shocked

Out of that draft this team got (takes deep breath).

Howard, Grant (a 6th rounder who turned out better than a lot of this team's recent 2nd rounders), a 7th rounder this year for Jordan Lucas (Malcolm Perry). The 5th they traded to the Cards as part of the Rosen deal right back for Drake, which they used to get Matt Breida, a first this year from the Texans that they traded to the Packers for Noah Igbinoghene (okay, that wasn't so good) and a 4th, used that 4th as part of a deal to get the 4th back that they gave the Texans in the Tunsil deal (Solomon Kindley), AND the Texans' first and second round picks for next year.

I got a bit dizzy just typing all that out Laughing

by white1 Wed Dec 02, 2020 2:43 pm

Don't give up on Iggy, an extremely young but talented player. I believe he will be very good in year 2 and/or 3 in this defense.

by **JMP** Wed Dec 02, 2020 2:51 pm

Here's an article that puts Howard's season in perspective.

https://www.si.com/nfl/dolphins/news/miami-dolphins-cornerback-xavien-howard-putting-together-an-amazing-season

In a league where all the rules tend to favor the offense, Howard is allowing opponents (per pro-football-reference.com advanced stats) to complete only 45.9 percent of their passes when throwing in his direction and the opponent passer rating when Howard is targeted is a measly 43.2.

Those two figures rank first in the NFL among all cornerbacks.

But there's more: Howard's numbers also are better than what Stephon Gilmore produced in 2019 on his way to being named NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Gilmore allowed a 50.5 percent completion rate and an opponent passer rating of 44.1.

Howard also is better through 11 games than the other first-team All-Pro Bowl cornerback last season, Buffalo's Tre'Davious White, whose stats included a 50.0 completion percentage allowed and an opponent passer rating of 43.3.

...

Howard's current PFF grade is at 86.6, higher than either Gilmore (82.6) or White (76.4) earned last year.

So basically all metrics suggest Howard is performing better than any other cornerback this year or last year.

...

At the very least, Howard appears headed toward earning first-team All-Pro honors, and he would join Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain as the only Dolphins cornerbacks to earn that recognition.

by Sponsored content

Xavien Howard

Xavien Howard

Re: Xavien Howard

Re: Xavien Howard

Re: Xavien Howard

Re: Xavien Howard

Re: Xavien Howard

Re: Xavien Howard

Re: Xavien Howard

Re: Xavien Howard

Re: Xavien Howard

Re: Xavien Howard

Re: Xavien Howard