Thread for Dolphins Free Agent signings (formerly the Aaron Brewer thread...)

[JMP]

EDIT: Turning this into a general Dolphins FA thread...

Here is a great clip of Aaron Brewer with two plays against the Dolphins: one where he dominates Christian "The $110 Million Man" Wilkins, and one where he stones Wilkins, passes him off to another lineman, and then stones Sieler.  

https://publish.twitter.com/?url=https://twitter.com/finscentral/status/1768284390314975279#

I post this not to show how amazing Brewer is, because I am sure I can quickly find a bunch of plays where he got blown up.  My point is, Brewer is NOT a disaster in pass pro and certainly has tools to work with.  The quickness and strength he shows in these two plays is very impressive.  Butch Barry has his work cut out for him, but there's clearly a lot to work with.  The key is, IMO, the Dolphins scheme - there's so much movement in almost every play that you'll rarely see the center blocking a DT straight-up.  It will happen at times, of course, but more often than not the interior OL (and particularly the center) is going to be on the move.

[JMP]

The Phins just added CB Kendall Fuller - easily a top 10 corner in the league. Excellent signing at a great price. The secondary looks fantastic right now...just need another safety and we are stacked on the back-end.

[JMP]

Seems like the Phins are finally adding some beef to the DL. They are expected to sign both Benito Jones and John Jenkins - both former Dolphin DTs who have done pretty well for themselves after leaving Miami.

[DolFan 316]

At this rate who is Grier even going to draft after signing what seems like 20 guys already?

If this is supposed to be some grand 5D chess plan to keep everybody completely confused as to who they will draft with each pick I think he might be overdoing it just a bit...

[DolFan 316]

Okay, that site I put up before doesn't even seem to be trying to keep up so here's a better one.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/all/miami-dolphins//

You can go to any other team's page and any other position in general too.

[mercury22nathan]

At this rate who is Grier even going to draft after signing what seems like 20 guys already?

i'm still a strong advocate of drafting best player available (that fits the scheme), but in my mind Grier still hasn't adequately addressed the offensive line - but i'm not convinced he'll spend high draft picks there. we'll see.

[finskev]

Just signed another DT Jonathan Harris from the Broncos, Looks like they are going to sign a bunch of DT's and see who sticks. Now we need some Receivers and another Safety. expect them to go BPA when the Draft comes.

[DolFan 316]

Just signed another DT Jonathan Harris from the Broncos, Looks like they are going to sign a bunch of DT's and see who sticks. Now we need some Receivers and another Safety. expect them to go BPA when the Draft comes.

Grier's idea of who the BPA is horrifies, terrifies and mortifies me

[finfanatic]

Just signed another DT Jonathan Harris from the Broncos, Looks like they are going to sign a bunch of DT's and see who sticks. Now we need some Receivers and another Safety. expect them to go BPA when the Draft comes.

Grier's idea of who the BPA is horrifies, terrifies and mortifies me

I've already told you. Grier is setting up to go for a CB at #21 and ignore every trade down option so as to
avoid having to pick OLine, DT or EDGE. Or heck, even WR, because Grier wants to pick a CB.

And I am only half-joking here.

As it was told to me, the plan was to have Howard's replacement, Iggy step in and they could trade or cut Howard. I assume Smith was in that vein also. And now, with no Howard, they need a Cb to replace Ramsey eventually, so...

If Grier DOES decide to go CB, please... please... Let somebody else decide which CB to draft and not let Grier do the Dolphins another Iggy-Smith disservice!!

[JMP]

CB is off the table, at least in round one, with the Fuller signing. We'll add another safety, but beyond that the secondary is done IMO besides adding some camp fodder.

[JMP]

Looks like Jonathan Harris will be the ginormous 3-4 rotational DE I was expecting, ala Brent Urban (who is back with the Ravens).

And Benito Jones could be the behemoth NT I was anticipating.

One of the big differences we'll see on defense is a DL rotation. Last year it seemed like it was Wilkins and Sieler on almost every snap, but this season we'll see a real rotation. I don't know which DL will stick on the final roster, but we have a pretty solid group of no-names now, most with size and some degree of athleticism, and I'm sure we'll add a draft pick or 2. I really like the Jones addition - he was a solid space-eater for the Lions this past season.

[DolFan 316]

CB is off the table, at least in round one, with the Fuller signing.  We'll add another safety, but beyond that the secondary is done IMO besides adding some camp fodder.

THANK YOU!!! Merc and FF out here trying to raise my blood pressure.  

Looks like Jonathan Harris will be the ginormous 3-4 rotational DE I was expecting, ala Brent Urban (who is back with the Ravens).

At 6'5" 295 he does seem to be the perfect size for it. However, he's never played DE before which might be problematic.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HarrJo05.htm

And Benito Jones could be the behemoth NT I was anticipating.

One thing's been bothering me about this signing. If Jones wasn't good enough for the Dolphins 2 years ago, why should we believe he's good enough now?   The Lions didn't think he was worth keeping, for one thing.

One of the big differences we'll see on defense is a DL rotation.  Last year it seemed like it was Wilkins and Sieler on almost every snap, but this season we'll see a real rotation.  I don't know which DL will stick on the final roster, but we have a pretty solid group of no-names now, most with size and some degree of athleticism, and I'm sure we'll add a draft pick or 2.  I really like the Jones addition - he was a solid space-eater for the Lions this past season.

I...actually like this setup and have been thinking about it. Football's much more of a team sport than, say, basketball. It's also a bigger war of attrition than it's ever been. All these high paid FAs are nice--until they get hurt and can't play for multiple games. Teams need reasonably competent bodies more than ever before. But I also like that this greatly reduces the odds of wasting pick 55 on Sweat

[JMP]

Looks like Jonathan Harris will be the ginormous 3-4 rotational DE I was expecting, ala Brent Urban (who is back with the Ravens).

At 6'5" 295 he does seem to be the perfect size for it. However, he's never played DE before which might be problematic.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HarrJo05.htm

And Benito Jones could be the behemoth NT I was anticipating.

One thing's been bothering me about this signing. If Jones wasn't good enough for the Dolphins 2 years ago, why should we believe he's good enough now?   The Lions didn't think he was worth keeping, for one thing.

One of the big differences we'll see on defense is a DL rotation.  Last year it seemed like it was Wilkins and Sieler on almost every snap, but this season we'll see a real rotation.  I don't know which DL will stick on the final roster, but we have a pretty solid group of no-names now, most with size and some degree of athleticism, and I'm sure we'll add a draft pick or 2.  I really like the Jones addition - he was a solid space-eater for the Lions this past season.

I...actually like this setup and have been thinking about it. Football's much more of a team sport than, say, basketball. It's also a bigger war of attrition than it's ever been. All these high paid FAs are nice--until they get hurt and can't play for multiple games. Teams need reasonably competent bodies more than ever before. But I also like that this greatly reduces the odds of wasting pick 55 on Sweat

I read somewhere that Harris did play some DE last season - not sure if that's the case, but he has the body type.

Benito Jones has developed into a pretty good player IMO. Not flashy at all, but he takes up blockers and does the dirty work, and that's what we need. He started 15 games for a Lions playoff team, and I definitely noticed him whenever I watched the Lions.

As far as the DL rotation, I think it's a very good thing. You have to wonder if Wilkins and Sieler were completely out of gas in the playoff game, considering that Wilkins played over 90% of the snaps in the final 3 regular season games and 92% against the Chiefs in horrible conditions and Sieler played over 80% in the final 3 games, and 85% against the Chiefs. Those are crazy percentages for 300+ pound D-linemen, especially in difficult must-win situations. (And BTW - Wilkins second highest snap percentage of the season - 93% - came in the 56-19 loss at Baltimore in week 17. Just absurd to have him on the field so much in a late-season blowout loss.)

[finfanatic]

Yeah, Chubb got hurt in a blow out too didn't he?

But I guess when you don't have anyone CLOSE to the level of your starters you would tend to play them more. Somebody slap the everlovin' poop out of Grier for that one! (Let me pat myself on the back for getting in another dig at Grier!!)

I don't know if this was on McD or Fangio, but whoever it was, somebody needs to slap some sense into them too!! Heck, slap them both a few times just on general principles!!

[JMP]

Yeah, Chubb got hurt in a blow out too didn't he?

But I guess when you don't have anyone CLOSE to the level of your starters you would tend to play them more. Somebody slap the everlovin' poop out of Grier for that one! (Let me pat myself on the back for getting in another dig at Grier!!)  

I don't know if this was on McD or Fangio, but whoever it was, somebody needs to slap some sense into them too!! Heck, slap them both a few times just on general principles!!  

Yep, Chubb got hurt late in the Ravens blowout.

I blame Fangio for the overuse. Da'Shawn Hand may not be a superstar and there's clearly a dropoff from him to Wilkins/Sieler, but he had just 16 snaps against Baltimore and 20 against KC. The guy's played in almost 50 NFL games...you couldn't use him more in the Ravens blowout? That game was all but over at the half. Grier gets some blame for not having enough DL on the roster, but that could have been Fangio's preference. It sure seemed like Fangio did not want to use a DL rotation. In any case, I'm glad things will be different this season - or at least that's what I expect.

[JMP]

Found this interesting tweet:

Tyler DeSena
@DeSenaSports

🧵LONG TWEET🧵

Seeing a lot made of the Dolphins moves, and whether this is a "reset year", if they're going all in on a "one-year window", or somewhere in between...

but simply looking at the moves they made, I think that the answer is neither, but rather a move towards sustainability.

Going into this off-season, I don't think it's a stretch to believe that Miami WAS in a one year window. Tyreek and Ramsey's cap hits are only going up. Tua, Waddle, Holland, Phillips, all need extensions, and this team was going to have their back against the wall cap-wise.

Those players (Hill, Ramsey, Tua, Waddle, Phillips, Holland) are your cornerstones, your high end players, and priorities for extensions. Grier made it clear in the press conference. Waddle isn't going anywhere, Holland is likely already being negotiated, and Tagovailoa is probably getting a contract in the coming weeks/months.

Now, with those being your priorities, look how a top-loaded roster with that core performed on the biggest stages of December-January. Losses against the Bills, Chiefs, Titans, and an utter collapse, for the second year in a row, largely due to injury, and moreso, a lack of sustainability. A few key cogs missing time completely changed the identity of the team, and there weren't enough clear role players in positions to excel when the stars went down.

So, going into the off-season, what are you to do:

1. Pay Wilkins and Hunt, two VERY GOOD players, but NOT at priority positions (QB, WR, OT, CB, EDGE), and likely never All-Pro's at their position?
- This option likely puts even more stress on your current core. Without an absolutely stellar draft (in which you only have 2 Top-100 picks), there were still going to be countless holes on the roster, and ones at more pressing spots.

2. Opt out of paying Hunt and Wilkins a combined $50 Million AAV, and opt for other free-agents. In choosing this option, Miami did the following:
A. Changed the structure of their defense to better match what DC Anthony Weaver is bringing in.
- Brought in an LB in Jordyn Brooks who has shown the range that few LB's have (can scrape against the run and can ROBOT a crosser like few know how (check @cmikesspinmove
for those clips)).
- Swapped edges in AVG and Shaq Barrett, opting for a (likely cheaper) veteran with a size profile that bodes better against the run.
- Brought in Jordan Poyer, who absolutely nails the role of a traditional two-high safety, while also having played more down in the box in a role similar to Weaver's big nickel, due to injuries in BUF, for only two million dollars.
- Swapped CB's in Xavien Howard and Kendall Fuller, opting for someone with inside-outside versatility (further adding to the trend of interchangeable DBs ie: Ramsey, Poyer, Holland, Kohou) and someone who has outperformed Howard in recent years (for significantly cheaper too).

B. Manipulated the Compensatory Pick Formula to ensure flexibility for years to come
- Signed players who were released and do not affect the formula (Barrett, Poyer, Jonnu Smith)
- Utilized players leaving to NOT ONLY get better fits, but cancel out lower round picks while leaving third rounders intact (Brooks, Fuller replacing Van Ginkel and Jones' as players and cap hits).
- Kept the potential pipeline of future cheap talent alive by ensuring at least 5 picks in the first 3 rounds of next year's draft as it stands right now (1st, 2nd, THREE 3rds (original & comp for Hunt and Wilkins).

And all of this doesn't even take into account how easy these contracts are to get out of and how they don't tie up Miami long term in the same way extensions for Hunt and Wilkins would have. The longest deal of these is Jordyn Brooks, and even that has an easy out after two years (and is frankly a steal at a little over 8.5 mil per).

Miami can (with relative ease considering how great Grier and Shore are on the margins) kick the can down the road on their top end stars in Hill (hasn't been restructured yet ) and Ramsey (already restructured), give extensions to their young core (Tua, Phillips, Holland, Waddle), and continue to accrue draft capital to ensure competitiveness long after the older players are gone.

Miami has decided that they would rather have serviceable to above average players at 5 positions of need (Brooks, Poyer, Fuller, Barrett, Smith) AND multiple 3rd round picks than simply paying Christian Wilkins and Robert Hunt, who might be B+ to A- players, but weren't going to mask the rest of the holes this team had.

With that being said, there are still positions of need, and plenty of them at that (IOL, WR, IDL, S?, EDGE?), but that number is way lower than it was at prior to free agency, and the pathway to acquiring serviceable players to fill those holes is significantly easier than it would have been while simultaneously paying your homegrown talent.

11:32 PM · Mar 14, 2024

[DolFan 316]

Well, when you put it THAT way, it almost looks like Grier kinda sorta might halfway know what he's doing

But that can't be right, because it never has the whole time he's been around. If it had, this team would've gotten *one* playoff win instead of having the current longest drought without one.

Therefore, I'll keep being pessimistic, especially since the dreaded draft is coming, and we all know how Grier always screws it up

I will say it appears Weaver's gotten far more influence in the roster construction than any coordinator I can remember. He must've had the mother of all job interviews.

[mercury22nathan]

i'm slow. so it took me a little time to get back to what was the original intent of this thread.

Because I am fair man, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t over-reacting to the (what I believed) less-than-stellar signing Aaron Brewer. I went back and tried to find as much game film of him as I could. So here are my thoughts:

Pros
He is extremely athletic which is a big plus in Miami’s stretch zone running scheme.
He has enough strength to handle perimeter and second level LBers and DBs – especially when he catches them on the move.
When he is clear about his blocking assignment, he is very quick off the snap and can beat defenders with his positioning.
He is very alert and quick to recognize blitzes and redirect as necessary.

Cons
He is light and has very limited power to drop anchor and hold up against big DTs – to the point of being a liability.
He has a tendency to lunge and drop his head in anticipation of contact leading him to miss his target or get side-stepped.
He can get caught up in the wash of big bodies in close quarters.

Surprised – there are more pros than cons. However, the cons (especially the first one) is so bad that I am concerned about his overall effectiveness. If Miami could only have him in the game for zone running plays and then take him out for everything else (especially passes), then he’d be fine. But we don’t live in that fantasy world. And while this signing might help – or least maintain – Miami’s ability to run those stretch zone running plays, it does not help – it actually hurts significantly – Miami’s inability to pass block for more than the 2-second quick reads or short yardage and red zone runs. I am very much concerned with the continued lack of the ability to move the chains on downs of less than 2 yards. Brewer is very good when gaining position on the move and using a defender’s momentum against him (a core principle of the zone running scheme), but he will not – and can not – lineup “mano a mano” and move a DT (especially in short yardage).

Now, in all fairness, a good bit of the tape I watched was when TN was trying to turn him into a OG. I think his lack of power is what led TN to move him to center – but even there they were still concerned enough after 2 years in the middle to let him go and try to upgrade by signing true all-around zone OC Lloyd Cushenberry. He has improved somewhat in his technique, but the power still isn’t there (and I don’t think it ever will be). There’s a lot to like here from a zone running perspective, but there is also a lot to be extremely afraid of in terms of pass blocking…the exact same kind of pathetic pass blocking (but worse) that really hindered Tua over the last 4 games.

(NOTE: I watched both videos without sounds as I always do so the narrator won’t influence me. If you listen with sound, maybe you’ll come to some preconceived conclusions. Also, he changed jersey numbers from 64 to 62 to 55)

https://youtu.be/Osntj_v38aA?si=T1hwquZLb3LYcAd_

again, a good amount to like in the zone running game, but if you are squeamish do not watch after the 8 minute mark as it will bring back post traumatic Tua sack syndrome.

https://youtu.be/XERi6vYEHHw?si=lfOEfzh6okQHUVYC

Once again, wide zone – check, real good. But his lack of power and poor pass blocking in on display especially against the Niners and Rams. And there is a nice clip of Seiler steamrolling him.

Funny how both these tapes really focus on his zone run blocking and I can’t seem to find a ton of tape on his pass blocking – I suspect because it really is that bad.

And so, the more I think about it, I don’t believe Miami signed him just to hand him the starting job. $7M per year is hardly the guarantee of the top centers who are making $10M-$15M per year…remember, Williams (who is much better) was unhappy about his contract as a starter was making $7M per year last year before the salary cap jump. I think he has a legitimate shot at the job, but I could also see him very easily being the backup this year while he hopefully develops further (strength) to take over as the starter next year. I think this may have also been a bit of an “oh shit, we gotta have someone play the center” signing while they might still look for another developmental prospect in the draft.

And here’s another analysis that I read after reviewing the above tape as I didn’t want it to influence me. It comes to the same basic conclusion.

All of Brewer’s worst moments are in pass protection. He allowed six sacks and 34 pressures in 2023 and four sacks and 31 pressures in 2022, according to PFF.

For reference, in Williams’ only full season with the Dolphins (2022), he allowed just 16 pressures and three sacks. Eichenberg, who played some center last season, allowed 24 pressures and five sacks in 2023.

Brewer is much worse than Williams in pass protection and roughly in the same category as Eichenberg. That’s not ideal for the Dolphins.

On tape, many of Brewer’s struggles appear to settle on his lack of power. He looks thin on tape, and the Titans listed him at 295 pounds. That lack of weight allows interior defensive linemen to get into his chest and collapse the pocket.

Collapsing the interior of the pocket on a quarterback who doesn’t move much, like Tua Tagovailoa, is a big problem. Brewer’s anchor in pass protection will have to improve a lot if he’s going to stay Miami’s starter past this season.

https://www.si.com/nfl/dolphins/news/miami-dolphins-free-agent-addition-aaron-brewer-scouting-report

i'm still not thrilled with the signing, but maybe there were no better alternatives given the Dolphins salary cap constraints and i find it more palatable if i view it in the lens of he's being brought in as competition (with an as of yet unsigned/drafted player) and not the automatic starter.

[JMP]

I haven't seen Brewer's contract breakdown to know just how locked in the Phins are with him, but the fact that they signed him so early in the process - with other FA centers and draft options available - makes me think they really, really targeted him. His athleticism and explosiveness are elite-level, and I think that's really the key to how he fits with the Dolphins. The pass pro issues can mostly be hidden by scheme IMO, but absolutely there will be times when Brewer is tested up the middle. Improved technique will help - IMO he needs to better use his shorter height as leverage and anchor himself better, and both of those can be learned. I just think his potential impact on the run game overshadows the pass pro concerns. As always, we'll see - but thinking of the potential implications on offense makes Brewer possibly my favorite signing so far.

[mercury22nathan]

The pass pro issues can mostly be hidden by scheme IMO, but absolutely there will be times when Brewer is tested up the middle.  Improved technique will help - IMO he needs to better use his shorter height as leverage and anchor himself better, and both of those can be learned.

i wish i could agree, but if the scheme couldn't hide Eich's protection issues, i'm not sure how they'll cover up Brewer's. and yes, he can improve his technique, but he can't significantly improve his strength and weight to anchor. if they end up lining up Brewer between Eich and Jones, it will be a complete disaster. however, i will concede that if they can find a couple very good, strong OGs, that might help mitigate some of Brewer's obvious deficiencies.

[finfanatic]

This could be like that former Ravens Center Grier signed just as a precaution; Skura, and they then cut him.

But 3 years is the thing. Have they committed to him to be the OC?

I am not as afeared as I once was about Brewer, but I still stand by my prediction that an interior Oline of Eichenberg, Brewer, and Jones will be WEAK UP THE MIDDLE and that ain't good for Tua or anybody else on the Phins.

[JMP]

The pass pro issues can mostly be hidden by scheme IMO, but absolutely there will be times when Brewer is tested up the middle.  Improved technique will help - IMO he needs to better use his shorter height as leverage and anchor himself better, and both of those can be learned.

i wish i could agree, but if the scheme couldn't hide Eich's protection issues, i'm not sure how they'll cover up Brewer's.  and yes, he can improve his technique, but he can't significantly improve his strength and weight to anchor.  if they end up lining up Brewer between Eich and Jones, it will be a complete disaster.  however, i will concede that if they can find a couple very good, strong OGs, that might help mitigate some of Brewer's obvious deficiencies.  

Eich and Brewer are very different players, though. I think McD had to scale down the offense a bit once Eich was in there - note all the open space the skill players had when Williams was at C and the lack of open space when Eich was at C. With Brewer, McD can unleash his full offense and do even more (in the run game, anyway) than he did when Williams was at C.

I'd also add that the scheme did a lot to help out Williams and especially Eich. Both became first-time centers in this offense. Williams of course thrived, but as bad as Eich was he at least held his own for a guy that had literally never played center before and had to make the transition in-season. It could have been a lot worse, and I think the scheme helped in that regard.

Brewer is plenty strong - you can see the way he manhandled Wilkins in the above clips. Only 2 plays, but still - a weak player isn't doing that. I think technique, leverage and balance will make a difference, along with, again, the scheme. From what I've seen, Brewer is at his best on the move, so I don't think we'll see much of him just straight-up blocking DTs in traditional pass sets. I think we'll see even more RPO and play-action, with the OL moving all over the place on pulls, switches, etc. at the snap. We've seen a lot of that before, but I think even moreso with Brewer.

I don't know...maybe I'm daydreaming too much but I really see a fundamental change in the entire offense with Brewer on board (along with Jonnu Smith).

[DolFan 316]

I just want to thank Merc for getting me to come for my senses. I was almost convinced to be optimistic for a minute there

It's now painfully obvious to me that small, weak interior O-linemen are actually what McDaniel WANTS, which is beyond disturbing, and it also means he's learned nothing from last year's showing VS playoff teams. One man being constantly overrun on offense will bring this entire team to its knees. I never thought I'd actually root for JPJ to be drafted but here we are (although I still prefer Van Pran).

[DolFan 316]

This could be like that former Ravens Center Grier signed just as a precaution; Skura, and they then cut him.

But 3 years is the thing. Have they committed to him to be the OC?

I am not as afeared as I once was about Brewer, but I still stand by my prediction that an interior Oline of Eichenberg, Brewer, and Jones will be WEAK UP THE MIDDLE and that ain't good for Tua or anybody else on the Phins.

Titans just cut Andre Dillard after signing him to a 3-year deal last offseason, so it can be done. Just sayin'

https://www.profootballrumors.com/2024/03/titans-release-t-andre-dillard.

[finfanatic]

I doubt JPJ lasts until #21 but who knows.

I am starting to like Frazier over Van Pran, even though I identified Van Pran as perfect for the Phins back during the college season.

If Fautanu is there at #21, Grier has to go that way though. Unless.... Unless.. somebody better has dropped.....

And I keep coming back to the idea that the real VALUE in this draft is going to be in the late 2nd thru 4th rounds IMO. A few picks in that range by trading down could really pay off too.

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