MIAMI GARDENS — On one of the first days of the Miami Dolphins’ OTA practices in May, wide receiver Jaylen Waddle was nearly unguardable.
That’s not a surprise for the former first-round pick, who has recorded at least 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first three NFL seasons. But on this day he punctuated his performance with a long touchdown catch from Tua Tagovailoa, leaving third-year cornerback Cam Smith in his wake.
On one hand, it was a welcome sight for a player looking to bounce back from a down year in 2024. On the other, it spotlighted one of the Dolphins’ biggest holes entering the 2025 season.
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Miami released one of its starting cornerbacks from a season ago, Kendall Fuller, earlier this offseason and is actively seeking to trade the other — three-time All-Pro Jalen Ramsey. The only three cornerbacks on its roster with legitimate starting experience are fourth-year corner Kader Kohou, and offseason signees Kendall Sheffield and Artie Burns, who haven’t been full-time starters since 2020 and 2017, respectively.
But the players in Miami’s cornerbacks room don’t consider themselves to be at a disadvantage. Instead, they see it as an opportunity for a relatively young group to rise to a challenge. And despite Waddle’s big day, he believes they’re doing exactly that.
“They look extremely good. I’m not going to lie to y’all, they are making it really tough on the receivers,” he said. “They’re playing true to their technique. I think they’re doing a good job of taking what they do in individual [drills] to when we go into team [drills].
“We’re going to need them to step up and be key for us. I’m happy that they are doing extremely good.”
Currently competing for the Dolphins’ starting cornerback jobs besides the aforementioned players are Smith, Ethan Bonner, Isaiah Johnson, Jason Marshall Jr. and Storm Duck.
Combined, those five players have seven years of NFL experience — a stark difference from a position group that has featured multiple Pro Bowl players over the past five seasons.
“It’s just a bunch of young guys who are hungry,” Johnson said. “We had some vets last year, we had some big names, and now just like the league is, there’s some turnover and you got some guys who are just ready to come and work every day. I think there’s no reason to question it because nothing’s been shown and there’s nothing to hate on right now.
“So everybody’s here ready to work, ready to show and earn their stripes and ready to earn the fans’ support.”
Johnson, a second-year undrafted free agent out of Syracuse, spent his rookie season on the Dolphins’ practice squad but has already begun to stake his case for a roster spot this season, recording an interception that the Dolphins’ social media team posted to X on the first day of OTAs.
“At the end of the day, you got here because of your own motivation, not because of anybody else,” he said. “Me personally, I know that for sure. It was never an outside motivation. It was always internal for me. And I know that’s for everybody in the room; it’s one of those things where you can’t make it this far unless you’re pushing yourself to be the best.
“I think for the room right now, it’s just everybody’s trying to earn their stripes and everybody’s trying to get on that field and play ball.”
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel has challenged the team’s corners to “help me out” in filling out a depth chart, but they’re far from deciding on two starters with just under three months to go until the regular season kicks off.
He’s not concerned by the big plays these young corners have given up — Smith in OTAs or the long touchdown Malik Washington scored on the rookie Marshall on Tuesday — he’s encouraged by them.
Because it gives his players an opportunity to learn from it.
“Defensive back [play] is about the next play after you get beat. It’s not if, but when,” McDaniel said. “So we are getting major evaluation stuff that a guy might have a good day for two days. To me, that’s a setup at this stage in the evaluation for me. I’m waiting, OK, two good days? This is fantastic. I can’t wait till he gets beat, because now we’ve got action.
“Now we’re seeing who we’re dealing with, because the one thing that I can’t coach is that mental fortitude to bounce back, an inherent feature in the game, and that’s what we’re looking for.”
