Changes for Howard and Ogbah. Long standing out, and Dolphins personnel notes

A 10-pack of Dolphins notes on a Tuesday:

▪ Here’s one of several things that should make Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard happier, and potentially better, in the move from a Josh Boyer defense to a Vic Fangio defense:

Boyer tired Howard out last season by making him shift sides on the line of scrimmage, often just before the ball was snapped.

“Some teams,... when they found out I was following their best guy, they put me in motion a lot, get me tired before the rep,” he said. “Without playing as much man like we did last year and me [now not] following a guy here and there, it’ll also help a lot. I won’t have to travel, be tired during the play. I feel like it’s going to be easy for me.”

We will see if Fangio continues that approach with Jalen Ramsey sidelined until at least December with a knee injury. But going back to last year’s approach — of Howard shadowing the top receiver - runs the risk of expending some of his energy before the snap.

▪ Fangio has been using Emmanuel Ogbah more as a stand-up outside linebacker than a hand-in-the-ground defensive end. He said the role is similar to the one he had in Cleveland.

“I got drafted as an outside linebacker, so I stood up some in Cleveland,” Ogbah said Wednesday. “But yeah it’s definitely new again. I’ve got to do a lot more of that just to get accustomed to it.

“I knew Vic [Fangio] was a versatile coach so he puts his best players in the best position available. I’m learning the three-point and two-point stances just to be able to do multiple positions.”

▪ Linebacker David Long Jr. continues to impress everybody with his ability to diagnose plays and his speed to the ball.

“He’s a good leader for us,” Ogbah said. “He’s fast — fast off the ball. He moves very well. Yesterday he had one play where he came down, dipped on Liam [Eichenberg] and came downhill and smacked the running back. We like that from our linebackers, especially the D-line. We want those guys to come get those double-teams off of us.”

Jerome Baker described their partnership this way: “We’re kind of super similar. He’s fast, I’m fast. He’s strong, I’m strong. We kind of just feed off each other. When I’m feeling sluggish, he’s up and ready. When he’s feeling sluggish, I got his back. It’s one of those things we kind of mesh real well.”

▪ Cornerback Kader Kohou, who has played very well in training camp, said he played nine games last season with a broken hand.

“Last year, I couldn’t grab [players to make tackles],” he said. “You can’t really wrap around.”

He’s healthy now.

Kohou seems very likely to get many of the snaps in the slot and also is competing with Eli Apple and Noah Igbinoghene for boundary slots opposite Howard, in Ramsey’s absence. Like Kohou, Igbinoghene has had a good camp so far.

▪ Tight end Durham Smythe mentioned this week that “I think the one thing that was pretty evident was just how professional this team is. A lot of teams that I’ve been on and that you see throughout the league, Day 1, Day 2 of pads, there’s a lot of wasted time with fights or whatever, people tapping out.”

▪ The Dolphins’ front seven has created havoc through much of training camp, and Smythe said “I think it’s the most talented front seven in the NFL. It’s definitely the most talented I’ve seen here in five years. I think there’s obviously star players in every position, but the depth, too. Guys can just roll in and there’s no slack. It’s definitely a chore to go up against every day, but it’s an iron-sharpens-iron situation.”

▪ It has been a bumpy first week for rookie tight ends Elijah Higgins (the former Stanford receiver picked in the sixth round) and undrafted former Campbell player Julian Hill.

But Smythe points out that “these guys, I think, are different than a lot of the guys we’ve brought in in the past just because of how physically ready they are. They feel like they’re NFL guys. A lot of times it takes time to transition to that. You’re kind of swimming for a while. Both of these guys are physically ready.”

Higgins, as a rookie sixth-round pick, seems likely to make the 53.

Tanner Conner remains sidelined indefinitely with an undisclosed injury.

▪ Fangio hasn’t yet conveyed what player will have primary presnap communication responsibilities — a role that Baker and Jevon Holland have handled before.

“Pretty much all the linebackers have it right now,” Baker said. “I think Vic is one of those old-school guys of ‘it’s a privilege’ so he’s going to wait and see who deserves it. Right now all the linebackers got it and we’ll see later on.”

▪ General manager Chris Grier was marveling about the Dolphins’ speed this week, and here’s one way to frame it, per Next Gen Stats:

Tyreek Hill has been timed as high as 23.2 mph in a game, Raheem Mostert 23.1 mph, De’Von Achane 22.2, Jaylen Waddle 21.8, Robbie Chosen 21.3 and Braxton Berrios at 20.8.

Also keep in mind that the 2022 Dolphins led the league in 20-plus mph plays from scrimmage, with 23, per Next Gen Stats. Hill had 10 of them; Hill and Bears quarterback Justin Fields (nine) were the only players with at least six touches that reached speeds of 20 mph.

In Madden ‘24, the Dolphins have the two fastest speed ratings at running back (Mostert, Achane) and wide receiver (Hill, Waddle).

So this team will be blazing. Waddle has been raving about Achane. “Having him on our team, it’s great,” Waddle said. “Stay tuned, man. He’s going to be one to watch.”

Free agent running back Dalvin Cook would add even more firepower if the Dolphins get more serious about signing him. Miami had only one run of 30 yards or more last season, tied for the fewest of any team in football. Cook had four 30-plus yard runs last season, tied for second among running backs.

Cook has 137 rushes of 10 or more yards since 2019, third most in the league.

▪ Quick stuff: NFL players voted Jaylen Waddle the 44th best player in the league, NFL Network announced Monday in its top 100 countdown.. Despite losing Jalen Ramsey, ESPN’s Marcus Spears is among those still picking the Dolphins to win the AFC East… CBS assigned Kevin Harlan and Trent Green to the Dolphins-Chargers Sept. 10 opener, which will go to only a segment of the country.