Feedback, details on the Dolphins’ new rookie linebackers

In Part 2 of our four-part series on the Dolphins’ 21 undrafted rookies (none of whom have been announced by the team), here’s a look at the four new linebackers:

Illinois State’s Ezekiel Vandenburgh

Vandenburgh, who goes by “Zeke,” had an extraordinary 2022 season with 100 tackles, including 17 for loss, 14 sacks and two forced fumbles. He was the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

His size (6-3, 233) is one factor that worked against him in the draft process.

“It might be easy to discount Vandenburgh’s production as he lacks desired NFL mass, length and quickness off the edge,” NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein said. “But his relentlessness and football instincts are worthy of deeper dives for evaluators. He’s more active than sudden, so he needs to get bigger and stronger to fit a bully role as a pro.

“He knows how to play the game and finds his way to the football on a consistent basis…. [He has a] high-octane motor that pushes him around the field with zero quit. Vandenburgh might have a limited ceiling, but he could find his way onto an NFL roster as a backup and special teams performer.”

Which of his skills will translate to the NFL?

“I think I play with great effort,” he told mystateline.com last month. “Explosive off the ball, play physical football, and I think I’ve got a great knack for where the ball is going to be and a great football IQ where I can decipher offenses and know what’s coming before it comes.”

“I’ve always had this dream and I’ve always believed in myself and there are a lot of people around me that believe in me, so I knew with my consistency that eventually it would pay off.”

Vandenburgh, who has a master’s degree in sports management, told the Illinois State website that a position switch helped trigger his dramatic improvement from 2021 to 2022.

“The move to the outside linebacker, to the boundary side, helped me out a lot because it’s a lot harder to take that player out of the equation week-to-week because they’re always near the ball,” he said. “And the year before when I was playing SAM [strong side] linebacker to the field, you can kind of dictate how involved the “SAM would be in each play by formation and removing him to extend it to the field. So, I think it was harder to take me out of games this year. The position change really benefited me.”

He was an Academic All-American and graduated with a 4.0 in exercise science. He had no Power 5 offers coming out of high school in Freeport, Illinois, in 2017.

Jackson State’s Aubrey Miller

Of the 21 undrafted players added by the Dolphins, Miller might be the best pro prospect.

His size (6-0, 229 pounds) worked against him in the draft process, but the productivity was unquestioned. He led the Southwestern Athletic Conference with 109 tackles, to go along with 6.5 sacks, in 2021.

Then he produced 117 tackles last season, which tied for ninth in FCS. His 2022 body of work also included 6.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss and five forced fumbles.

He was named SWAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2022.

NFL.com’s Zierlein had projected him as a sixth-round pick, noting that “Miller is patient but ready when keying the action and uses his anticipatory skills to help him stay cleaner than most undersized inside ‘backers. He aims to punish as a striker and is a capable open-field tackler... He’s nothing special in coverage but displays the potential to become a plus special-teamer.”

Among his strengths, per Zierlein: “Vision and anticipation to shadow runner’s lane choices; fearless to crash hard and punish downhill runners and impressive flashes in limited special-teams snaps.”

That last point — his ability to play special teams — is important and could be one of the differences in earning a spot on the 53. Special teams always is a key part of the discussion in determining a team’s 52nd and 53rd players.

On the flip side, Zierlein said he “lacks size to overcome mistakes... Needs to prove he can elevate his play versus better competition.”

Per the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, Miller has been working out in Florida with NFL players such as Leonard Fournette and retired tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Colorado coach and Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, who coached Miller last season, said last November:

“He’s matured a lot. The guy plays his heart out. He goes about his job really professionally and hard. Aubrey is one of the guys that we hang our hats on in the middle of the defense, making calls, getting to the ball, flying around, and really setting the tone and the tempo. Not just on game day, but in practice as well.”

Miller told SI.com that he has molded his playing style around former UM and NFL great Ray Lewis:

“Ray Lewis being able to control the volume of a team. Being able to bring the energy. Not only off the field but on the field. I mean this guy who was laying everybody out, who’s still able to make the plays, who seemed like he was still able to control the plays, that’s the type of guy kind of brainwashed into me.”

UM’s Mitchell Agude

He had 39 tackles (including seven for loss) and four sacks last season in his only season playing for UM. He played his first two seasons at UCLA and had 14.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in 18 games for the Bruins.

Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy raved about Agude in a five-part Twitter thread last June, noting that “his talent jumps off tape” and he “has a disruptive knack for separating the ball from” the quarterback with seven forced fumbles at UCLA in 2020 and 2021, and “held up well at [the point of attack] when UCLA reduced him inside” and “plays every snap like it’s his last.”

But he went from a potential mid-round prospect to falling out of the draft altogether after a decent — but not dominant — year at UM. CBSsports.com noted “there is some wasted movement in his pass-rush plan as he looks to gain ground. Agude can do a better job of stacking and shedding blockers.”

Agude impressed the Dolphins during a film session study in mid-April, when he and several other local prospects spent time at the team’s facility.

Agude has the type of skills that make him a better prospect than former UM end Deandre Johnson, who was signed by the Dolphins after last year’s draft but didn’t make the practice squad.

Nebraska DE/LB Garrett Nelson

A bunch of teams pursued the 6-3, 249-pound Nelson, who had 65 tackles (nine for loss) and 5.5 sacks (seventh in the Big 10) in 12 games last season, when he was second team All Big Ten. He also had two pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.

In 2021, he had five sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss, which ranked ninth in the Big 10.

Then Nelson impressed the Dolphins during a pre-draft visit to team headquarters.

NFL.com’s Zierlein calls him “a burly, try-hard edge defender with good power in his hands and an aggressive demeanor on the field. A lack of twitch and short-area quickness limit his effectiveness. Nelson is certainly tough enough to play on the edge, he lacks the ideal athletic profile for the position in the NFL. He might be best suited to play inside linebacker, where he can accentuate his strengths.”

Zierlein cites these positives, among others: “Plays with a healthy dose of violence at the point of attack; hand play to punch and stack tackle or work around at the edge; one-track mind to find the football.”

On the flip side, he notes that he was “beaten soundly in 1-on-1s against Northwestern [and Tennessee Titans first-round guard] Peter Skoronski [and has] blow-average length and base anchor to set a firm edge.”

Nelson projects as a 3-4 outside linebacker or a defensive end.

“I have done so many different jobs on defense that I think teams recognize that versatility and they can use me wherever they want,” Nelson, who started his last 32 games for the Cornhuskers, told 247 Sports and others at Nebraska’s Pro Day.

He said that not being invited to the NFL Combine “was definitely a bummer. My dad called me and was like ... ‘You can’t let that bum you out and completely throw off your training. There’s tons of dudes that play super long that are great players.’..

“Nobody knows anything that is going on at all. That’s definitely what I’ve learned through this whole thing.”