Surprising, worrisome data about Dolphins front seven on defense: What the metrics say

The Dolphins can rationalize their uneven play in the secondary because of the injury absence of All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

But the inconsistent play of their front seven is more difficult to stomach, even with key cog Jaelan Phillips missing two of the first four games.

That group of defensive linemen and linebackers has had somewhat unsatisfying results trying to stop the run and rush the quarterback. And in the case of the inside linebackers, they haven’t been able to hold up in pass coverage.

Pro Football Focus grades are sometimes disputed by players (such as former Dolphins linebacker Elandon Roberts), but for what it’s worth, Jerome Baker has dropped from 17th among 84 linebackers in 2022 to 72nd of 81 this season.

Fellow linebacker David Long Jr., after joining the Dolphins from Tennessee, has dropped from 14th to 49th.

Some notable PFF metrics four games into the season:

▪ Pass defense: Replacing Roberts with Long was supposed to improve pass coverage among Dolphins linebackers, but it hasn’t yet.

Per PFF, among all NFL inside linebackers targeted at least 10 times, Long has the worst passer rating against from a defensive perspective (152.1).

All 10 passes thrown against him have been caught for 188 yards (18.8 average) and a touchdown. That’s worrisome for a player who generally held up well in pass coverage in Tennessee.

Among inside linebackers who have been targeted at least 10 times, Baker is 10th worst in passer rating allowed (117.4). Baker has permitted 17 of 18 passes in his target area to be caught for 139 yards, an 8.1 average, and a TD.

That means opposing teams have completed an unfathomable 27 of 28 passes, for 327 yards, against Baker and Long.

(FYI: Roberts, with Pittsburgh, has allowed 6 of 6 to be completed for 79 yards.)

▪ Run defense: The Dolphins are permitting 123.5 yards per game on the ground, which is 22nd in the league. Opponents are averaging 4.3 per rush, which is 19th.

Among 129 defensive tackles, PFF rates Christian Wilkins 29th, Zach Sieler 42nd and Raekwon Davis 54th against the run. So they’re grading out above average, per PFF, though the run defense has been below average overall.

But Wilkins is on pace for 64 tackles after producing 89 and 98 the past two seasons. He has one tackle for loss so far after finishing with 16 last season. Defensive line coach Austin Clark said he does not use tackles as a measure of Wilkins’ effectiveness and said his play has been “OK.”

Something else to consider: PFF has a category called “run stops.” A stop constitutes a “win” for the defense or conversely a “loss” for the offense. PFF describes a “stop” further as an offensive gain on first down that is kept to less than 40 percent of the line to gain, less than 50 percent of the line to gain on second down and any third- or fourth-down play kept without a first down or touchdown.

Last season, Wilkins had 46 of those run stops — easily the highest in the league; Sieler was second with 36.

This season, Sieler has six and Wilkins four, putting them well behind last year’s pace.

As for Davis, he has only four tackles for loss in 3 ½ seasons and he hasn’t seemed quite as impactful early this season.

As for the inside linebackers, Long has seven run stops (ranking 20th among inside linebackers) and Baker five run stops (ranking 43rd).

Among 78 inside linebackers, PFF rates Long 13th against the run, so that’s a positive. But Baker is ranked 66th against the run among those 78.

▪ Pass rush: Sieler has a sack and eight pressures in 123 pass rushing snaps, while Wilkins has a sack and 10 pressures in 120 pass-rushing snaps.

There are 12 NFL defensive tackles who have rushed the quarterback at least 120 times. In terms of pressures, high on that list of 12 are the players with the types of contracts that Wilkins’ representation would like for him, including the Jets’ Quinnen Williams (18 pressures) and the Giants’ Dexter Lawrence (17).

Among defensive linemen, Wilkins ranks 24th in pressures, Sieler 35th and Davis 68th.

Davis, who had hoped to be able to showcase his pass-rush skills this season, has four pressures and no sacks in 75 pass rushing snaps so far this season.

The Dolphins list five players as defensive lineman (Wilkins, Sieler, Davis, Da’Shawn Hand and Brandon Pili), and those five players have combined for two sacks in four games. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said more pass rush is needed from that group because it’s part of their “job description.”

Among edge players/outside linebackers, Bradley Chubb has one sack and his 12 pressures are tied for 34th among edge players. Those numbers must improve, considering his 131 pass-rushing snaps are 12th most among edge players.

As perspective, 16 edge players have at least four sacks in four games — a group led by Khalil Mack’s seven — and Chubb’s contract suggests the Dolphins expect that type of production.

By contrast, Andrew Van Ginkel has 10 pressures and three sacks in 78 pass-rush chances. No wonder PFF rates Van Ginkel eighth among all edge players, though he’s playing both inside and outside linebacker. Chubb is rated 44th of 111.

Previous defensive coordinator Josh Boyer has success blitzing Baker in the past; he had four sacks and 14 hurries on 112 pass-rushing snaps last year, plus a sack on a blitz in the playoff game.

Fangio has rushed Baker 19 times so far, and he has three pressures. Long has rushed 14 times and has four pressures and a sack.

Bottom line: Most players in the Dolphins’ front seven aren’t playing at the top level we’ve seen from them in the past. It’s on the players to fix that and for Fangio to maximize their abilities.