Today's a good a time as any to revisit one of the Dolphins' moves early in free agency. Rumblings began about Miami chasing Dallas corner Byron Jones in the runup to the FA period starting, and while most didn't have the 'Fins opening up the checkbook to this extent, the team pounced quickly on the top available cornerback.
The pluses: Jones is a good-sized (6-1, 200 pounds) corner with a physical style of play. He's an athletic freak, holding the unofficial world record in the standing long jump (12-3) and running the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds. It's rare to get a crack at a 27-year-old second-team All-Pro on the open market, and Miami clearly couldn't resist. The trials and tribulations of the second-highest-paid corner in the league, the Dolphins' own Xavien Howard, likely made this an even more important move.
The negatives: The real talk is $54 million guaranteed is a lot to hand to a player with two interceptions in five NFL seasons. Yes, he likely didn't see as many passes to his side of the field, but the legit playmakers in the league find ways to force turnovers no matter what. I'm guessing the thinking here is that if Howard can return to form opposite Jones, both players will get more pick opportunities.
The bottom line: The 'Fins had a ton of money to burn and massive holes throughout the roster. The NFL has become a league that openly rewards teams that stack quality defensive backs, and coach Brian Flores runs a defensive scheme that is highly dependent on top-notch corners. It's clear that Jones fills that bill at an age that is attractive to a rebuilding franchise -- whether he can become the kind of playmaker that justifies a five-year, $82 million deal remains to be seen, but that's a quibble when a team finds itself with an option like this at the intersection of need and opportunity.
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