How Big is 2020 for McMillan & Baker?

McMillan & Baker won’t just get the keys handed to them this season

Raekwon McMillan and Jerome Baker have been the face of the Miami Dolphins linebackers group since they were drafted. Though big things were expected, McMillan and Baker have only produced marginal success as starters. With a crowded LB group this year and both nearing the end of their contracts, the 2020 Season will have a major impact on their future as Phins.

McMillan and Baker are great kids who give 100% and do what is asked of them without a peep. Considering the millions pro football players make, professionalism and all-out effort should be a given… but it isn’t. So, they are good character guys to go along with a great story of being teammates in college and then again in the pros. Unfortunately, while good character is a great foundation, success is the NFL comes from production.

Neither success or failure is written in stone

Raekwon McMillan suffered an ACL injury on the first play of Preseason in his rookie season. This injury was especially vicious because it attacked his weakness of being ‘short on quicks’. McMillan posted a 4.61 in the combine and he looked even slower than that post-injury in 2018. But last season, he appeared fully recovered, lighter in the pants, and a bit faster.

While I was a strong critic of McMillan’s play in 2018, he played much better in 2019. McMillan made strides in his read and react between the tackles and earned an excellent PFF grade 77.0, which is 11th in the NFL. He regularly shot the gap with the right read and was more often a force inside than a liability. Also, he had a slight improvement year-over-year with a 62.6 and 63.9 in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Still, McMillan shined in some areas but was a lump of coal in others. McMillan was fooled too often on play-action and his lack of speed and agility eliminates him from playing man coverage or covering anything beyond a small zone. It appears McMillan is a two-down linebacker and that will likely never change. Miami spent a sizable blue chip on McMillan with a 2nd Round pick and getting a part-time linebacker with the 54th player wasn’t a good deal.

Brian Flores has shown talent at creating schemes that put defenders in positions to maximize their strengths. This offers some hope that McMillan can still find his way. Because of his character and ability to stop the run, McMillan could get a second contract from Miami despite his poor coverage… if he takes a hometown discount. This would be a long-shot bet with the best pay per head software like www.AcePerHead.com unless McMillan makes substantial strides in his pass coverage.

Baker came out of the gates hot, but had a serious sophomore slump

Jerome Baker played extremely well in his rookie season and gave Phins fans hope that they’d finally had an impact linebacker in aqua. In 2018, Baker earned a PFF Grade of 70.2 ranking him the 31st best linebacker in the NFL. The 2019 campaign wasn’t nearly as good and his PFF Grade plummeted to 46.2, which was 75th out of 89 starting linebackers.

While Baker wasn’t great in coverage, he wasn’t terrible. He has the speed and athleticism to get better with time and development. This area isn’t a concern and should improve.

But, where Baker really struggled in 2019 was getting off blocks. All season he was a major liability in the run defense. It wasn’t a lack of willingness to engage, Baker is a very physical player. As a small player, he naturally struggles to get off blockers. His size demands quick diagnosis as well as a 2-Gap scheme limiting blocker getting to the 2nd level. This 2-Gap scheme was run with Zach Thomas, who was also a master at reading a play. If Miami can protect him better and Baker can improve his diagnosis and reaction, he could return to his 2018 form.

Was Baker’s production crash a product of a sophomore slump, poor surrounding talent, scheme issues, or lack of ability? The 2020 Season will reveal exactly what type of player Baker is. The good news for him is, unlike McMillan, Baker is under contract until 2021. This will give him a little more leeway to earn a second contract from Miami.

The linebacker group will be crowded

Baker and McMillan will battle a load of vets for a job as well as a roster spot. Vince Biegel, James Crawford, Sam Eguavoen, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Trent Harris, Calvin Munson, Elandon Roberts, Kyle Van Noy, and Andrew Van Ginkel make the group crowded of edge players and linebackers. While some of these names aren’t as recognizable, their production in overall play was in the same ballpark as Baker and McMillan. So, don’t dismiss a surprise happening in this Training Camp. Go Phins!!!

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