Don’t Sleep on Andrew Van Ginkel

Andrew Van Ginkel needs to fill the hole created by the loss of Biegel

With season-ending injuries to Vince Biegel and 2020 5th RD pick, Curtis Weaver–who was also released, the Phins have thinned out at the outside linebacker/edge defender. Someone must step up to fill the big shoes that Biegel wore in 2019. Thankfully, Andrew Van Ginkel has followed up his ‘quietly good’ rookie season with an even better Training Camp.

Van Ginkel may have ended up replacing Biegel anyway

Van Ginkel came from a great program at Wisconsin but he was raw. This is why the Phins were able to scoop him up and fell to the 5th Round in the last draft. As a rookie, Van Ginkel had some expectations of success heading into last year’s Training Camp, but injuries limited him to six games.

Vincent Biegel had an excellent 2019 Season and most forget about Van Ginkel as he recovered from his injury. However, after Van Ginkel’s late-season return, his production grew with each game. He saved his best performance for the last game of the season. In the Phins epic Week 17 victory over the Pats, Van Ginkel was active all day generating 6 solo tackles.

Van Ginkel could end up a long term solution

So far from the limited information that we are getting from camp practice, Van Ginkel is living up to the expectations. Brian Flores remarked that Van Ginkel has become stronger in the offseason by working with a strength coach. It all seems to be coming together for Van Ginkel in this Training Camp. In Tuesday’s scrimmage, Van Ginkel had two batted ball passes and one for an interception. His name has popped up in the playmaking department all camp long.

While Van Ginkel is still raw and is developing, he has a high motor and work ethic. As long as he can stay healthy, Van Ginkel should only get better as time goes by. Considering that the Dolphins are a bit thin on the edge, the door of opportunity is wide open for Van Ginkel to show his worth. The vision for him when he was drafted was linebacker that can impact all three levels. His increased strength and quality coverage is a good sign that he’s progressing into that role.

Can Van Ginkel be more than a role player?

It doesn’t take using the best pay per head review sites to know he’ll see plenty of action on special teams. But, it’s also a good bet that he’ll see more opportunities to play on defense as well. While he generated only a sack in his limited playing time last year with a sub-par 54.2 pass rush his coverage grade of 76.7 was excellent. Van Ginkel certainly has a role on passing downs. Can he expanding his value to rushing downs like Biegel did last year?

Van Ginkel will have stiff competition to be a three-down player, though. Sam Eguavoen, Jerome Baker, Elandon Roberts, Calvin Munson, Raekwon McMillan, and Kamu Gruigier-Hill are all looking for a spot behind Van Noy. Of this group, Roberts has been the best performer at practice and has familiarity with Coach Flores from their time in New England. Roberts has shown in camp to have a quick diagnosis and is a big hitter who relishes laying the wood. This could cut into Van Ginkel’s time on running downs.

Still, Van Ginkel fits a mold none of these other LBs have due to his size and ability to cover. It hurts to lose Biegel, but Van Ginkel does lessen the blow… and even more so if he can become a full-fledged starter in 2020.

What are the rest of the Miami Dolphins News fans’ thoughts on how Van will impact this season?

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