Dolphins get a key injury, but make two good signings to try and compensate
The biggest news on the day for the Miami Dolphins is the non-contact injury of starting cornerback Kader Kohou in coverage of Tyreek Hill. The severity of the injury isn’t known at this time, but it doesn’t look like something minor. This would be a huge blow for the Phins secondary that has so many questions on it already.
Kohou was an amazing find in 2022 as a UDFA who played very well as a rookie but struggled for a year and a half after that. The last half of the 2024 Season saw him return to form and the hope was that it was a turning point for him. Expectations were high going into this year’s camp, but his injury has thrown a monkey wrench into the works.
This is a big year for Kohou, who is a Free Agent after this season. If he misses a sustained amount of time or struggles bouncing back from the injury, he’ll likely need to play for another low rent season to bring his value back up. Feel bad for the kid if it plays out like this.
For the Dolphins, losing Kohou puts a big hole in what looked like Swiss cheese already. This unit is taking plenty of gambles in their secondary with a 5th Round rookie and backend guys, who are UDFAs looking to surprise. Kohou was the one semi-secure player. This isn’t a great bet with the best pay per head to lay a whole season on.
Grier did good by adding Jones and Hilton
Thankfully, the Dolphins added Jack Jones and Mike Hilton yesterday and today.
Jones is a smaller corner at 5’11 180lbs but is fast and has a few seasons under his belt. The former Patriot was used on Tyreek Hill on a few occasions and did an excellent job. While Jones can play well at times, especially in man coverage, he has lapses and tends to draw penalties with 7 last year and 6 the year before. The biggest issue has been his off the field issues. So, does living in Miami help him out staying on the straight and narrow? Guess we’ll see.
In the end, Jones is a good addition as a smaller piece of the puzzle.
I liked the Hilton signing more. The former Bengal is a long-time veteran who plays physically and has had some very good seasons. Hilton is 31 years old and that’s never good in football especially as a cornerback. Still, I think Hilton could be a legit starter for Miami if needed, not as an elite shutdown cornerback, but certainly as a solid and reliable player.
The balance in the scales does feel tilted slightly to the downside if Kohou is absent for a prolonged period of time. But maybe Kohou comes back relatively soon and pairs with Hilton and Jones and whoever of the young players that step up? This unit combined with what appears a very good front seven and good Safety group could form a tough defense.
I know it’s a longshot. I’ll stay hopeful… for now.
