Everyone has been seemingly mesmerized by the much-heralded struggles of Vontae Davis as he tries to fend off Richard Marshall for a starting cornerback job. As the Dolphins' official depth chart below shows, Davis is behind Marshall.
It is up to Davis if he'll stay there or not, although he's had good practices the past couple of days and is clearly the more althletic player. So that will play out in the coming couple of weeks.
But the depth chart begs other questions and speaks to issues elsewhere. Some of those issues:
The deep secondary offers a three-man race for the starting job and really a two-man race because while Chris Clemons and second-year player Jimmy Wilson are jockeying back and forth, Reshad Jones seems to have solidified his spot as a starter.
The fourth safety is interesting. Free agent acquisition Tyrell Johnson has been something of a disappointment given his credentials as a former high draft pick and veteran. He's mired on third team. Anderson Russell has made some plays in practice but is also inconsistent.
Tyrone Culver continues to be the most likely player to win the fourth spot, given his experience and ability to play special teams at a high level.
The linebacker spot is interesting in that I see Austin Spitler and Jason Trusnick as very good special teams players but lacking as actual backups. If starters Koa Misi or Karlos Dansby get hurt, I don't have a great feeling about Miami's depth with Spitler and Trusnick. Thank goodness Gary Guyton can play multiple positions.
Spitler and Trusnick are better on special teams right now than third-team players Cameron Collins and Josh Kaddu. And the irony? Both Collins and Kaddu have the potential to be better linebackers than Spitler and Trusnick.
So one pair is great on special teams but not so much on defense while the other pair isn't as good on special teams but have better potential on defense.
Depth at defensive tackle is a concern. Other than Tony McDaniel behind Paul Soliai and Randy Starks, the Dolphins are relying on untested players such as rookie Kheeston Randall to perform.
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