Articles by Dolphins Talk,Mike Oliva

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CBS Mock Draft Has Miami Selecting….

Versatility: Downs is a defensive back who can play on all three levels of the defense and make an impact. Playmaker: Downs has a natural ability to find his way to the football and make a timely play via interception, force fumbles, or clutch tackles. High IQ/Football Intelligence: Downs has great pre-snap identification that leads to elite post-snap processing and puts him in position to make plays all over the field. Physicality/Tackling: Downs has proved to be an effective and efficient tackler. He is also capable of making big-time hits on ball carriers that set the tempo. Leadership: Downs is a high-motor, vocal leader who plays hard every down and sets a physical tone for the entire team. Ball Production: While Downs is a great defender against the run, his ball production, as far as interceptions, is minimal. That could be attributed to a number of factors, but it should be something of note when it comes to projecting what position or alignment is best for Downs to play in the NFL. Man-to-Man Coverage: Throughout his collegiate career, Downs appears to play primarily in zone drops. This brings the question of how good he is playing in man-to-man situations. Caleb Downs Summary/Projection: Caleb Downs is a junior defensive back who began his career at the University of Alabama before transferring to Ohio State for his sophomore season. His impact was immediate. Downs emerged as one of the top defensive players in college football and became a key piece of the Buckeyes’ national championship run. He’s a versatile, high-IQ defender who plays all over the field with physicality, effort, and awareness. Downs is a violent tackler with a high motor who consistently finds himself around the football. On film, the first thing that stands out is Downs’ positional versatility. He lines up everywhere from single-high safety and two-deep looks to strong safety in the box, linebacker-level alignments, and even on the line of scrimmage. What makes that versatility so valuable is not just his ability to line up in different spots, but his ability to make plays from those alignments. Downs is especially impactful within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage in run support. He displays advanced pre-snap recognition and anticipates run concepts based on formation. Once he diagnoses the play, he showcases outstanding explosiveness—planting, driving downhill, and arriving at the ball-carrier with speed and force. Downs is a highly reliable tackler, rarely missing. He wraps up consistently and finishes through contact. He plays with sideline-to-sideline range and maintains top-end effort on every snap. Downs is also a violent hitter who can separate the ball from the ball-carrier, and he brings an intimidating physical presence to the defense. He plays with elite closing speed, especially when triggering downhill as a run defender. Against the pass, Downs adds value as a movable piece within the defensive scheme. He’s an ideal safety to rotate post-snap, disguising coverages by starting in a two-high shell and dropping into the box. His coverage instincts and athletic traits are on full display here. Downs is an explosive lateral athlete with excellent change-of-direction skills. He reacts quickly, plants and redirects with precision, and shows the fluid hips to turn and run vertically with receivers, staying in phase on downfield routes. Because of his versatility, Downs is a defensive coordinator’s dream. He can drop into any zone, rotate late to disrupt quarterback reads, and cover any part of the field. His intelligence and range make him an ideal fit for zone-heavy or disguise-heavy coverage schemes that rely on post-snap rotation and deception. The biggest concern for Downs as a prospect is his man-to-man coverage ability, particularly against elite, athletic receivers. At Ohio State, he has primarily operated in zone schemes—covering underneath areas like hook/curl zones or flats—which limits the number of true man-coverage reps available for evaluation. It’s not that he’s shown to be deficient in man coverage, it’s that there simply isn’t enough tape to confidently project that ability. That uncertainty will be a key question for NFL scouts and evaluators during the pre-draft process and could determine how teams project his role at the next level. Overall, Downs is a highly instinctive, versatile, and physical defensive back with the skill set to be a difference-maker in the NFL. While questions remain about his man coverage ability, his high floor, elite football IQ, and ability to play in multiple alignments make him an ideal fit for modern NFL defenses that prioritize versatility and disguise.

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Tua can Start for Now; Ewers Should Start at QB from Thanksgiving On

And that quarterback may be in-house already in Quinn Ewers. Do I think Ewers is that guy? I don’t know, but if I had to bet a buck, I would lean no. But I have been wrong before, and more importantly than my dopey opinion, the Dolphins organization needs to find out for sure. If Ewers is that guy, Miami, with its Top 3 pick, can then draft an offensive tackle, edge rusher, cornerback, wide receiver, etc. Or, trade down and get more picks and select the best player available at a position other than quarterback. But, if Ewers isn’t that guy, and letting him start six games will give you a good idea if he is or not, then you hyper-focus on the quarterbacks in the 2026 NFL Draft, knowing you need to land one. LaNorris Sellers, Fernando Mendoza, and Dante Moore are the names that will be in play more than likely at the Top of the 2026 draft. It’s the same reason the Browns traded Joe Flacco, because they wanted to play Dillon Gabriel now to find out about him, and are weeks away from playing Shedur Sanders to see what he is and to determine if either is their quarterback of the future. I know looking to the Browns as the beacon of how to run an organization isn’t ideal, but in this case, they are taking the right approach. And the Dolphins are in a similar situation. Miami needs to decide whether to go all in and land one of the top quarterbacks in the 2026 draft, because in this league, there are two types of teams. Teams that have a quarterback, and teams that don’t. Right now, Miami falls into the category of teams that don’t have a quarterback. And if you are one of those teams, you’re essentially spinning your wheels in the mud, going nowhere. And don’t give me this BS that “well, the team is more than a QB away.” Duh, tell me something I don’t know. But do you think rookie quarterbacks are NFL-ready from day 1? You want them to take their lumps and learn on the job as the team rebuilds and gets back on track. Therefore, when the team is ready to compete, they are ready too. Find your quarterback, build around him. Every other position is much easier to fill. Yeah, I know we tried this approach once, and it has clearly failed, but that doesn’t mean you stop trying. The approach was correct in 2020; the execution is what failed. But before the Dolphins and whoever the general manager/head coach is in 2026 jump into the draft and look at the quarterbacks, they need to see if Quinn Ewers is the quarterback of the future. Although the general manager and head coach are not here yet, and we have no idea who they will be, the organization can still set them up for success by playing Ewers and gathering tape on him during regular-season games. I know the optics of benching a $200 million quarterback are bad. I know the message it sends to the rest of the team when you bench a $200 million quarterback is bad. But we also have to face a reality: Tua is not the long-term answer at quarterback. The first chance they can escape his contract and move on, they are! This Dolphins roster is getting blown up after the season. How many of these players will still be here a year from now? Answer: NOT MANY! So, I’m less concerned about the message it sends to a roster of players, most of whom will likely be gone by next year. I’m less concerned about optics at this point because Tua’s reputation in Miami and around the league has been sealed. Everyone has made up their mind on him at this point. There is a 6-year sample size on Tua, and a clear regression in his play. Nothing is going to change anyone’s opinion on him, whether he is benched or playing. Tua’s time is over with the Dolphins, one way or another. It’s time to give the keys to someone else and see if they can be “HIM,” as the kids say. And if that guy (Ewers) is not HIM, then at least we know, and the new powers that be know they have to go out and find the guy who is HIM.