The Miami Dolphins will face some elite receivers in 2025.
Ja’Marr Chase, Mike Evans, DK Metcalf, Garrett Wilson, Ladd McConkey — the list goes on and on. Such talent at wideout will require equal skill from whoever starts at cornerback, something that’s a bit of an unknown now that Jalen Ramsey and the Miami Dolphins “mutually agreed” to seek a trade. And although it’s way too early to make any projections for starters, there’s a legitimate chance that Dolphins rookie Jason Marshall Jr. could find himself atop the depth chart come .
“Definitely a great opportunity,” Marshall said May 9 of the wide open cornerback room. “Like I said earlier, just come in, put my head down and work, and when the opportunity presents itself, take action on it.”
Although drafted in the fifth round, Marshall could join an elite class of cornerbacks who made an impact in the league as a rookie. Ramsey did it. More recently, so did Pat Surtain, Sauce Gardner and Quinyon Mitchell. NFL.com draft analyst Chad Reuter, for one, certainly believes Marshall has the skillset to take over the position group from day one.
“If Miami successfully moves seven-time Pro Bowler Jalen Ramsey, Marshall should become a key contributor,” Reuter wrote May 5. “Before the 2024 season, I had a Day 2 grade on the Florida Gator, who ended up being available in Round 5 after missing time with a shoulder injury and showing average long speed. I expect him to play well as a rookie thanks to his aggression and ability to find the ball in coverage.”
The Dolphins, for one, aren’t scared to let their rookies loose, either.
“Not at all, that’s got to be trial by fire,” defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver replied when asked if he had any fear about playing young guys. “I was in a very similar situation when I was in Houston back in 2016. Around Game 4, Game 3, something like that, we had to play with D.J. Reader who was a fifth-round draft pick, I think, and Joel Health, a defensive end who was an undrafted free agent, and we finished that year No. 1 in total defense. The standard doesn’t change; there’s going to be a lot asked of those guys, but they’ve got the shoulders to handle that.”
As Reuter mentioned, Marshall’s physical traits are extremely intriguing. At 6-foot, 201-pounds, Marshall has the size to play dominate at corner.
“He’s a big corner,” Dolphins cornerbacks coach Mathieu Araujo said Wednesday. “He moves really well, and he’s a super efficient and productive mover. So as a big corner being able to get your hands on and still keep your feet under you that allows you to cover a big variety of receivers.”
Still, Marshall isn’t without weaknesses. Many evaluators wrote that the South Miami-Dade native could stand to get stronger, improve his man coverage and become a better tackler, especially in run support. Araujo, however, commended Marshall’s for his work ethic.
“What he’s doing a great job of in this offseason is the things that we pinpointed throughout his college career that we want to improve on, and we can make adjustments to get them to be super productive,” Araujo said. “That’s what we’re working on right now.”
For Marshall to add his name to the aforementioned elite group of rookie corners, he’ll have to improve on his somewhat middling collegiate stats. In his four seasons at the University of Florida, Marshall accumulated only two interceptions, none of which came during his injury-plagued 2024 season, 98 tackles and 25 pass breakups. The ability to be “around the ball” — Marshall led the Gators in pass breakups as a sophomore (eight) and junior (10) – was what ultimately landed him in the aqua and orange, according to Dolphins general manager Chris Grier. Now, it’s just up to the Dolphins to get him ready for September.
“He’s competitive,” Grier said in late April. “He had the injury this year which set him back. He had a couple games where he dropped a couple picks, too, but we had him here at our Miami local day workout, watched him move around. He has ball skills, he has hands. So for us, he’s a size corner with movement skills. It’s up to us and him with our coaching and him working to make those improvements, but we’re very optimistic with his skill set that he has that he will do that.”
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C. Isaiah Smalls II is a sports and culture writer who covers the Miami Dolphins. In his previous capacity at the Miami Herald, he was the race and culture reporter who created The 44 Percent, a newsletter dedicated to the Black men who voted to incorporate the city of Miami. A graduate of both Morehouse College and Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, Smalls previously worked for ESPN’s Andscape.