Jerome Baker

It's tough to tell how good Baker is or how good he might be in the future, which makes things complicated when attempting to project the playing time and production between himself, Raekwon McMillan and free-agent signing Kyle Van Noy. The Dolphins are expected to use a four-linebacker base most of the time, and both the inside and outside positions are crowded. Van Noy can play inside or out, so his split might tilt toward the position that needs more help. In other words, if Baker and McMillan struggle more than Emmanuel Ogbah, Shaq Lawson and Vince Biegel, then Van Noy might play more inside snaps and encroach on the previous workload of Baker and McMillan. These things make it difficult to project another 1,093 snaps for Baker after playing that many in 2019, totaling 126 tackles, 1.5 sacks and one interception. McMillan is the better run defender of the two, but he's had issues in coverage to this point. For Baker to remain a viable starting IDP option, he needs to play well enough to keep Van Noy from stealing his snaps. It's a fluid situation, and as much as it might turn in Baker's favor, a year of drastic regression is a real possibility with a couple wrong turns.