National Football League

How DC Josh Boyer has helped the Dolphins secondary avoid disaster

Updated Oct. 28, 2022 1:40 p.m. ET

When Noah Igbinoghene took the field after an injury to Nik Needham in Week 6, Igbo wore fluorescent orange sleeves.

The creamsicle wardrobe choice accidentally screamed: Target me!

So that's what Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins did. After all, Igbinoghene might have been a first-round pick, but he has since been the first man for a quarterback to pick on. The team did not give him a snap until Week 5 after a rash of injuries. It's like testing a backup goaltender in hockey: might as well give it a try.

But Igbinoghene stood up to Cousins' pass attempts, with two incompletions and a pass breakup. It was the young cornerback's best game of his career.

Igbinoghene's Week 6 performance was just one example of what Dolphins defensive coordinator Josh Boyer has done to make the most of every one of his cornerbacks this year. And I literally mean every single one: Xavien Howard, Nik Needham, Kader Kohou, Ibginoghene, Keion Crossen and Justin Bethel. They have all had starting roles due to a rash of injuries for Miami this season.

"I think it's to the credit of all the defensive coaches starting with Josh (Boyer), with how they take people's strengths and utilize them in a multitude of ways," head coach Mike McDaniel said Wednesday.

Boyer has asked players to play positions they've rarely played — or have struggled in. How has he pulled it off?

"I think that's part of when you're developing guys in the fact that you try to make a multiple where they can do many things and because this is a league of attrition and you have to be ready to play guys in multiple spots and be productive at it," Boyer told FOX Sports on Friday. "So I think you kind of start teaching that way as you go."

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The Dolphins opened the season with some questions at cornerback. Howard was the obvious CB1. But because Byron Jones underwent ankle surgery in March and remains on injured reserve, the Dolphins were left without another perimeter cornerback. For the season-opener against the Patriots, Miami went with a surprising solution: promoting Needham from the slot to the outside. Boyer then inserted Kohou, an undrafted free agent with an incredible story, into the slot on a limited basis.

It's a risky move to put two players in positions where they're not naturally comfortable. But that game plan got Needham, their second-best corner, on the field as much as possible.

"Nik's a tremendous football player. He knows all five DB positions for us. And he's played all of them," Boyer said. "Very versatile player, very smart player, very tough football player."

Miami held New England to seven points. Quarterback Mac Jones looked out of sorts for the entire season opener. It wasn't pretty for the Patriots.

As the season progressed, Miami seemed to do what it could to avoid playing Igbinoghene, who had fallen to CB5 on the depth chart. But with Howard, Needham, Crossen and Kohou all dealing with injuries, Igbinoghene has taken a more prominent role.

"I wasn't really worried about the critics and everyone else was saying. I'm just focused on this team and what the coaches want me to do," Igbinoghene said after Week 7, during which he caught the win-clinching interception. "Got this win for the team. Got the win so that's the most important thing."

But Igbo and Kohou weren't even the most unlikely stars at the position so far this year. Boyer has had to ask a lot of Crossen and Bethel, both special teams standouts.

"We do not put limitations on players," Boyer said. "I played in the division three football school and now I'm in the NFL. …We don't really overlook anybody. I mean, we just tried to use the guys and get them to the best of their ability and put them in the best situations that we possibly can.

Bethel, in particular, has limited experience playing on defense, even during his 11-year career. He has gone multiple seasons without getting a single snap on defense, instead serving solely as a Pro Bowl-caliber special teams player.

And yet, he finished Week 7 with an interception — because of course he did.

"Whoever's out there is going to be out there and play the best of their ability. You saw Justin (Bethel) out there; he just stepped up to the plate and got himself a pick. Whoever's out there, they're going to play hard, you know that," Holland said.

The Dolphins' overall statistics aren't fantastic on defense. In fact, they're allowing the 10th-most points per game, which could be alarming if their offense doesn't jump back into the form that it had in the first three weeks of the season. To make matters worse, they're going to have to figure out how to replace safety Brandon Jones, who suffered an ACL tear.

But there's no sense of panic as injuries whittle down this depth chart.

Prior to joining FOX Sports as the AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @McKennAnalysis.