Bryon Maxwell Excited About 2016

The Miami Dolphins were No. 25 in the NFL in total defense and No. 26 in total offense in 2015. So you really can’t say the Dolphins were good on either side of the ball that year. But they just hired Adam Gase, an offensive guy, to be the head coach, so you’d think they’ll be an offensive team.

But cornerback Byron Maxwell, who arrived via trade after failing in his lone season with the Philadelphia Eagles, is excited about how 2016 will be for him and his defense. He’s already gone as far as saying the defense has outperformed the offense during offseason workouts.

He believes it’s going to remain that way too, telling the Palm Beach Post, “[The defense] It’s going to win every camp. We’re a defensive team. That’s just what it is.”

The Dolphins now have a healthy DeVante Parker, Kenny Stills and Jarvis Landry at receiver. Tight end Jordan Cameron is also there with running back Jay Ajayi and 1st-round left tackle Laremy Tunsil. So there is plenty of iron to sharpen iron on that Dolphins offense.

When asked if he’s won his individual battles, Maxwell said, “Of course. That’s always the case.”

If Maxwell is telling the truth, he has returned to the form that got him the big contract with the Eagles last year. The Dolphins also like rookie 2nd-round pick Xavien Howard for the other side. They’re also solid at safety with Reshad Jones roaming the back-end of their zone defense.

At linebacker, Kiko Alonso is the new man in the middle to boost the linebacker corps. And and a 4-3 d-line that has Ndamukong Suh, Mario Williams and Cameron Wake can get there with four. The zone scheme the Dolphins run is what Maxwell ran in Seattle and suites to his abilities.

And he seems to think it fits the personnel of the rest the Dolphins defense, saying, “We can be as good as anyone in the league. It’s just a matter of time. We’re putting that work in and learning chemistry and each other. The sky’s the limit for the group.”