Dolphins’ young corners forcing tough decisions. Where things stand. And personnel notes

A six-pack of Dolphins notes on a Friday, on the eve of Saturday’s second preseason game against Washington at Hard Rock Stadium (7 p.m., CBS 4):

▪ Of the Dolphins’ best undrafted gems of the past five years, two are arguably cornerbacks: Nik Needham and Kader Kohou.

The question now is whether any of Miami’s newest batch of undrafted cornerbacks essentially will force the Dolphins to create a roster spot for them in a crowded defensive backfield.

All three have made a strong case, limiting Atlanta quarterbacks to combined 1-for-10 passing (for 16 yards) when targeting them in the preseason opener.

Former Wisconsin cornerback Jason Maitre was a standout early in camp and has continued to be steady. In the Atlanta preseason game, neither pass thrown in his coverage area was caught. The overall body of work has been impressive for a player who won a contract by excelling as an unsigned “tryout” player during rookie minicamp.

Syracuse rookie Isaiah Johnson has size (6-3) and athletic traits that look NFL caliber. He has made a handful of plays in camp during the past 10 days, including two end zone pass breakups in a practice earlier this week. Atlanta quarterbacks were 0 for 3 in his coverage area in the preseason game. There’s also special teams upside with Johnson.

And former Louisville cornerback Storm Duck, who was the best draft prospect of the three, has been solid during the past two weeks. In the Atlanta game, he permitted only one completion (in five targets) for 16 yards.

The Dolphins could try to sneak all three, or two of the three, onto the practice squad.

All three are underdogs to make the 53 because of a numbers game, though it wouldn’t be shocking if any of the three made the team.

At cornerback, beyond starters Jalen Ramsey and Kendall Fuller, the Dolphins assuredly will keep Kohou, Ethan Bonner and Cam Smith. That’s five.

Needham — who has value as the No. 2 nickel corner behind Kohou, a backup safety and a special teams player — has a strong case to stick as a No. 6 corner.

Then there’s ace special teams player Siran Neal, who played sparingly on defense for Buffalo but counts as a cornerback.

Teams don’t typically keep seven corners, let alone eight. So it’s difficult to find a spot for Johnson, Duck or Maitre unless one forces the Dolphins hand.

The safety decision will be tougher than ever. Besides Jevon Holland and Jordan Poyer, there’s a strong case to keep Marcus Maye and special teams core player Elijah Campbell.

It would be somewhat painful to cut rookie sixth-round pick Patrick McMorris, who was a standout in the Atlanta game but generally has had a quiet camp. And if you count Needham as a safety, then you’re allocating five or six roster spots to safeties — which is on the high side.

So the three Dolphins undrafted rookie cornerbacks must not only excel during the next 10 days, but they also must compel the Dolphins to figure out a tough numbers game.

▪ Special teams coordinator Danny Crossman survived another offseason, but his return teams must improve this season.

The Dolphins finished at the bottom of the league in yards allowed per kickoff return at 30.5.

Miami was fifth worst in punt return yards permitted at 12.2.

Miami gave up one kickoff and one punt return TD, and the punt return TD couldn’t have come at a worse time — in the second half of the critical finale against Buffalo that cost Miami the AFC East.

Punts against the Dolphins averaged 49 yards, third most in the league, often giving the Dolphins poor field position.

Last week’s loss of linebacker Cam Brown to a season-ending injury was very hurtful. Neal is not one of the team’s six best cornerbacks, in our view, but Miami might need to keep him because of his special teams acumen.

Kicker Jason Sanders’ exceptional camp has been a positive, and Braxton Berrios has reliable hands as a return man. But there are questions surrounding most other parts of the special teams.

▪ Smith, who made a good play in coverage during Thursday’s joint practice, has a big next nine days in his bid to win the top boundary corner job against Bonner, who has been out this week with concussion symptoms.

What stands out about Smith, according to starting cornerback Fuller, is “his athletic ability. Me and him have conversations on the side where I just always tell him to be aggressive. That is something that I think Mike McDaniel does a good job of. He wants guys to go out there and play with conviction.

“If you can come out here and play with conviction out here on the practice field, you’ll be able to learn things that you can or can’t do. I think that is something that Cam has been doing, even his first practice back. You could see him showing up all over the tape and things like that, so I’m excited for him.”

▪ Robert Jones, who has done good work at left guard in camp, indicated this week that as an “undrafted” player who went to junior college, he has had to overcome odds. Eventually, he could lose his job when Isaiah Wynn is healthy.

But for now at least, this job seems to be his.

“He’s proven. He’s proven,” left tackle Terron Armstead said. “He’s still young, but he’s got games under his belt against high-level talent. He’s proven. He’s a dawg. He’s physical, he’s strong, he’s smart, he’s tough. Everything that you want in a player.”

Armstead, incidentally, said rookie left tackle Patrick Paul’s pass protection “is looking really clean. He’s able to use his length, and he’s keeping his feet in the ground.

“Still got some things that I want to see from him on a more consistent basis, but he’s starting to see more flashes of the dominance that he has in his body, his toolbox, and that will continue to show more consistently. He’s freaky athletic.”

▪ Running back Raheem Mostert said “there should be quite a few differences” in the offense this year, some of which will be created by tight end Jonnu Smith’s addition.

“To see him in this offense will be spectacular,” Mostert said. “To get a like like Jonnu. His yards after catch is unbelievable. He’s pretty fast as well for a tight end and he can block on the edge.”

▪ Armstead said of Fuller: “You can tell the impact that Kendall has brought to this team already. He’s a joy to be around, guys love him in the locker room and on the field.

He’s a leader. Not the most vocal guy, but he’s a very consistent pro which you love to see. He’s always on his game, always on his technique so it’s only fitting for him to be the one to get that interception in practice against his former team.”