Xavien Howard came to Miami as a second-round pick out of Baylor in 2016. Knee trouble limited him to seven games as a rookie, but once he got healthy the next couple of years, he started looking like the corner the Dolphins thought they were getting. He became a full-time starter in 2017 and showed the length and ball skills that would define his best seasons.

In 2018, he led the NFL with seven interceptions, made his first Pro Bowl, and earned second-team All-Pro. Injuries cut into 2019, but 2020 was the peak. He led the league in both interceptions (ten) and passes defended (twenty), earned first-team All-Pro, and finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Quarterbacks targeting him that year posted a passer rating around 53, the best mark among corners with at least forty targets. He had the length and timing to jump routes and turn short throws into turnovers, and for stretches of that season he was as good as any corner in the league. He followed it with Pro Bowl selections in 2021 and 2022, adding five more interceptions in 2021 along with a couple of forced fumbles and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.

The injuries never fully went away, and the production dropped after that 2020 season. He still made the Pro Bowl in 2022, but the interceptions slowed, and the Dolphins released him after the 2023 season. With Miami, he finished with 29 interceptions across eight years, two seasons leading the league in picks, four Pro Bowls, one first-team All-Pro, and one second-team All-Pro. He also returned two interceptions and two fumbles for touchdowns during his time with the team.