It’s no secret — the Dolphins’ defense struggled in 2016 as they gave up a franchise record 6,348 total yards. However, the Dolphins earned a playoff berth and newly appointed defensive coordinator Matt Burke believes that the end result is all that matters.

“Again, we really judge ourselves by wins and losses,” Burke said. “We felt we made some strides there.”

The Dolphins finished the season ranked 30th against the run and their much-maligned linebacking corps did not fit their respective gaps in the run game. They also gave up critical yards on crossing routes on passing downs as well.

There was one constant among the Dolphins linebackers: Kiko Alonso. The Dolphins persevered through a bevy of injuries at linebacker, but despite a lack of continuity at the linebacker position, Alonso had a very good season as the Dolphins’ middle linebacker.

Alonso had 115 tackles, two interceptions and one forced fumble in 15 games while dealing with injuries of his own, but for some reason, there remains a large contingent of fans and pundits who believe he is better suited to play WILL linebacker.

When asked if Alonso is better off playing inside, or outside linebacker during his introductory teleconference on Thursday Burke said, “…There are going to be a lot of changes obviously on the roster; it happens every year. What [head coach] Adam [Gase] said in bringing us here was and has always been is, ‘Look, when we get our roster set, we’re going to put our players in the best position to be successful for them.’ Obviously, [Alonso] had a successful season.

“We’re excited that he’s part of the organization now. … Really these next few months are a two-fold evaluation of our roster, and trying to make that better, and then our scheme fit, and trying to make that better. It kind of goes hand and hand. We’ll see what other type of players we bring in through free agency and the draft and where Kiko fits in. Obviously we see him as an important piece of the future. …”

While many don’t feel Alonso’s best fit is at middle linebacker, he’s proven that’s exactly where he belongs. His best seasons in the NFL have come at the middle linebacker spot, and there is absolutely no reason to attempt to fix what isn’t broken.

Alonso’s instincts and ability to diagnose plays from the inside out was on full display this season, and his instincts allowed him to anticipate how plays were unfolding. As a result of his anticipation, he was often times able to beat blockers to the ball carrier before they could reach him. In addition to his ability to put himself in position to have success, his instincts helped others have success on defense.

When asked about Kiko’s performance following his game-saving tackle on Colin Kaepernick, Cameron Wake said, “[Alonso’s] a guy who knows what’s going to happen before it happens, has you lined up, makes sure everybody is set where they’re supposed to be and obviously he has a nose for the ball.

“I think he’s been a big part of our success, from the beginning. … Being around him, he’s a great person a great football player and he’s made some really, really big plays to help us stack these wins.”

During the preseason when Burke was still serving as the Dolphins linebackers coach, he was asked if he saw Alonso as a three-down middle linebacker and he said, “To me, that’s ideal. It’s ideal, especially with little things like having the guy that has the headset [being] a guy you can keep on the field for all three downs and can play and you’re not worried about it.

“So that’s why we feel, again like I said, [he’s] kind of a modern-day MIKE [linebacker] where he’s not a two-down thumper and you’re worried about his matchups in space. We feel just as comfortable with him playing on third-and-10 as we do on first-and-10 so that will be helpful for us to keep him going like that.”

115 tackles, two interceptions and one forced fumble later, many are clamoring to put him in a position where he’s diagnosing plays from the outside in, and his superior instincts won’t be as impactful.

Frankly — moving Alonso to WILL linebacker for anyone other than Alabama’s Reuben Foster would be a mistake, but even then — the Dolphins should look for a player with more range compared to Alonso at weakside linebacker.

Alonso’s game is predicated on instincts and anticipation. While he does possess more than enough athleticism to play MIKE linebacker, placing him at weakside linebacker is less than idea.