The Dolphins
select Alabama DB Minkah Fitzpatrick, the Bucs take Washington DT Vita Vea and the Jaguars go with UF DT Taven Bryan on Thursday night in first round of the NFL Draft. FSU DB Derwin James goes 17th overall to the Chargers and UCF DB Mike Hughes is headed to the Vikings with the 30th pick.
DAVIE — The Miami Dolphins selected Alabama free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick with the 11th pick of the NFL draft Thursday, seemingly checking all the boxes with their firstround pick.
Well, they didn’t check the box that said “quarterback.”
But the Dolphins, who had been rumored to be eyeing one of the top-4 quarterbacks — Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, USC’s Sam Darnold, Wyoming’s Josh Allen and UCLA’s Josh Rosen — didn’t seem fazed that all four went in the top 10, just out of reach for Miami.
“Really, the way it all played out, we didn’t think any of the quarterbacks would make it to us,” general manager Chris Grier said. “For us, we talked to a couple of teams about maybe moving up or down but nothing real serious. For us, at the end of the day, if one of those guys was there, we would have talked about it; but we just didn’t think anybody would be there.”
Fitzpatrick, a first-team All-American who had nine career interceptions and 171 tackles, figures to start at free safety alongside Pro Bowl strong safety Reshad Jones. It’s unclear what that means for veteran safety T.J. McDonald, who started alongside Jones last season in a secondary that featured two strong safeties.
Coach Adam Gase said during the NFL Annual Meetings in March that the safety situation didn’t work out as well as they had hoped between Jones and McDonald. Fitzpatrick would fill the need for someone who can serve as the last line of defense as well as cover tight ends and running backs, a major concern for the defense last season.
Grier, however, warned not to pencil Fitzpatrick into any position.
“He has a little different skill set than the other two guys,” Grier said of Jones and McDonald. “From there, they’re going to battle it out this spring. It’s all about competition and we’ll see how it plays out.”
Fitzpatrick (6-0, 204 pounds), who left the national champion Crimson Tide after his junior season, is a versatile defender who played both free safety and slot cornerback for Alabama coach Nick Saban, the former Dolphins coach.
Fitzpatrick had six interceptions in 2016 as a sophomore, and one interception last season as a junior. He attributes the drop in production to fewer teams passing his direction. What really appealed to Miami is Fitzpatrick’s play-making ability. He had four touchdowns in his career.
“At the end of the day, this guy is a football player,” Grier said. “He creates turnovers. He’s had a bunch of touchdown returns as well on those.
“This was a player we just felt, at that point, that we could not pass up.”
The last of the top-4 quarterbacks was picked before Miami made its selection.
Arizona traded with Oakland, giving the Raiders third- and fifthround picks this year in addition to swapping firstround picks, to get the 10th pick. The Cardinals selected Rosen, making him the fourth quarterback drafted.
Another of Miami’s topprojected targets, Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith, was selected No. 8 by Chicago. That meant the Dolphins missed on the player many thought was the top middle linebacker in the draft.