Center? Linebacker? Trade up or down?
What the Dolphins might do in the draft
Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier was making draft plans with his staff when one person in the group came up with the only thing they needed to do on Thursday night, after trading for superstar wide receiver Tyreek Hill this offseason.
“One of the guys said we’ll just watch Tyreek highlights in the draft room to make us feel good,” Grier said at his pre-draft press conference last week.
The Dolphins traded their first- and second-round picks in this week’s draft as part of a five-pick package for the speedster Hill, who was a Pro Bowl selection in all six of his professional seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs.
In a way, Hill is Miami’s top choice in this draft, which runs from Thursday night through Saturday. He is an established, elite talent at a position the Dolphins were likely to address with an early selection — that is, before acquiring Hill and giving him a four-year, $120 million contract extension.
After Miami’s first-round pick from the 49ers kept sinking with San Francisco’s run to the NFC Championship Game last postseason, falling all the way down to No. 29, Hill presents far more of a certainty than any receiver or tackle prospect the franchise likely would’ve chosen toward the end of the first round.
“It’s unfair to compare any of those kids to Tyreek’s skill set coming out,” Grier said. “It’s a talented class of receivers, but obviously we can’t compare them to Tyreek at all and for what we feel he does in this offense and what a great fit he is.”
Now, after the Dolphins also signed the top tackle in free agency, Terron Armstead, and addressed other positions of need, they can kick back until they’re slated to make their first selection late Friday night, No. 102 at the end of the third round, a compensatory pick from the 49ers. It’s one of four remaining draft picks for Miami, along with the Saturday selections of one in the fourth round and two in the seventh.
If the Dolphins do not trade up to get into one of the first two rounds or to select earlier in the third, it will mark the first time Miami has gone without a pick among the first 100. The last time the Dolphins didn’t choose in either of the first two rounds was the 2002 draft, selecting center Seth McKinney at No. 90 in the third round.
What will the Dolphins opt to do with that first pick at 102?
Without a desperate need or glaring hole for a starter remaining on the roster, they can go with best player available that they’d like to develop, with some positional leanings for those two mid-round picks.
With Armstead set to man the left tackle position and after signing guard Connor Williams, Miami could go with a center to compete with Michael Deiter.
Boston College center Alec Lindstrom was coached at BC by new Dolphins offensive line coach Matt Applebaum. There’s a connection there. Some other possibilities: Wake Forest’s Zach Tom, Virginia Tech’s Brock Hoffman, Kentucky’s Luke Fortner, Arizona State’s Dohnovan West, Central Michigan’s Luke Goedeke, Ohio State’s Thayer Munford, UTSA’s Spencer Buford, LSU’s Ed Ingram, Georgia’s Jamaree Salyer, Oklahoma’s Marquis Hayes, Nebraska’s Cam Jurgens, Wisconsin’s Logan Bruss.
“It’s a pretty good offensive line group,” said Grier, who could still look for a guard or tackle. “I think there’s some talent all the way through from the tackles, the guards, centers, all the way in through the mid rounds. I think you can find some good quality players.
How about linebacker? The Dolphins were thought to be in play for an inside linebacker to pair with
Jerome Baker on this defense. They brought back Elandon Roberts, Duke Riley and Sam Eguavoen, but who’s to say they don’t find a gem in the middle of the draft?
When Miami still had a first-round pick, one Georgia linebacker, Nakobe Dean, was linked to the Dolphins as a potential choice. Another one, Channing Tindall, could be a pick in the mid-rounds. Or Penn State’s Brandon Smith.
An edge rusher could also be a possibility. Miami’s blitzing defense could always use another to pair with Jaelan Phillips, defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah and outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel.
After bringing in Chase Edmonds and Raheem Mostert at running back, to go with Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed returning, the Dolphins could still seek a young running back to insert into competition to get involved in new coach Mike McDaniel’s lauded run game.
With Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Cedrick Wilson Jr. set to be the top three wideouts, one could be found to work in with a second unit that currently figures to consist of Lynn Bowden, Preston Williams and Trent Sherfield.
If the Dolphins were to trade into an earlier pick, it would likely require them shipping off some of their 2023 draft capital. They have five picks in the first three rounds, with two in the first and two in the third next year. That draft capital could be valuable if, next offseason, Miami finds itself looking to replace Tua Tagovailoa with an established upper-echelon quarterback, or if the franchise feels it’s a piece or two away elsewhere.
The two seventh-rounders should not be viewed as prospects immediately counted on to contribute. Neither player that the Dolphins drafted with their two seventh-round picks last draft, running back Gerrid Doaks and tackle Larnel Coleman, ended up playing in a regular-season game in 2021. Given this, Miami can look to find a high-upside prospect, one that can be developed within the system while getting a chance to compete for a roster spot.
Following the draft, the Dolphins will also sign a series of rookies as undrafted free agents. While often roster longshots, Miami had three players on their active roster last season that were added directly this way — Williams, cornerback Nik Needham and offensive lineman Robert Jones. All are due to return next season. Others, including linebacker Sam Eguavoen and cornerback Trill Williams, were once undrafted and landed in Miami later.