Douglas players will announce draft picks
Football players from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and the family of assistant coach Aaron Feis, who was killed in the shooting Feb. 14, will announce the Dolphins draft selections Saturday, April 28.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell traditionally announces the first-round selections. And in recent years, the NFL has allowed teams to choose who represents the club for their Day 2 and 3 selections.
This year’s draft will take place April 26-28 in Arlington, Texas. Since the shooting in Parkland, the Dolphins have engaged the community with support.
In February, the franchise donated $100,000 to the Stoneman Douglas community. The Dolphins coaching staff donated an additional $17,500 to Feis’ family.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill, wide receiver Kenny Stills, defensive tackle Davon Godchaux and former players also visited five survivors of the school shooting, along with members of the Florida Panthers, Miami Heat and Miami Marlins.
Former center Dwight Stephenson will announce the team’s second-round selection. Safety Reshad Jones is scheduled to announce the team’s third-round selection.
Pro Bowl, draft coming to South Florida in future? As the Dolphins continue to build Hard Rock Stadium into a premier sports complex, they’ve inquired about hosting future Pro Bowls and holding the NFL draft in South Florida.
While there is no indication that either event is headed here soon, team president Tom Garfinkel said the Dolphins are pursuing both.
“We want to bring as many great events as we can to Miami, so we’ll bid on everything that’s available,” he said earlier this month.
The Pro Bowl was in Hawaii for 30 years before the Dolphins hosted it in 2010. That year and 2015, the NFL held the Pro Bowl at the Super Bowl site.
The league moved it to Orlando starting in 2017 and will play the third year of that deal at the end of the upcoming season. There has been no indication what the NFL will do beyond that.
The draft has also been jumping around the country since ending a 50-year run in New York. Chicago hosted it in 2015 and ’16, Philadelphia had it last year and it will be at the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium next month.
The NFL has not awarded the 2019 draft, and the Dolphins would like to be considered.
“We put our name in the hat for all those things,” Garfinkel said.
The team is also looking to land 2026 men’s World Cup matches if a North American bid, including the U.S., Canada and Mexico, wins hosting rights.
That aside, Hard Rock Stadium is already set for several big events in addition to being the home field for the Dolphins and Hurricanes, the permanent site of the Orange Bowl (it’s a national semifinal this season) and the venue for the Miami Open tennis tournament beginning next year.
The 2020 Super Bowl is headed to Miami Gardens as a direct result of the hundreds of millions of dollars Stephen Ross put into the stadium, and college football’s national championship game is coming in 2021.