What will the Miami Dolphins do when pick No. 51 of the NFL draft comes up in the middle of the second round Friday night?
Will they select one of the draft’s many highly sought tight ends, filling a hole on the roster with just three signed to the team in late April?
Will they bring in a young offensive lineman, possibly one who can push Austin Jackson at right tackle and/or provide swing capabilities to back up oft-injured Pro Bowler Terron Armstead on the left side?
Will the perfect fit at running back fall to them at that spot, making it difficult for general manager Chris Grier to forego a long-standing history of avoiding tailbacks with early selections?
Will the Dolphins even be picking at 51? Are they trading up, targeting a prospect they don’t want to miss out on? Do they instead trade down, adding picks in a draft they enter with just four?
All these questions will have answers by week’s end as Miami’s next crop of rookies will be selected for an organization that is in a win-now window, looking to emerge as deep playoff competitors and possible Super Bowl contenders.
The Dolphins don’t own a first-round pick in this year’s draft. Unless the team trades into the first round, which would likely require 2024 draft capital, Miami won’t make a Thursday night pick. The draft’s second and third rounds take place Friday, and the Dolphins have a pick in each of those, at 51 and 84 overall. Day 3 Saturday, which consists of Rounds 4 through 7, sees the Dolphins with selections in the sixth (197) and seventh (238) rounds.
Miami once had two first-round selections in this draft, but its own was stripped from the organization by the league due to findings of tampering with quarterback Tom Brady and coach Sean Payton. Another first-round pick they owned, from the San Francisco 49ers, was sent to the Denver Broncos for edge defender Bradley Chubb at the trade deadline last season.
Before delving into the positional options, it must be understood that Grier has historically leaned to be a best-player-available decision-maker in the draft. But does that approach change when the Dolphins have a roster set to compete and few areas on the depth chart that are in need of an upgrade?
“It’s still a balance,” Grier said last week at a pre-draft news conference. “At the end of the day, you always have to look long term, and there’s guys here, just being realistic, on one-year deals. You might have a position you think is deep, but like last year, we had four linebackers on one-year deals.
“We always look for the best player, and then there’s some occasions where you do take position of need. But you try not to draft on need because I think that’s where you get in trouble.”
With that said, the Dolphins seem to have an opening for a capable pass-catching tight end with the necessary blocking abilities to fit coach Mike McDaniel’s wide-zone scheme. They extended the contract of Durham Smythe and signed Eric Saubert as Mike Gesicki left in free agency, but they could still use another tight end in a group that also has 2022 undrafted rookie Tanner Conner.
With Utah’s Dalton Kincaid and Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer possibly going in the first round, the Dolphins could hope Georgia’s Darnell Washington, a mammoth 6-foot-7, 264 pounds, either drops to them or within range for a trade up. Iowa’s Sam LaPorta could present a great combination of receiving and blocking abilities.
Others in that Day 2 tight end mix could include Oregon State’s Luke Musgrave, South Dakota State’s Tucker Kraft, Michigan’s Luke Schoonmaker, Miami’s Will Mallory, Old Dominion’s Zach Kuntz, Penn State’s Brenton Strange and more. The draft is also considered deep at tight end, so maybe the Dolphins have to address the position with that top choice and find a better value pick later on.
“This is probably one of the deeper tight end drafts that there has been in the last several years,” assistant general manager Marvin Allen said. “So we feel good about having an opportunity to grab a good football player if he’s available when we’re picking. … There’s a strong chance that there’s going to be a lot of tight ends selected early.”
If Miami doesn’t go tight end first, it seems likely the team would select an offensive lineman. It could use another tackle, even if Jackson has already been deemed the team’s 2023 starter at right tackle. Some Day 2 options may include Syracuse’s Matt Bergeron, North Dakota State’s Cody Mauch, BYU’s Blake Freeland or Alabama’s Tyler Steen, a South Florida high school product out of St. Thomas Aquinas. Or, if TCU guard Steve Avila falls, he could be a coveted interior offensive line target.
Some linemen might be gone by the time the Dolphins select at 51. Others, it may be too early to snag them there.
Miami doesn’t necessarily have a need at running back. The Dolphins re-signed four from last year, including the lead duo of Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr., but it still could be a position to target in the draft. The team has also been linked to trade talks for Minnesota Vikings star running back Dalvin Cook.
Grier doesn’t normally pick a running back early. His highest-drafted tailback was Kenyan Drake in the 2016 third round. But if explosive Alabama tailback Jahmyr Gibbs finds himself still without an NFL home at the Dolphins’ first pick, could the organization really pass up on the opportunity to drop his game-breaking speed and outside-zone proficiencies into McDaniel’s offense? What about Texas A&M’s Devon Achane?
The Dolphins could also bring in a rookie defensive lineman. Although Christian Wilkins and Zach Sieler present a top defensive tackle combination, they need depth on a unit with Emmanuel Ogbah at defensive end and Raekwon Davis at nose tackle. Wilkins, Sieler and Davis are all on the last years of their deals. Ogbah is coming off a torn triceps that cut his 2022 season short.
Grier said teams in the lower half of the first round have inquired with the Dolphins about a trade, so Miami may not have to wait for the prospect it really wants if it’s willing to send a team extra draft picks.
But would the Dolphins make such a move with only four selections this year and 2024 draft picks that could be better spent in a trade for a proven commodity?
Miami usually finds gems in the undrafted free-agent market after the draft, as well. Last year, cornerback Kader Kohou made 13 starts after earning his roster spot as an undrafted rookie. The incoming rookie class will not be limited to the team’s four draft picks.
