The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

Us old farts have seen this go from being something we had to read about in the newspaper to the crazy party it has become. Are you guys excited? I know Stroke is. I'm always excited to see where people end up but my expectations of the Dolphins has been tempered by the fact the team seems like it is being run by a couple of guys who are confident in their job and are starting a rebuild. We need like 5 starters for this year and that's assuming no one gets hurt.  Let's be honest ... that rarely happens these days.
Dolphins Picks at this point ...

Round 1: #13 overall
Round 2: #48 overall
Round 3: #98 overall (compensatory pick)
Round 4: #116 overall
Round 4: #135 overall (compensatory pick)
Round 5: #150 overall
Round 5: #155 overall (from Denver)
Round 7: #224 overall (from Chicago)
Round 7: #231 overall
Round 7: #253 overall (compensatory pick)
Round 7: #256 overall (compensatory pick)

We don't have that last compensatory pick (#256, round 7) because the NFL took it away, and then awarded it to the Chargers. It turned out we never should have got it for Cedric Wilson departing for the Saints.

https://www.si.com/nfl/dolphins/news/the-dolphins-draft-pick-that-went-away-01jpb0b9aamb

I always enjoy the draft. I wish I could remember the first one I watched.

I remember that now that you mention it. Must have been an older list I pulled from.

I doubt that pick will make or break the draft. 

I don't know. hahaha A lower pick produced a Super Bowl QB a few years ago. But then again .... it wasn't Chris Grier making the selection.

You never know.  You could find a Karl Mecklenberg, a Marques Colliston, or even a Tom Brady.

^^^  or a Brock Purdy. :-)

Yep, or even a Ryan Nece, who was in his father's shadow a Lott (not a typo) but made his own mark in the NFL.

I always have it on, but I don't really pay that much attention. It's interesting when there's a trade or someone falls a bunch but other than that it's not too interesting. I'll keep track of when the Dolphins pick and I'll pay attention for that, but that's about it.

"Who would want to watch that?"

-Pete Rozelle. 

The Dolphins have the opportunity to draft the 2nd or 3rd best O-lineman in the draft and they better do it!

Chris Grier's first round draft picks so far ...


2016: OT Laremy Tunsil (No. 13)
2017: OLB Charles Harris (No. 22)
2018: S Minkah Fitzpatrick (No. 11)
2019: DL Christian Wilkins (No. 13)
2020: QB Tua Tagovailoa (No. 5), OL Austin Jackson (No. 18), CB Noah Igbinoghene (No. 30)
2021: WR Jaylen Waddle (No. 6), OLB Jaelan Phillips (No. 18)
2022: No first-round pick
2023: No first-round pick
2024: OLB Chop Robinson (No. 21)

Most of his first round picks have been hits.  Too bad not all the hits are still with the team today.

Other than Laremy Tunsil, none really started off too great. It took Austin Jackson 3 years, Wilkins took a couple of years, and Tua was part time player his first year. Chop came on at the end of the year but he was still a run liability so only played passing downs.

I say this not to disparage the players who became good, but to point out he doesn't have a great history of picking actual starters and we need several. In fact, his best two picks in Tunsil and Fitzpatrick, weren't around very long after falling into his lap.

Fitzpatrick was a hit out of the park... it's a pity he butted heads with Flores right off the bat, and got shipped out. If you want a sliding doors moment for our rebuild, that was probably it. 

To be honest, like the last couple of years, I'm not hugely excited about this draft coming up.

We don't have a great number of draft picks at the pointy end, and the more time goes on, I'm thinking Grier isn't that much better than Ireland. Both were decent with the predictable, safe upper round picks they made, and had some good lower round picks... but both have royally fucked up when they have taken real risks, especially when they traded up to get someone. Ireland was a bit worse in that regard, but Grier also has some well established history of it now: he also had a lot more top end picks to use, courtesy of the tanking year and the Tunsil bounty. He doesn't have that this time, even though there are a lot of picks.

None of that fills me with confidence. We have massive holes in the roster at starting OL, DL, CB, S right now that I don't think will all be addressed in one draft. If Ramsey goes, it's even worse. That's just the starters, before we even start talking about depth.    

I obviously don't know the guy, but it seems like Grier's biggest strength is in getting along with people and not necessarily his judge of talent. He always says he does what the coach wants but he literally should be responsible for the choices he allows them to make. As the most senior executive in football operations, he is responsible for everything and everyone under him.

Thankfully, Grier has picked conservatively to start with. I think we got a solid pick in Grant at 13, and it was a huge need to find someone to be upfront with Sieler on the DL.

Hopefully that's our long term Christian Wilkins replacement.

All 3 teams that I was following went with D-line. SF went with DE Mykel Williams, which is fine...a little earlier than I thought, nut as long as it was line, then OK. Then Miami went with DT Grant, which I think is an excellent move. Then the local AZ Cardinals went with DT Walter Nolan.

So far, so good. Now both SF and Miami need to get some good O-line value tomorrow.

Shock of the draft so far... either Tyler Booker  going to Dallas at #12. Love the player, but I saw him going much later... Or Colston Loveland being the first TE taken, ahead of Tyler Warren.

Offensive linemen have been disappearing as a premium all night... the top tackles including Banks went way before our pick, Booker is gone, and now so is Zabel.

If we stayed at 13, we just had to pick Grant. It was either that or one of the CB options, or Starks. It was the best option of all of them.

 

^^^ Not "all the top tackles" are gone. The OT I think will end up being the best from this class is Josh Simmons from OSU.

Let's see if he gets past Houston. There have been a few mocks that have predicted that's where he will land.

Grant reminds me a bit of Tim Bowens.

So much for believing in mock drafts, most I saw had one or two linemen going before Miami's pick, not four.

Another one gone - Josh Simmons is off to to KC now. Donovan Jackson gone earlier to the Vikings. Prospects from all over the OL have been popular picks in the first round.

Will Johnson slipped completely out of the first round, after at least two corners have been picked ahead of him - those must be some huge red flags hanging over his head.

I'm fine with the Grant pick.  MIA got lucky with Campbell last year, and there was definitely a hole left next to Sieler.

Tomorrow it's more about what I don't want to see.  I do not want to see the Dolphins draft any of the following positions:

QB RB WR TE EDGE

This team has too many holes to be greedy.  Go buck wild with best player available on day 3, I don't care.  But tomorrow I'd like to see at least one OL for sure, and either a DB or a second OL.

I'm not confident we're going to find an OL starter to replace Eichenberg this season by the time we get to our pick in the second round. There are six teams ahead of Sunstoke's Niners who need OL help, and then the Colts between them and us. So after eight OL players have already been taken in round 1, we still have eight teams ahead of us to pick over what's left, and that talent pool is rapidly shrinking.

It looks to be a lot better news at CB which at the moment seems pretty deep for rounds 2 & 3 as Sunstroke said earlier. After that though, we're probably looking at project players and depth.

I'm excited for the Grant pick as he will be the nose guard for the 3-4 defense that Anthony Weaver likes ro run. I would expect that is going to be more prevalent for us going forward.

Two picks tonight for Miami (2-16, 3-34), Three for SF (2-11, 3-11, 3-36)  If I was breaking a wishbone for Miami (and SF) tonight, I would hope for the best O-lineman and best "pure cover on an island" cornerback. Throw a WR in there for SF's other 3rd.

I saw a recent mock of the second round which saw us getting Tate Ratledge after a huge run on the CB position ahead of us.

I have an awful feeling we will find a starter at one position, but not both.

Miami has traded up with LV here in round 2...

YES!!

OG Jonah Savaiinaea has been excellent for my AZ Wildcats. Glad he went to a team I can cheer for.

Hopefully should be our replacement for Eichenberg this season and onward.

The big question is do we also move up our third to also try and nab a starting CB? 

I just saw the cost of that move - our third round pick (98), one of our fourths (135).

I guess it had to be done, but if want a starting CB from this draft we are probably going to need to trade up again. That said, the predicted run on CB hasn't started... yet.

My Niners are up shortly, and if CB Will Johnson is still there, I'd be good with that.  TE Mason Taylor would make a nice tandem with Kittle...

Jets got Taylor.  ::)

Shavon Revel Jr. should be a good prospect at CB if like others you think that Johnson's red flags are too big to ignore.

It's staggering seeing his stocks plummet like this... as well as Shedeur Sanders who at this rate may slip right through the second round!

Edit. Alfred Collins should be a solid pick by you, he's about the best of the DTs that were left.

Oh no!!  Mason Taylor goes to the Jets...that sucks.

49ers double down on the D-line with the big Texas DT, Alfred Collins.

Well I'm happy with their 1st two picks. I have no idea how it will turn out, but I like that they at least went for some size and strength. Never underestimate being able to convert a 3rd and one or stop a 3rd and one. Maybe they will bring a bit of attitude and leadership as well. Our leaders have been far too much finesse for the last couple of years. Let's see if we can develop them now.

Will Johnson to the Cards, so I'll get to see him a few home games..

Does anyone else here see the bitter irony that we had to use our top picks this year to get replacements for Wilkins and Hunt, including the compensation picks we got for letting them walk?  :o

Benjamin Morrison to the Bucs just now, a very Todd Bowles choice for them to make.

You wonder if the predicted run on the rest of the top CB prospects will start soon?

That's part of what the draft is about, you're replacing expensive FA's with low cost rookie contracts.

We didn't let them walk, we couldn't afford them. Perhaps if Miami wouldn't have given so much in contracts to other players?

Man, I hate to say this, but it looks like the Jets are kicking ass in this draft...

Too bad they don't give trophy's for winning the draft.  >:D

That's the Dolphins thinking of how the draft works - which has managed to net us exactly zero playoff wins in the last 25 years.

They left at a time we could have made Tua play out his fifth year option instead of awarding him a fat mult-year deal. Before we brought forward a big chunk of Tyreek's salary and guaranteed it.

No, we let them walk. Along with AVG, Brandon Jones, etc.

That was kind of my point. Those decisions were made by the time Wilkens and AVG left. It may not have happened yet, but the decision had already been made.

We didn't let them walk, we decided to pay others and couldn't afford to pay everyone.

Back to the draft...

The top rated CB prospects are really starting to thin out now. As it turned out the Niners could have picked Revel, but they went for a LB instead and he went to the Cowboys (sorry Sunstroke).

Somehow Grier really should try and mend that broken bridge with Ramsey - even then we're still looking at the prospect of trying to find two starting quality outside corners in the next 12 months. Safeties as well if Melifonwu and Davis aren't the starting quality replacements he expects them to be.

Dillon Gabriel just got picked by the Browns, so he's not heading our way as a backup QB. Neither is Jalen Milroe who went to the Seahawks.

Sanders could fall past the third round, with (at least) five QBs picked ahead of him. I don't think anyone saw this coming!  :o

Giving the big contracts to Wilkins and Hunt means letting someone else walk.

But they aren't signing one-year deals, so giving them the multi-year contracts they got in CAR and LV means you can't sign Tua.

And the deal that MIA signed Tua to has already fallen to 6th in AAV, less than one year later (and before this offseason's group of extensions are done).  Signing that deal last year will continue to provide savings going forward... unless you think MIA should dump this QB and go back into the draft again, which sounds like another strategy that has resulted in "exactly zero playoff wins in the last 25 years."

You make Tua play out his 5th year option, and if necessary, franchise tag him the next year. That's what the Ravens did with Jackson, and it didn't hurt them one bit.

This was simply a case that Grier put all of his eggs in the wrong baskets, and nuked a huge chunk of the rebuild in the process.

It's not just Wilkins and Hunt though... we pretty much let almost everyone walk not named Tua, Waddle, Jackson (who got all the money along with the mercenaries we paid the huge bucks to bring in).

 

No argument from me there. I was critical of letting Wilkens go and I'm happy that they drafted a DT to take his place. We were fortunate that Campbell played as well as he did. Maybe it worked out in the end. I hope so.

I was not as big of a fan on Hunt as perhaps some others were. I didn't like that AVG wasn't resigned, I'd like to see a LB taken in day 3. I think there are FA corners out there that might not be terrible if we lose Ramsey and honestly I thought Ramsey's heart wasn't really in it the latter half of the year. I think his trade demands reflect that as well. We are probably going to be hurting for CB's, but there's only so much you can fix in any one off season.

And then you're letting Tua walk, or paying him $65M/year.

There is no argument for "paying Tua later" because that can't enable you to sign other players to huge multi-year deals, and only serves to make him more expensive. The argument is simply pay him or get rid of him.  And if you want to talk about failed strategies, MIA had 37 years of drafting QBs that can't even make a Pro Bowl.

Well that's a little unfair as they already had their franchise QB for a number of those years and weren't really drafting QB's to replace him. I'll give you that the 20 years before Tua were misses.

I'm not sure why people were so hung up on Wilkins.  He was the "locker room leader" of a defense that was never anything more than mediocre.  I understand paying big bucks to someone like Wake or X who's playing at an All-Pro level, but Wilkins was never that; he's never even made a Pro Bowl.  No team results, no individual results... why break the bank for him?

AVG was a victim of his own slow development.  He had 5 years in Miami to show what he ended up doing for MIN; if he had been playing like that for MIA, the Dolphins would not have given up a first-round pick to get Chubb.

The fact the defense was mediocre wasn't the fault of Wilkens or AVG. Those guys were balling out and didn't get enough credit. Without those guys the Dolphins D was one of the worst in the NFL.

Tua made precisely one Pro Bowl when we gave him the fat contract.

Jackson was league MVP when he deservedly got his big paycheck from the Ravens. The point is, he earned it, they knew exactly what they were getting because he had consistently hit an elite standard. Tua was and is nowhere near that level.

We've talked about this issue to death and don't really need to do it again in this thread about the draft. ::)

There are plenty of QBs originally drafted as projects/backups that went on to the Pro Bowl, for their original team or after leaving to be a starter elsewhere:  Matt Schaub, Tony Romo, Nick Foles, Kirk Cousins, Dak Prescott, Brock Purdy

And there were a hell of a lot more that didn't.

The point is that over the past 40 years, Miami has only drafted and developed one QB that can even meet the modest bar of "making the Pro Bowl."  The idea of throwing him in the trash to go digging back in the draft seems like the absolute epitome of resuming a failed strategy.

Didn't Tannehill make the Pro Bowl? Granted it wasn't with the Dolphins but you mentioned guys that made the pro bowl after leaving their original team so I think that counts. Tua's maybe not quite in the rarified air that you think he is. If you move the bar up a notch to winning a playoff game well the jury is still out on that one.

Again, players like Wake or X on mediocre defenses were REALLY balling out and earned big deals.  AVG had five years in Miami to show he could play and didn't do much, and while Wilkins was... great for morale I guess, he did not set himself apart among his peers in the league.  He was a good player, but not a game-changer that you move heaven and earth to keep.

Both Wilkins and Hunt are examples of solid players that you nevertheless let go and look to replace in free agency or the draft.  And you can tell this because the teams that signed them to those huge deals are absolute bottom-feeders who have to do something with their cap space.

I don't count Tannehill because, unlike Schaub or Cousins, he was not a player that another team wanted as a starter.  Tannehill was considered a bust coming off the Dolphins and TEN resurrected him.  Miami gets no credit for that.

Sorry, I get a little carried away sometimes. No offense intended.

You're the one that added the qualifier of "Well Miami didn't draft a good backup under Marino because they had a starter" in the first place.  It's entirely possible to draft good backups (or develop project QBs) when you have an entrenched starter; the Dolphins have just been shitty at it.

We can remove every qualifier and simply say, "Made the Pro Bowl as a Miami Dolphin," which eliminates all but 3 QBs in the history of the franchise.  The Dolphins have been terrible at drafting and developing QBs, so going back to the draft for another franchise QB should be avoided as long as possible.

Back to the draft...

We didn't move back into the third round, and the predicted run on CB finally happened.

Zah Frazier seems an intriguing prospect at 6-3 if he's still there.  Other than that, it's getting really hard to be excited at what's left.

I guess that's natural when we're going into day three and our next picks are 116, 143, 150, 155, 224, 231, 253.

And the 49ers start round 4 by drafting...another D-lineman. At this rate, SF is going to start an 8-man defensive font, and Brock is going to snap it to himself.

Great googily moogily...

Anyone getting the feeling that maybe Mel Kiper Jr has kinda lost touch with player evaluation? To see Sanders at the top of his best available since essentially the start of the draft is starting to make me wonder just how in touch he really is with things. Maybe the game has passed him by a bit?

I don't think they are going to pick a CB until they know for sure what's going to happen with Ramsey. Just because they said they would entertain the idea of a trade doesn't mean it's going to happen, they still have to find a trade partner and Miami isn't going to just give him away for nothing. Ramsey didn't exactly have a stellar year this year and him basically saying that he wants to play for a winner isn't going to really facilitate things in my humble opinion. I'm certain that Miami is ready to move on, but they can't start doing that until it actually happens. There are going to be some free agent CB's after the draft, nothing is forcing them into picking one now.

I have never been impressed Mel Kiper.  I am pretty sure if you compared his predictions of which players were going to be successful vs NFL teams he would rank 33.  There is a reason no team has ever asked him to switch from broadcasting to scouting

I hate to say it, but if Sanders is still available for Miami's 5th round pick I think they should take him.

Miami has three 5th round picks, 1 down 2 more to go.

EDIT:

Welp the Browns took him right after us.

I was very happy to see DL Jordan Phillips go to Miami in rd 5. When I was mocking, and was spending early picks on the O-line and DB, Phillips was a player I'd grab in rds 3-4 a lot.

Looks like Miami is going to double up on some positions here. 2nd DT just taken. Would not be surprised to see them take another OL in the 5th round as well.

Shedeur Sanders finally gets selected...by Cleveland at #144.

...in possibly unrelated news, Cleveland is now looking to extend Deshaun Watson's contract.

Whoa, Mel Kiper Jr. losing it on national TV. Anyone watching this? He just said the NFL is clueless on how to evaluate QB's. Maybe it's you Mel? He seems personally offended by where Sanders was picked. Maybe it is time for Mel to find another line of work.

I've been watching the NFL network coverage. Mel Kiper is annoying

lol


Cleveland already drafted Dillon Gabriel out of Oregon in the 3rd round, and they also still have Kenny Pickett.  That's going to be an interesting QB room. lol

Wow, I watched that.  Mel trying to defend himself, must have been reading all the negative comments about himself, he lost it.

Best comment I heard about Shedeur today regarding his slide... "That happens when you combine hall of fame drama and practice squad talent."

I think Shedeur is clearly more than "practice squad talent."
The owners decided to teach him a lesson.  (Though I have also heard his interviews were horrible.)

I think there was some concern about how coachable he is. He has been coached by his dad all the way through college. I feel like some teams were afraid that dad might interfere a bit with his development. That's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

For what it's worth, I think there are some aftershocks here from the whole LaVar/Lonzo Ball debacle in the NBA.
The NFL doesn't want a repeat of that episode, even when the dad is one of the legends of the sport.

I completely agree that the talent is better than practice squad level. The "hall of fame drama" aspect is probably not really accurate at this point either. Maybe "pro bowl drama" would be a better fit to start, with room to grow into his true diva potential.

Are the Dolphins switching to a 4-3? I'm a little confused with a 3rd DT pick. Would have rather seen an inside LB taken somewhere. We haven't had one since Zach retired.

Mel wasn't the only only who had him pegged as the second best QB in the draft, a lot did - a few experts did expect him to fall out of the first round, but not all the way to the fifth. Nobody expected a whole handful of other QBs to be picked in between either.

Sanders must have really stunk it up in his team interviews and his FIGJAM persona put literally everyone off until he dropped so far his potential was just too good to ignore. Well played Browns I have to say.

I was happy enough with this pick.

The rest of the draft was a whole lot of meh for me though.

We got two starters with our first two picks (at desperate areas of need) which is good, and Phillips could be a decent contributor this year and potentially grow into the role of another starter.

The rest are absolutely nothing to get excited about.

This last guy will just be competition in camp, and wind up on the practice squad if he's lucky. If that happens, it's the end of the road for Ogbah with us, and a money saving move.

My early dreams of picking up one of the top linebackers with our second pick were crushed on day one when they flew off the board early. It wasn't a loaded draft at the LB position, so by the time we got to our second and third picks they were better used elsewhere. As it turns out, with Hand departing and the crisis with Ramsey, those other positions became much more important. Plus we seem to be locked in for Brooks and Dodson for at least this season.

The ironic thing is that this may be the very best thing to happen to Sanders, and the very best outcome for Cleveland.

If he's as talented as his mouth says, he's got an opportunity to do it against competition that shouldn't be that great... but as it stands right now, he is dead last on the QB depth chart with four guys ahead of him, all drafted much higher than him.

That is one massive reality check. He's going to have to work his butt off to win the respect of his teammates and coaches, and earn his spot on an NFL roster, let alone a starter role, and of he does then it's big a win-win scenario. If he doesn't, he's gonna find out the lesson that NFL means Not-Fucking-Long when your talent and output doesn't measure up to anything like your jawing.

With the draft now over and us still thin in the secondary, of the Cornerbacks left over, Zy Alexander looks to be about the best that I can see of them.

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/zy-alexander/3200414c-4575-6477-d14f-44cf4205fa48
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/players/26719331/zy-alexander/

Chad Reuter's list of Top undrafted free agents ranked by position:

https://www.nfl.com/news/2025-nfl-draft-top-undrafted-rookie-free-agents



CBS Sports 2025 Draft Prospect Rankings:

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/prospect-rankings/

I'm still pissed we didn't pick this guy when we had the chance - the Bears got him later on in the 5th round.  ::)

He would have had the height to cover the tight ends who have been a non-stop source of misery for us for more than a decade. Yes he's raw and lanky, only a starter for one season, but wow, the highlight reel of him was very, very impressive. He may have possibly transitioned into a strong safety or coverage linebacker... it's the sort of risk worth taking in the 5th round when all the best options are long, long gone.

... and just like that, Ogbah is out the door.

https://www.si.com/nfl/dolphins/news/ogbah-lands-with-afc-team-01jswg2bef82

I'd be surprised if Wynn hangs around now, as his chance of getting decent pay is also virtually zero.

We've drafted well to hopefully solidify these two positions with long term starters, but like elsewhere our depth is awfully thin.

Ogbah was "out the door" the second the season ended and his contract expired. It was a one-year deal and he was an unrestricted free agent.

Wynn's contract also expired. He hasn't found a new team yet, but he is no longer with the Dolphins.

Saw this today and reminded me of what I said on draft night. I think Mel Kiper's star is fading...and he's not handling it well.

Cam Ward's college coach fuels Shedeur Sanders and Mel Kiper Jr conspiracy theory of draft coverage (https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/cam-ward-s-college-coach-fuels-shedeur-sanders-and-mel-kiper-jr-conspiracy-theory-of-draft-coverage/ar-AA1EM2Yi?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=917aedcbc1534626d30629b45d720aba&ei=33)