Where the Miami Dolphins’ first-round draft pick could end up. And Fins added running back
Pending the results of next Sunday’s games, the Dolphins could pick anywhere from second to seventh in April’s NFL draft, though second and seventh are the most unlikely.
The Dolphins rising to second would require a Dolphins loss in New England, a Giants win at home against Philadelphia; a Washington win in Dallas and a Detroit win at home against Green Bay. And even in that scenario, Miami would need to maintain a narrow lead over Washington in the strength of schedule tiebreaker.
If Miami beats New England, the Dolphins could fall to sixth — behind Jacksonville — if the Jaguars lose at home against Indianapolis. Jacksonville would likely own the tiebreaker over Miami in that scenario because its opponents have a worse cumulative winning percentage than Miami’s.
But there’s not great risk of falling lower than sixth because the Dolphins own the tiebreaker leads over the 5-10 Chargers and 5-10 Panthers. It’s conceivable, but highly unlikely, that the Chargers could leapfrog Miami.
The Dolphins also own Houston’s first-round pick, which will be somewhere in the 20s, and Pittsburgh’s first-round pick, which will be in the late teens or 20s, depending on if the Steelers make the playoffs. Tennessee can beat out Pittsburgh for the final AFC playoff spot by winning Sunday in Houston.
SCHEDULE SET
Two opponents in the Dolphins’ 2020 schedule were set Sunday, with Miami learning it will play Cincinnati at home and Jacksonville away.
The other home games, which were previously determined: Buffalo, New England, the Jets, Kansas City, the Los Angeles Chargers, the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle.
The other road games: Buffalo, New England, the Jets, Denver, the Las Vegas Raiders, Arizona and San Francisco.
Dates and times will be determined in the coming months and announced in April. One Dolphins home game will be moved to London or Mexico.
NEWCOMERS SHINE
Three players added in the last two weeks played a lot — and generally well — in the 38-35 overtime win over Cincinnati.
Defensive tackle Zach Sieler, claimed off waivers from Baltimore earlier this month, had seven tackles, a sack and two passes defended, and Pro Football Focus graded him as Miami’s second-best player on defense on Sunday, behind only linebacker Sam Eguaoven. He played 48 snaps on defense; only Christian Wilkins (55) played more among Dolphins defensive linemen.
Brian Flores said the Dolphins might not have won Sunday’s game without him.
Linebacker Calvin Munson, who started five games for the Giants as an undrafted rookie out of San Diego in 2017, played 36 snaps, had four tackles and was graded third-best overall on Miami’s defense by PFF.
And undrafted Appalachian State rookie cornerback Tae Hayes, claimed off waivers from Jacksonville recently, played 67 of 90 snaps and allowed only three of 10 passes in his coverage area to be caught, for 55 yards.
▪ Four Dolphins players were injured in Sunday’s game, and if Miami places them on injured reserve, that would be a vehicle to add more players for Sunday’s game at New England.
Cornerback Jomal Wiltz and receiver Allen Hurns both sustained shoulder injuries; running back Myles Gaskin injured his ankle; and linebacker Vince Biegel sustained an elbow injury.
Flores indicated Gaskin’s injury was the most serious and suggested Miami likely will add another running back this week, joining Patrick Laird and De’Lance Turner.
[UPDATE: The Dolphins are claiming Samaje Perine from Cincinnati’s practice squad. A former Redskins fourth-round pick out of Oklahoma in 2017, Perine ran 183 times fro 635 yards (a 3.5 average) in 21 games and eight starts for the Redskins in 2017 and 2018. This season, he appeared in six games for Cincinnati but did not have a carry.]
▪ The Dolphins played 90 snaps on both offense and defense Sunday. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and the five starting offensive linemen played all 90 snaps on offense, and cornerback Nik Needham and safety Eric Rowe played all 90 on defense.
▪ PFF gave Miami’s best offensive grades to Fitzpatrick, center Daniel Kilgore and receiver Isaiah Ford and the worst grades to running back Patrick Laird, guard Michael Deiter and tight end Clive Walford.
This story was originally published December 23, 2019 at 3:51 PM.
