NFL Draft live updates Day 3: Miami Dolphins make five picks, four trades on final day
The first two days of the 2020 NFL Draft were already busy for the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins used six picks across the first three rounds, drafting Tua Tagovailoa, two offensive linemen, two defensive backs and a defensive tackle.
Saturday will be even busier. Miami has nine picks to use in the final four rounds of the NFL Draft and still has a long list of needs to fill. The Miami Herald will be providing live draft updates throughout the day here. Follow along as the developments come in below:
What happened on Day 3?
7:07 p.m.: The 2020 NFL Draft is in the book, and the Dolphins wrapped up by making five picks and four trades on a busy final day. Here’s a round-up of everything Miami did Saturday:
▪ The Dolphins traded a pair of fourth-round picks to the Houston Texans to move up in the round and take Georgia Bulldogs guard Solomon Kindley. This pick was actually originally Miami’s and went to the Texans last year as part of the trade sending tackle Laremy Tunsil to Houston.
▪ The Dolphins landed running back Matt Breida from the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a fifth-round pick. The pick Miami traded the 49ers for Breida was acquired last year when it dealt running back Kenyan Drake to the Arizona Cardinals, so the Dolphins effectively swapped Drake for Breida.
▪ Miami used another fifth-round pick — one pick after the one it traded for Breida, actually — to draft Jason Strowbridge. The North Carolina Tar Heels defensive lineman played at Deerfield Beach High School.
▪ The Dolphins then dealt a fifth-round pick and seventh-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles to move up in the fifth round and draft Boise State Broncos edge rusher Curtis Weaver.
▪ Miami spent its lone sixth-round selection on LSU Tigers long snapper Blake Ferguson.
▪ The Dolphins used their first seventh-round pick to take wide receiver Malcolm Perry, who played quarterback for the Navy Midshipmen.
▪ Miami dealt its final seventh-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for a sixth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Live updates, analysis
6:50 p.m.: The Dolphins traded pick No. 251 to the Seahawks. In return, they got Seattle’s sixth-rounder in 2021. So despite having as many as 15 picks in this year’s draft at one point, the Dolphins ended up making 11 selections.
6:35 p.m.: Dolphins are going out with a bang. They use their first of two seventh-round picks on Navy’s do-everything offensive weapon Malcolm Perry.
The Dolphins are listing him as a wide receiver. He played quarterback in college. And he can line up at running back too.
The Dolphins drafted Perry, in part, because of a recent DOD memorandum that allowed service academy athletes to go pro after graduation, so long as they either later fulfill their military obligations or repay their education costs.
Fun!
Here’s Lance Zierlein’s take:
“When a prospect starts off with traits like tough, smart and highly competitive, they are off to a very good start with important intangibles. While Perry checks those boxes, he’s undersized, moving to a new position, and lacks explosive twitch as a route-runner to uncover in short spaces. With play-callers becoming more creative, Perry’s production in option packages could open a lane for him as offenses love to create additional game-planning duties for defensive coordinators.”
6:15 p.m.: The Dolphins’ last two picks are closing in. The top five available, according to ESPN: Washington Huskies tackle Trey Adams, Washington tight end Hunter Bryant, Michigan Wolverines cornerback Lavert Hill, Vanderbilt Commodores wide receiver Kalija Lipscomb and Auburn Tigers defensive end Nick Coe.
5:30 p.m.: We’re into the seventh round and the Dolphins have two picks left. Miami picks 32nd and 37th in the final round — Nos. 246 and 251 overall.
At this point, the Dolphins have filled most needs, as evidenced by their decision to pick a long snapper in the sixth round. Continuing to bolster the offensive line in the seventh round would make sense and Miami could opt to grab another tight end. A pair of Washington Huskies at those two positions are currently the top two prospects available: tackle Trey Adams and All-American tight end Hunter Bryant.
4:45 p.m.: We’ve hit some downtime and it has been a particularly hectic day, so let’s reset as we near the seventh round by recapping the day in streamlined fashion:
▪ The Dolphins traded a pair of fourth-round picks to the Houston Texans to move up in the round and take Georgia Bulldogs guard Solomon Kindley. This pick was actually originally Miami’s and went to the Texans last year as part of the trade sending tackle Laremy Tunsil to Houston.
▪ The Dolphins landed running back Matt Breida from the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a fifth-round pick. The pick Miami traded the 49ers for Breida was acquired last year when it dealt running back Kenyan Drake to the Arizona Cardinals, so the Dolphins effectively swapped Drake for Breida.
▪ Miami used another fifth-round pick — one pick after the one it traded for Breida, actually — to draft Jason Strowbridge. The North Carolina Tar Heels defensive lineman played at Deerfield Beach High School.
▪ The Dolphins then dealt a fifth-round pick and seventh-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles to move up in the fifth round and draft Boise State Broncos edge rusher Curtis Weaver.
▪ Miami spent its lone sixth-round selection on LSU Tigers long snapper Blake Ferguson.
The Dolphins have two picks left in the back half of the seventh round. Miami picks 32nd and 37th in the final round — Nos. 246 and 251 overall.
4 p.m.: The Dolphins will likely have a new long snapper in 2020. Because it’s hard to envision them using a sixth-round pick on LSU’s Blake Ferguson and then cutting him to keep Taybor Pepper.
That’s it. That’s all the insight we have on the 185th pick of the draft.
UPDATE: OK, two bits of insight. The other is Ferguson, assuming he does make the team, will get to face his brother twice a year. Reid Ferguson snaps for the Bills after preceding his little brother at LSU.
3:30 p.m.: One quick postscript on the Breida acquisition: The Dolphins must have taken this possibility into consideration when they sat tight at 56 and didn’t move up for Dobbins. To get ahead of Baltimore it probably would have taken ... a fifth-round pick (if not more).
So instead of getting JK Dobbins, they got both Matt Breida AND Raekwon Davis.
3:25 p.m.: More on Curtis Weaver: He told reporters that he expected to go in the first two days of the draft. All players say that, but he is right to think he fell farther than he should have.
Here’s this from Pro Football Focus:
The selection is the Dolphins’ third on the defensive line to go along with three on the offensive line.
3:10 p.m.: After making three trades in Rounds 4 and 5, the Dolphins have just three more picks remaining: one in the sixth round (185) and two in the seventh (246 and 251).
So after having as many as 15 draft picks in the 2020 draft, they’ll probably end up making 12.
3 p.m.: Trades, trade and more trades! The Dolphins have moved up again, this time for Boise State pass rusher Curtis Weaver, the all-time Mountain West Conference sack leader.
To get him with the 164th pick, they sent the Eagles picks No. 173 and 227.
Who is Curtis Weaver?
He’s a redshirt junior from Long Beach who was a second-team All-American, first-team All-Mountain West, MWC Defensive Player of the Year plus a Ted Hendricks Award finalist.
2:50 p.m.: Just got off the line with Jason Strowbridge, whom the Dolphins took at pick No. 154. As we mentioned, he’s a local product. He attended Deerfield Beach High before going on to spend five falls in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Despite being from down here, Strowbridge wasn’t able to meet with the Dolphins ahead of the coronavirus lockdown.
When asked where he could line up, he replied: “Either side [of the DL]. I’m just as comfortable on the inside as the outside. ... I pride myself with being able to move around on the line and that’s what I did in my career in college.”
When asked to describe his style of play in one word, he responded: “Versatile.”
As for playing for his hometown team, he said: “I was excited. ... To get the call and say that I’m saying home, it’s everything. Have all my family watch me play in Dolphins Stadium, it’s a great feeling.”
Here’s what Lance Zierlein wrote about Strowbridge:
“Strowbridge will give opponents a physical challenge with good length, toughness and hand usage at the point of attack, but he lacks the suddenness and short-area directional change to be a consistent disruptor. While he’s not a plus pass rusher, he definitely flashed at the Senior Bowl and has upside as a reduced rusher in an even front on passing downs. He will need to drop the pad level to improve as an edge-setter, but he appears to offer the necessary physical tools and demeanor to become a rotational 3-4 five-technique or 4-3 base end with eventual-starter potential.”
2:25 p.m.: Trade alert! Trade alert! The Dolphins have sent the 153rd pick in the draft to San Francisco for running back Matt Breida, ESPN first reported.
The Dolphins will pair Breida, who rushed for 623 yards and a touchdown in 2019, with Jordan Howard to make up a vastly improved running back group.
The Dolphins also owned the 154th pick. They used that on North Carolina defensive tackle (and Deerfield Beach native) Jason Strowbridge.
Wow, what a crazy few minutes.
1:59 p.m.: Two more running backs are off the board Saturday. Florida Gators tailback La’Mical Perine is headed to the New York Jets and Miami Hurricanes running back DeeJay Dallas is off to the Seattle Seahawks.
With just a few picks left in the fourth round, Arizona State Sun Devils running back Eno Benjamin is now the best available at the position.
1:38 p.m.: New Dolphins offensive lineman Solomon Kindley says he’s comfortable playing either guard spot in the NFL. The Jacksonville native is particularly adept as a pass protector. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah weighs in:
“The best thing he does is anchor in pass protection because you can’t get through him. Got that huge belly. Is able to sink his weight and stun people when they try to get through him.”
See what all the national analysts are saying about the guard, as compiled by Herald columnist Barry Jackson.
1 p.m.: Even after moving up for Kindley, the Dolphins still have seven picks left in the draft: three in the fifth (153, 154 and 173), one in the sixth (185), and three in the seventh (227, 246 and 251).
And here’s something really wild: The pick they acquired from the Texans for Kindley was actually their originally. They shipped it to Houston in the Tunsil trade, and got it back today by packaging the pick they got from the Packers Thursday and their compensatory pick for J’Wuan James.
12:20 p.m.: The Dolphins are going all in on offensive linemen this weekend. Solomon Kindley is now the third offensive lineman to head to Miami in the 2020 NFL Draft. To get him, the Dolphins packaged the 136th and 141st picks to move up to 111 — their biggest trade of the draft.
Here’s what NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein tells us about Kindley:
“Nasty guard who lives in scrap mode, looking for fights inside a relatively small phone booth where he’s most comfortable. Kindley has the frame of a powerful guard, but doesn’t bend well enough to generate leverage and push at the point of attack. He’s a mauler with enough finesse to get to some reach and cut-off blocks, but faces scheme limitations. Slide quickness is limited and his tendency to lunge allows rushers to work around his edge earlier than teams like. The size and toughness are great, but Kindley needs to play with better control and technique in order to become an average NFL backup.”
12:19 p.m.: The Dolphins are going on the clock earlier than anticipated. Miami traded the Nos. 136 and 141 picks to the Houston Texans to move up to No. 111.
12:15 p.m.: The San Francisco 49ers were the best team in the NFC. And on Day 3 of the draft, they got better. They traded for disgruntled Redskins offensive tackle Trent Williams, according to multiple reports.
The terms, according to ESPN:
Williams for a fifth-round pick in 2021. Not bad for a potential top 10 tackle.
The good teams keep getting better.
12:06 p.m.: The Cincinnati Bengals are officially on the clock, and the third and final day of the NFL Draft is underway.
The Dolphins have a little bit of a wait ahead of them. Miami doesn’t pick until the 30th selection of the fourth round.
What will Dolphins do Saturday?
11:30 a.m.: The Dolphins have nine picks Saturday, but won’t have their first until the back half of the fourth round.
Miami picks once in the fourth round, three times in the fifth, once in the sixth and then three times again in the seventh.
The Dolphins start with the 30th pick in the fourth round — No. 136 overall — then have the seventh, eighth and 27th picks in the fifth — Nos. 153, 154 and 170 overall. Miami then has the sixth pick in Round 6 — No. 185 overall — and the 13th, 32nd and 37th picks in Round 7 — Nos. 227, 246 and 251 overall.
The positions to watch Saturday are running back, tight end, safety and the edge spot. Here are some of the top names to know:
Running back: La’Mical Perine, Florida; DeeJay Dallas, Miami; Joshua Kelly, UCLA; Eno Benjamin, Arizona State, Anthony McFarlane, Maryland
Tight end: Harrison Bryant, FAU; Hunter Bryant, Washington; Albert Okwuegbunam, Missouri; Colby Parkinson, Stanford; Jared Pinckney, Vanderbilt
Edge rusher: Troy Dye, Oregon; Akeem Davis-Gaiter, Appalachian State; Curtis Weaver, Boise State; James Lynch, Baylor; Bradlee Anae, Utah
Safety: Geno Stone, Iowa; Alohi Gilman, Notre Dame; Antoine Brooks Jr., Maryland; Kenny Robinson, West Virginia; J.R. Reed, Georgia
11 a.m.: The final day of the Draft is about plugging remaining holes and taking the best prospects available. With nine picks, the Dolphins can do some of both Saturday .
Running back is the one position under the microscope. Ryan Fitzpatrick was the Miami’s leading rusher last year and Dolphins passed on a slew of star running backs in the second round Friday . They’ll have to find someone there Saturday and Florida Gators running back La’Mical Perine is the top tailback available, according to ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.
Miami could also stand to keep adding offensive linemen. Wisconsin Badgers center Tyler Biadasz is one of the top players available, as is Washington Huskies tackle Trey Adams.
Other less-pressing positions of need include tight end and linebacker, and Dolphins could still use more help at safety, too. Some prospects to watch include FAU Owls tight end Harrison Bryant, Washington tight end Hunter Bryant, Boise State Broncos edge rusher Curtis Weaver and Utah Utes edge rusher Bradlee Anae.
Before we dive into Day 3, refresh yourself on what went down in the second and third rounds Friday, and what it means for Miami going forward this weekend and into the future.
What we’ve written
▪ The Dolphins doubled up on offensive linemen to start the second round, taking Louisian Ragin’ Cajuns prospect Robert Hunt. Herald beat writer Adam Beasley has the story on the lineman, who has excelled at both tackle and guard.
▪ National analysts were highest on the Hunt pick, according to Herald columnist Barry Jackson.
▪ Next up, Miami turned to the defensive line, grabbing tantalizing Alabama Crimson Tide defensive tackle Raekwon Davis in the second round.
▪ National feedback was more mixed on the defensive lineman, whose production dipped as his career in Tuscaloosa went on.
▪ The Dolphins stuck with defense in the third round, drafting versatile Texas Longhorns safety Brandon Jones.
▪ Analysts like the defensive back’s versatility and intelligence, but have question marks about his ceiling.
▪ Herald columnist Armado Salguero loved the way the day started, although he wasn’t as happy with the rest of the day.
▪ The biggest surprise of Friday was the Dolphins’ decision to stand pat at running back.
This story was originally published April 25, 2020 at 11:00 AM.
