After heavy lifting in free agency, Dolphins complete quiet draft – with room for much more
The Dolphins sat idly through the first two rounds of the NFL Draft before selecting Georgia linebacker Channing Tindall with their first pick in the third round. It was a selection that wasn’t a surprise to many, given that the middle linebacker position was one of the team’s remaining roster needs — plus Tindall was one of the best players on the board.
It wasn’t too long before the Dolphins were back on the clock the following day with the No. 125 overall pick, where they provided their first curveball of the draft weekend: The team selected Texas Tech’s Erik Ezukanma, doubling down at wide receiver, a position that was significantly upgraded in the prior months.
Explaining the decision to select Ezukanma afterward, general manager Chris Grier cited a tried and tested philosophy in draft circles: best player available. It’s the reason the team’s Day 3 haul not only included Ezukanma but Kansas State quarterback Skylar Thompson, a seventh-round pick who likely faces an uphill battle to make the 53-man roster behind Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater.
It’s also the reason the team didn’t come away with an offensive lineman, despite Grier’s vow to add competition at center for 2021 starter Michael Dieter.
“At the end of the day, you have four draft picks,” coach Mike McDaniel said Saturday night. “You’re going into both days, or really all three days of the draft saying, ‘You know what – we want to make our team better as best we can.’ You want to feel good about the players that you add. There’s a lot of people that are on the field, a lot of positions to fill, but the bottom line is that we need some Miami Dolphins that our locker room can embrace and that can make the players that we have better and make the team better. That’s what we did and we feel great about that.”
The Dolphins’ roster projection didn’t change much after the draft concluded nor was it expected to. The team did much of its heavy lifting in the first wave of free agency, doling out hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade their roster. The team also traded away three of its 2022 picks to the Kansas City Chiefs in the package for All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill. So, Dolphins brass watched Hill’s practice film Thursday, McDaniel munched on sushi in the team’s draft room and Grier consumed an inordinate amount of Cherry Pepsi — according to McDaniel — as the two knew they were limited in terms of what they could do over the weekend.
The following weeks, a more quiet period in the NFL before the start of training camp in late July, could be another critical juncture for the construction of the 2022 roster. With just four picks, the Dolphins have room for a larger-than-normal pool of undrafted free agent signings. And despite being as active as any team during free agency, the Dolphins worked the cap to perfection, retaining $20 million. This money could be used specifically toward bringing a veteran or two along the offensive line after the position went unaddressed in the draft.
“I feel very good just about the whole team,” McDaniel said. “It’s not just about the guys that we added. It’s about a collective group of people whether you’re in your first year or you’ve been a Miami Dolphin for two or three years. You want people to all agree on the front end to say, ‘Hey you know what, we’re ready to do something together and full commit to it.’ That’s what I’m most excited about because when I first got here, we didn’t have a team meeting. I was individually meeting people maybe two or three guys a day and then the rest were FaceTime and phone calls. Now, we have the energy of a full nucleus and I know one thing – we have a group of guys with these college guys now joining that are committed to trying to win football games and that’s the best part about the roster now.”
UNDRAFTED ROOKIES ADDED
The Dolphins are signing 14 undrafted rookies after the draft, including three offensive linemen, a former University of Miami pass rusher, an intriguing small college cornerback, and another ball-hawking defensive back from Oregon.
The offensive linemen added: Arizona State left tackle Kellen Diesch (who was rated by Pro Football Focus as the Pacific-12’s top tackle last season), Minnesota Blaise Andries (who has started multiple games at every line position except center) and Arkansas’ Ty Clary (who has played right tackle, right guard and center last season). Clary has considerable experience playing center.
Diesch received $140,000 guaranteed, which is a high number for an undrafted rookie.
The Dolphins are bringing in three players who produced double-digit sack numbers in their college career: UM’s Deandre Johnson, Nebraska’s Ben Stille and Illinois’ Andre Carney.
Johnson, a defensive end from Miami Southridge High, had 4.5 sacks for the Hurricanes last season after producing 10 in four seasons at Tennessee. Stille, a 295-pound end/tackle, had 14.5 sacks in five years with the Cornhuskers. Carney, a defensive end/outside linebacker from Miami Central High, also had 14.5 sacks in five seasons for the Illini, including six last season.
The Dolphins added a fourth defensive lineman after the draft: Virginia Tech and Clemson defensive tackle Jordan Williams. Last season, he played in 11 games for the Hokies, making six starts at defensive tackle and had 28 tackles, including three for loss, and 1.5 sacks. Before that, he played three seasons at Clemson and had 55 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and four sacks.
The Dolphins, after drafting receiver Erik Ezukanma in the fourth round, are signing two more receivers after the draft: Idado State’s Tanner Conner (34 catches for 685 yards and 4 TDs in just six games last season) and Mississippi’s Braylon Sanders, who caught 24 passes for 549 yards and four touchdowns in 2021.
Three defensive backs were added: Texas A&M Commerce cornerback Kader Kohou (a speedy small-college prospect who got $130,000 guaranteed), Oregon safety Verone McKinley III (who had 11 career interceptions, including four last season) and Louisiana Tech safety Elijah Hamilton, who played his first three seasons at Vanderbilt and his final season at Louisiana Tech.
Miami also added South Carolina running back Zaquandre White, who had 88 carries for 583 yards last season, a 6.6 per carry average. He started his career at FSU.
And FIU punter Tommy Heatherly signed with Miami and will compete with veteran Thomas Morstead. Heatherly averaged 46.4 yards per punt last season.
This story was originally published May 1, 2022 at 2:23 PM.
