Dolphins begin bringing in select college players for private visits. Two booked early
NFL franchises are permitted to fly as many as 30 non-local draft prospects to team headquarters for meetings, health checkups and visits with coaches and front office personnel.
The Dolphins are well into scheduling those visits with players. Like many teams, the Dolphins never announce or confirm their ‘30 visits.’
Among those they’ve summoned to South Florida, per sources: Iowa tight end Erick All and Northern Iowa defensive tackle Khristian Boyd.
All played four seasons at Michigan before transferring to Iowa, where he had 21 catches for 299 yards and three touchdowns last season.
The 6-4, 252-pound All caught 54 passes for 565 yards with two touchdowns in 33 games at Michigan.
In All’s case, a medical check is likely among the reasons for his Dolphins visit.
“Clearing the medical evaluations will be the first (and most important) hurdle for All on his way to the pros,” NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein said.
“He suffered an ACL tear in October and had a season-ending back injury in 2022 after just three games. When healthy, he has solid speed to run field-stretching routes, and he has the foot agility to snap off short-area routes with adequate quickness. The hands are inconsistent, and he needs to push back against handsy coverage to create route space.”
NFL.com’s Zierlein said “his run blocking needs to get better, but there is enough in place to envision him playing with his hand down or as an H-back. If he checks out medically, he has enough talent to compete for a spot as a [third tight end] on a roster.”
ESPN’s Louis Riddick endorsed All in a post on the social media platform X this week.
“If the medicals (knee rehab, past issues) are behind him, he is a starting caliber tight end in the league that will be a problem as a route runner, and a very solid, versatile run blocker,” Riddick said. “The tape is that good.”
Boyd - who is 6-2 and 320 pounds - impressed scouts at the East-West Shrine Bowl. He had 38 tackles (14 solo) and 2.5 sacks last season. He had 30 tackles and one sack in 2022.
USA Today’s draft wire calls Boyd “a powerful athlete whose explosiveness helps create leverage in run defense and setting up his pass-rush moves.”
The Dolphins aren’t going to waste a 30-visit on a player who doesn’t interest them.
But quantifying the level of interest can be tricky; in some cases, the team has moderate interest but primarily wants doctors to examine how an injury is healing.
In other cases, they may want to spend more time with a player after a short interview at the NFL Combine. In some cases, there might be character questions, though that is not the case with All or Boyd.
The Dolphins also brought in Canadian Football League cornerback Qwan’Tez Stiggers on a ‘30 visit’, as detailed here.
The Dolphins have drafted some players who have taken 30 visits to their offices over the years, but have bypassed drafting or pursuing many others, even some who went undrafted.
ANOTHER VISIT
Southern Cal safety Calen Bullock, rated by ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. as the No. 7 safety in this draft class, took a ‘30’ visit to Dolphins headquarters on Thursday, per his social media account.
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein says Bullock is “long and athletic with a series of feast-or-famine plays all over the tape. Bullock can be scary good in coverage and scary bad as a run defender. He has the range to play single-high safety, the athleticism to line up over the slot and the ball skills to chalk up impressive on-ball production.
“As a run defender, Bullock’s poor recognition, missed run fits and bad angles to the football cost his team chunk plays and touchdowns. He won’t always see or process the game clearly, but the athleticism and playmaking talent are hard to overlook. He’s young and talented, and if he runs well enough, there might be a team more interested in his skill set as a cornerback than as a boom/bust safety.”
Bullock, who was first-team All Pac 12 last season, had nine interceptions in three years at USC, including two last season. He finished his college career with 151 tackles, 15 passes defended and two interceptions returned for touchdowns.
This story was originally published April 2, 2024 at 9:16 AM.
