Most professional sports seasons take a long break following the crowning of a champion. However, although the NFL closed the 2022 season just over a week ago, next week the NFL combine gets the 2023 offseason going when college prospects head to Indianapolis, Indiana for the most physical job interview there is.
From February 27 through March 6, NFL coaches and executives will flock to the annual evaluation week and further the process of building their boards for April’s selection meeting or better known as the draft.
When Miami’s brain-trust heads to Indianapolis, they’ll do so without a first-round pick. Their originally owned pick and the once-owned San Fransisco 49ers’ pick were taken away from the league or shipped to Denver in the Bradley Chubb trade with the Broncos, respectively.
Miami’s first selection will arrive in the second round at pick No. 51, as it stands now. Last season, the Dolphins were without their first two rounds of picks and started their draft process with linebacker Channing Tindall in the third followed by wide receiver Erik Ezukanma in the fourth. They made a pair of seventh-round choices in linebacker Cameron Goode, who’s currently on a futures deal with the team, and quarterback Skylar Thompson.
With needs in a few areas, and depth needed at stronger position rooms, free agency and re-signing key members of last year’s team will dictate the overall direction in April’s draft. And, when looking at the Dolphins’ current stash of picks, we can do our best to mix need, the track record of general manager Chris Grier and the area of the selection to guess what position groups the Dolphins will be focusing on come next week at the combine.
Grier took the reins in Miami as general manager in 2016, making the ultimate decisions in the war room. Since then, he’s had seven selections in the second round – four were on defense, two were offensive linemen and one was a tight end. Of these picks and still currently on the roster are Xavien Howard, Jerome Baker, Raekwon Davis, Jevon Holland and Liam Eichenberg. Mike Gesicki is a free agent and more than likely moving on from Miami, and Raekwon McMillian was traded two years into his Dolphins tenure.
Miami is in major need of a pure middle linebacker to plug-and-play in new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s system. With the majority of last year’s room heading into free agency, five to be exact, the Dolphins’ number one need is arguably inside linebacker, and they can probably bring in competition through free agency as well as the draft.
Tindall could benefit from the teaching of Fangio, but adding depth and hopefully finding a gem in the middle of the unit is paramount for this defense to fix a big need. With Baker heading into his sixth year, as well as a simple need for bodies in camp, the second-round pick at No. 51 could have a number of prospects that Grier and Fangio would love to get their hands on.
At the moment, Miami owns the following picks:
- Round 2, Pick 51
- Round 3, Pick 77
- Round 3 Pick 84
- Round 6, Pick 178
- Round 7, Pick 240
In this area of the draft, and looking at this talent pool in 2023, the Dolphins could probably be looking at the third or fourth-ranked linebacker off the board. Names to watch next week are Drew Sanders of Arkansas, Jack Campbell of Iowa, Henry To’oTo’o of Alabama, Noah Sewell of Oregon and Ivan Pace Jr. of Cincinnati.
Offensive line is also a big need for Miami, specifically right tackle and left guard. While there was an improvement to the Dolphins’ line this season, thanks to the additions of Connor Williams at center and Terron Armstead at left tackle, Robert Hunt is the only other safe name you can chisel in stone as a 2023 starter.
Left guard was a hole last season, and free agency could be a better option to bring in a veteran interior lineman. Armstead, say, free-agent LG Dalton Risner from the Denver Broncos, Williams, and Hunt could be a very solid unit, with right tackle left to be figured out.
2020 first-round pick, Austin Jackson hasn’t been consistent or healthy enough to confidently say that he has this job on lockdown. He played in just two games last season, giving Greg Little and Brandon Shell time at right tackle, but both are free agents this offseason.
When looking at the class of right tackles, or even swing tackles, there’s dual importance to players who can play on either side of the line. Armstead, as skilled and valuable as he is, played in 13 games in his first year as a Dolphin and is prone to missing a number of games each season.
A viable option to insert should such an occurrence happen a few times a year could work well for Miami, but the line priority is finding a blindside protector for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
With the premier tackles going off the board in the first, Grier could have an opportunity to select a guy like Syracuse’s Matthew Bergeron, Ohio State’s Dawand Jones or Tennessee’s Darnell Wright. Ryan Hayes of Michigan is an intriguing and versatile player as well.
Another area Miami could look at in this day two area would be tight end. Durham Smythe is penciled in as the starter as of now, and in a Mike McDaniel system that requires blocking, we all have an idea of the prototypical player for this offense.
Tight end is a deep position in the 2023 draft, and, in the second round, immediate-impact players could be found. The Dolphins have Hunter Long on the roster as well, but the pending loss of Gesicki will create a need for the position to be addressed one way or another.
A few tight ends could go off the board in the first, so guys like Michael Mayer of Notre Dame and Dalton Kincaid of Utah may be long gone. Names to know are Georgia’s Darnell Washington, who, yes, is a sound blocker at 6-foot-7 and 265 lbs.
Luke Musgrave from Oregon State, standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing in at 250 lbs is another name to track. Even deeper, and potentially a third-round visit, could be Michigan’s Luke Schoonmaker and Iowa’s Sam LaPorta.
It’ll be interesting to see what Grier and the Dolphins do at running back, as the entire room heads to free agency. Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr., Salvon Ahmed and Myles Gaskin all could be on different rosters next season, but it wouldn’t shock many to see a few re-sign. Mostert and Wilson could easily return, or at least one of them.
There’s also a stacked free agent running back class this year, but Grier has never shown a willingness to spend top dollar in the market. In terms of draft history, he’s never picked a back earlier than the third round and has usually used the seventh to take a flier on a runner.
The next phase of NFL football is upon us, in a sport that never truly has a stoppage of play.
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