Each of the NFL’s 32 franchises has their own criteria for grading prospects. Getting a firm confirmation across the entire league about any number of players from draft board to draft board is a tough chore — as teams all value different traits and qualities differently versus their own respective needs. But it is still nice to get confirmation from time to time that the selections being made by any given team are held in high esteem.
And in the case of the Miami Dolphins and their first two selections in the 2021 NFL Draft, it appears as though at least one AFC team on the Dolphins’ upcoming schedule for 2021 would have loved to have gotten their hands on the Dolphins’ top choices.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have released the latest of their video series, ‘The Hunt’ — and this latest look at the Jaguars’ offseason covers the NFL draft and that process as the Jaguars drafted two first-round prospects of their own. That’s good and fine for the Jaguars. But the interesting bit for Dolphins fans comes as the Jaguars hand their player cards on their draft board in their respective war room — because the Dolphins are one of the teams that neighbored the Jaguars on their master list.
And the Jaguars appear to have top of the draft caliber grades on both of Miami’s top two selections in WR Jaylen Waddle (8.0 grade) and EDGE Jaelan Phillips (7.5 grade).
Looking at this Jags documentary, they had a higher grade on AVT over Wilson and Waddle+Phillips were extremely highly ranked pic.twitter.com/6RKKJKqCwq
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) May 20, 2021
It would appear as though the grade assigned to Waddle is equivalent to the grade assigned to the Jaguars’ top choice in the draft, Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence. And while it is understandable to consider that Jacksonville gave the tiebreaker to a quarterback, it is fascinating to consider that one team across the NFL appeared to hold both prospects in the same regard to their relative positions.
The Dolphins should walk away from this year’s draft confident that they nailed the process. And while confirmation from any other team, the Jaguars or otherwise, isn’t necessary to feel that kind of way, it is certainly an added bonus to know other teams coveted your picks to that degree.
Note: If you’d like to watch the Jaguars’ documentary in full, you can do so below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flGBtX2QJ-0&feature=youtu.be