ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. is considered the Godfather of NFL Draft scouting in the media. Kiper was a trailblazer who paved the path for many to being writing scouting reports, analyzing the draft and critiquing the picks on an annual basis. So when Kiper speaks, people listen — his reputation carries a lot of weight in the industry.
Kiper has now officially spoken on the 2020 NFL Draft, providing his first mock draft of the year in an effort to peg the players to teams. If you’re a Dolphins fan, you’ll probably be a big fan of Kiper’s haul for Miami.
5th overall – QB Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama
This pairing continues to be a popular one — and it isn’t going to go away any time soon. Until the Dolphins get word that Tagovailoa’s hip injury may present long-term problems, it is probably safe to continue to pencil this pairing in. Tagovailoa has been the rumored apple of Miami’s eye for months and they’re in the driver’s seat to counter any enticing trade offers to Detroit since they own the 5th pick.
18th overall – EDGE K’Lavon Chaisson, LSU
Chaisson has some Jadeveon Clowney to his game — and given that the Dolphins made a serious push to land Clowney in August, this is pairing that makes a lot of sense. Miami needs more juice off the edge in the pass rush and Chaisson will definitely bring that to the table while also providing quality play against the run.
26th overall – RB D’Andre Swift, Georgia
Miami’s biggest area of need is improvement in the run game. Forget positional value — Miami has enough picks that they should be focused on finding difference makers for their team. Swift definitely fits the bill as a dynamic three down back.
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