The Miami Dolphins’ battle plan to revive the franchise revolves around the NFL Draft process. But building with volume and assembling cheap talent, the Dolphins aspire to rebuild their team into a winner sooner rather than later. How have the Dolphins drafted in recent memory? If we look back over the stretch of mediocrity the Dolphins have been mired in, we’ll find Miami has greatly improved their NFL Draft returns already versus what they were getting at the turn of the millennium.
From 1997 to 2003, the Miami Dolphins made three first round selections — WR Yatil Green (1997), RB John Avery (1998) and CB Jamar Fletcher (2001). Over a six year span, the Dolphins got 7 total starts from their first round picks. If you want to know why the bottom dropped out on the Dolphins midway through the 2000s, that’s exactly where you need to look. The Dolphins attacked their roster with an aggressive mentality, often trading assets for established pro players — such as the deal with the Saints that sent RB Ricky Williams to Miami. The Dolphins ended up dealing a 2002 1st-round pick and a 2003 conditional 3rd-round pick that became a 1st-round pick as well. By 2004 training camp, Williams retired.
Hard luck? Yes. But also an embodiment of how Miami’s failure to maximize their early picks resulted in an eroding roster that could not sustain once they long a key cog.
But who have been the good picks for the Dolphins along the way? Here are six of the best picks the Miami Dolphins have made in the 1st-round since the year 2000.
6. Offensive Tackle Laremy Tunsil (2016)
Tunsil was a steal for Miami in 2016 — and then a steal again in 2019 when the team flipped him for a king’s ransom. Miami got 3 strong years of play out of Tunsil before cashing out their investment and getting two 1st-round picks and a 2nd-round pick in return — that’s what you call a good return on investment.
5. Wide Receiver DeVante Parker (2015)
The 2019 season catapults Parker above Tunsil for obvious reasons but also helps him edge out CB Vontae Davis, who played three seasons in Miami and logged 9 interceptions over that span. Parker’s dominant stretch in 2019 is a promising omen and if more play of that caliber continues, Parker will be shooting up this board in years to come.
4. Running Back Ronnie Brown (2005)
The team’s replacement for Williams struggled with injuries in the heart of his tenure with Miami but Brown was consistently a three down threat and finished his Miami career with over 4,800 rushing yards and 36 rushing touchdowns — both good for the third best marks in team history.
3. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill (2012)
Tannehill passed for over 20,000 yards as a member of the Dolphins and quarterbacked the team to a 42-46 record with him behind center. His frustrating play in crush time often left Dolphins fans wanting more, but he brought stability to the quarterback position after a decade of pitiful play. Tannehill is third all-time in passing yards, touchdowns and completions in team history — and he was sacked 248 times in 88 games.
As a point of reference, Dan Marino was sacked 270 times in 242 games.
2. Center Mike Pouncey (2011)
Few Dolphins 1st-round picks have collected better accolades as an individual than Pouncey, who was named to three consecutive Pro Bowl with the Dolphins from 2013 – 2015. The only sore spot with this pick was that he barely overlapped with the Dolphins’ other standout along the line.
1. Offensive Tackle Jake Long (2008)
Who knows where Jake Long’s career would have ended up if he’d had the ability to stay healthy. But with four straight Pro Bowls and an All-Pro honor to start his career, Long looked well worth the price of the No. 1 overall pick. Does it hurt knowing that it could have been Matt Ryan? Sure. But Long’s play up front was stellar — until the injuries set in. Long would go on to start just one additional full season after leaving Miami in 2013 for a 4-year, $36M contract with the Rams and was officially retired in April of 2017 after starting just 10 games over his final three seasons due to injury.