The announcement yesterday that the Miami Dolphins had traded veteran linebacker Raekwon McMillan marks yet another loss for the team’s 2017 NFL Draft class — a class that was supposed to have pushed the Dolphins from a 10-6 playoff participant in 2016 and molded them into a persistent postseason threat. But that was hardly the case. Not even close.
The Miami Dolphins now have just two members of their 2017 NFL Draft class left on the team entering their fourth season of play in the NFL — defensive tackle Davon Godchaux and wide receiver Isaiah Ford. It isn’t abnormal for NFL teams to see rookies endure short shelf lives in the pros. But for a team’s only two lingering players to come in the 5th- and 7th-rounds? That’s a bit of an anomaly, for sure.
And depending how things progress from here, we may see 7th-round choice Isaiah Ford have the longest shelf life. He only has two tenured seasons of NFL play under his belt, so he will be a restricted free agent next offseason — that will allow Miami to retain him with little effort. Defensive tackle Davon Godchaux, on the other hand, will be looking for a bigger contract after becoming a reliable starter for the team. Godchaux isn’t going to command a ton because he doesn’t make a lot of splash plays, but he’s a reliable gap control presence on the interior.
What happened to the rest of Miami’s 2017 class? Here it is in its entirety (plus the fate of all involved):
- 22nd overall: DE Charles Harris (traded to Atlanta in 2020 offseason)
- 54th overall: LB Raekwon McMillan (traded to Las Vegas in 2020 offseason)
- 97th overall: CB Cordrea Tankersley (cut in 2020 offseason)
- 164th overall: OG Isaac Asiata (cut in 2019 offeason)
- 178th overall: Godchaux
- 194th overall: DT Vincent Taylor (cut in 2019 offseason)
- 237th overall: Ford
The biggest gaffe of all is Harris — who could have been any number of high profile players instead, including Steelers OLB TJ Watt or Bills CB Tre’Davious White. Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster and Saints RB Alvin Kamara were both drafted shortly after McMillan and Bears FS Eddie Jackson was drafted approximately a dozen spots after Tankersley.
To be fair to Miami, forecasting different players in different environments is not an easy task and doesn’t indicate that those players would have been destined for success in South Florida. But it is clear after the returns of Miami’s 2017 NFL Draft class that the effort missed the mark. And it wasn’t especially close.