On Friday night the Miami Dolphins made their first pick of the 2022 NFL draft by selecting Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Channing Tindall at pick No. 102.
Tindall was a four-year contributor on Kirby Smart’s defense, totaling 108 tackles, 12 sacks and one forced fumble in 38 games played. However, he wasn’t getting starter opportunities because Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean, who were both projected to be top linebackers in this draft, were ahead of him on the depth chart.
His ability to play both inside and outside linebacker probably intrigued the Dolphins enough into meeting with him pre-draft, and that meeting obviously went well.
Miami did a solid job retaining their defensive talent this offseason, especially at linebacker. Elandon Roberts, Brennan Scarlett, Duke Riley and Sam Eguavoen were all set to be free agents, and they’ve all been re-signed for the 2022 season.
This will give Tindall the chance to sit back and learn in his rookie year without putting too much pressure on him, but the guys ahead of him aren’t so great that he doesn’t have a chance to overtake them at some point this year.
Ideally, Tindall learns from veterans like Roberts and Jerome Baker for a year, while contributing on special teams, and he progresses enough that he’s ready to take over one of the linebacker’s roles heading into 2023.
