The NFL draft is less than a week away, as the Miami Dolphins head into the event without picks in the first two rounds due to the Tyreek Hill trade. This is a uniquely-structured draft for the Dolphins following a flurry of offseason transactions, as each of their four picks wasn’t originally their own.
General manager Chris Grier will wait until the third and fourth rounds to make their first selections, and then he won’t pick again until two selections in the seventh, as it stands now. Miami hasn’t been without a first-round pick since 2003, and they have never selected less than five players in one draft. The last time that happened was back in 2002 when Miami only walked away with five players, starting in the third round, following the blockbuster Ricky Williams deal with the New Orleans Saints.
Here are some other Miami draft notes from the current roster as well as their 56 years of team existence:
- This will be the first time in franchise history that Miami won’t have a selection in the top-100.
- At the moment, the full Miami roster is made up of 24 drafted players, 35 free agents, eight waiver-wire adds, and four acquired via trade.
- The 2018 draft was the lone draft in team history in which the Dolphins didn’t select an offensive lineman. However, they have spent their first selection in a draft on an offensive lineman 13 times, which is the most for any of their position groups.
- The only time Miami used their top selection in a draft on a tight end was back in 1970 when they made Dolphins legend Jim Mandich the No. 29 pick.
- In addition to Miami, seven other teams will be without a first-round pick. The Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Rams join the Dolphins with vacated picks in rounds one and two.
- The Dolphins don’t have an awarded compensatory pick this season and have only had 22 since the inception of the added selections began in 1994. The Baltimore Ravens have had the most with 55, followed by the Dallas Cowboys with 49, the Green Bay Packers with 47 and the New England Patriots with 46.
- Miami’s last compensatory pick was used on LSU defensive lineman Davon Godchaux in the fifth round, No. 178 overall, of the 2017 draft.
How next week’s draft will go is anyone’s guess at this point, and if history is any guide, it’d be no shock to see Grier make a trade in some way. In a draft class dubbed weaker than most, and the Dolphins being pick-less in rounds in most rounds, moving down to collect more picks, even if they’re in 2023, seems like a viable option.
It’d be a long shot to see Miami use the limited 2022 draft capital they have to make an upward move. Their only picks of true immediate value are No. 102 and No. 125, and even packaging those together will only warrant a leap of a dozen or so slots.
There’s also always the option of adding a veteran player in the mix, and there could be a player or two on their roster that could hold value to another team looking to add a proven player in return for a mid-round pick.
Regardless of what happens, it’s safe to say that Grier isn’t quite done working yet, and those 2023 picks will continue to act as the ultimate insurance policy, so don’t expect those pair of first-rounders next season to go anywhere.
The NFL draft kicks off Thursday from Las Vegas, Nevada. It will continue to be an adventure to see how Grier plays his hand.
