Miami Dolphins three-round mock draft focuses on getting better

Round 1, Pick 5: DL Derrick Brown

When you think about the way that the first round could inevitably end up going, there are only a few real variations. It’s all dependent on the Tua factor. If somebody trades up, like the Chargers, Tagovailoa will be gone before he gets to Miami at 5. Even if he does drop to 5, will Miami pull the trigger?

In this mock, I decided not to take Tua at number 5 even though he was already there. The first four, in order, were Joe Burrow (CIN), Chase Young (WAS), Jeff Okudah (DET), and Isaiah Simmons (NYG). That left me with the decision to choose between either Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert or another player who may be higher on Miami’s board. I took that other player.

Derrick Brown is a quality defensive lineman who has shown a natural ability to disrupt plays in the backfield. As I wrote about when I highlighted him in a draft profile earlier this week, he is an athletic monster who is able to drop running backs behind the line of scrimmage and reign in opposing quarterbacks. Also, let’s not forget that the entire Dolphins staff went to see Auburn’s workouts before the quarantine hit (courtesy of Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald). Yes, that was a long time ago, but something tells me those workouts weren’t done just for the sake of getting out of the house.

Brown is a great athlete and should gel well with Miami’s new additions on defense and fellow first-rounder Christian Wilkins.

Round 1, Pick 18: T Jedrick Wills

There is no doubt that Miami needs help along the offensive line. Anyone who has watched a Dolphins football game recently knows that part (not all, but part) of Miami’s struggles on offense have come from an inability to protect the quarterback and create holes for running backs. I wrote about this during the season and still believe it to be a major area of need going into the draft.

Jedrick Wills was a no brainer at 18, mostly because he can do everything Miami needs him to do. He’s a big man who is consistent in both pass protection and run blocking. He literally fills all of the needs Miami had for their offensive line. The fact that he was still available in the mock I ran at number 18 is incredible and, dare I say, a steal. He will help anchor Miami’s offensive line for years to come.

Round 1, Pick 26: QB Jordan Love

And here comes our quarterback of the future.

Jordan Love has been given a lot of praise for his 2018 campaign, where he threw for 28 touchdowns and a lot of criticism for his 2019 campaign where he threw for 17 interceptions. There has always been a lot of discussion about the fact that he had no weapons or that is team was worse in 2019 than in 2018 and so on and so on.

Regardless of what criticisms you have of Love, he is a quarterback who has demonstrated an ability to make plays on the field, which is something Miami needs. He also is being drafted into what could be the best-case scenario for him.

Taking Love and thrusting him into the starting spot on day one would be a huge mistake. If he goes to the Dolphins, he would have the opportunity to sit for his rookie year and learn from Ryan Fitzpatrick. He could develop into a more consistent quarterback and, better yet, his offensive line should be better going into 2020. Similarly to the Wills pick, this is a no brainer at 26. If the first round played out like this, Miami fans everywhere should be thrilled (even the ones in love with Tua).