Looking at previous Miami Dolphins second day success and failure
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins finally began changing the narrative of always drafting badly in the second round. Now they need to continue building the roster from day two.
There was a time, not so long ago, that the Miami Dolphins couldn’t hit a second or third-round pick to save their franchise. It is why certain former general managers are no longer around and why Chris Grier is. That being said, more mistakes like last year’s trade for Josh Rosen could eventually be his undoing.
To be fair, the trade for Rosen was actually a good trade. Grier moved down in round two, collected another second-round pick this year, and got a chance to see if he could hit on a quarterback. So far he hasn’t but hopefully, that is just a hiccup and not a return to a bad trend.
There were trades for Daunte Culpepper, A.J. Feeley, and more. There were Jamar Taylor and Jonathan Martin mistakes as well as Dallas Thomas and Billy Turner mistakes. Over the course of two rounds on the second day of the NFL Draft, the Dolphins found a way to screw it all up.
It did change for the better. Jarvis Landry, Xavien Howard, even Jordan Phillips produced somewhat. Raekwon McMillan is still making forward strides and was one of the Dolphins’ bright spots last year. It offset the disappointment in drafting Cordrea Tankersley in round three of the same draft.
For every Kenyan Drake, there is also a Leonte Carroo. This year the Dolphins need to continue their recent success of drafting players like Jerome Baker, a 3rd round pick. Mike Gesicki who was drafted two years ago in round two. Last year Miami drafted Michael Dieter in round three. Maybe he develops as he plays more.
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Since 2016 the Dolphins have made eight picks combined in rounds two and three. This year they have three picks total and there could be more if Chris Grier gets creative and turns some of his mid-round picks into selections today.
There is a lot of work to do but one thing is certain, finding players that will contribute immediately is a must. Our history shows we haven’t been great on the second day. It needs to continue to get better.