The Miami Dolphins have been the most entertaining team to follow this offseason in the NFL. Well, unless you are a Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, or Washington Football Team fan because it must have been the most entertaining to watch the Philadelphia Eagles implode.
It seems there is a new Dolphins’ storyline each day, with a majority of them being about Deshaun Watson. Trading for Watson would be terrible, but it has been making time pass talking about it. Instead, the Dolphins should build around starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
We are one day away from March, which means we are that much closer to the New League Year on March 17th. Once it is officially the 2021 NFL season, things will get even more entertaining for the Dolphins.
Free agency will start to heat up, and Miami has been rumored to be interested in some big-name free agents, starting with Green Bay Packers’ running back Aaron Jones. While Jones should be a priority in free agency, the Packers’ center Corey Linsley should be Miami’s No. 1 free agent target.
I believe Miami should make a splash in free agency, adding both Linsley and Jones. And truthfully, I feel reasonably confident they will. For the sake of this 7-round mock draft, we are going into it with the idea that the Dolphins did sign both of the former Green Bay Packers in free agency.
So, with that in mind, here is my Dolphins 7-round mock draft that will transform the franchise.
Former Oregon Duck offensive lineman Penei Sewell is my No. 2 player in the 2021 NFL Draft. Do the Miami Dolphins need a tackle? No, they don’t, but selecting one will allow them to improve three positions with one move. 2020 2nd round pick Robert Hunt would bump into the right guard, a spot where he is best suited. Then, 2020 4th round pick Solomon Kindley would be able to bump to left guard, giving the Dolphins a dominant offensive line. From left to right, it would look like this: LT Austin Jackson, LG Kindley, C Corey Linsley, RG Hunt, and RT Sewell. A line like this is one you dream up in a madden franchise, but this is a real possibility for the Dolphins.
Sewell is a rare breed, freak of nature athlete. He’s a massive man, standing at 6-6 and weighing in over 330 pounds, but he wears his weight well. Sewell is an excellent athlete and gives you a lot of good reps in the screen game. He also gets me juiced in the run game because he finishes all of his blocks. He wants the defender to feel him every single play, and I love that nastiness.
Sewell at No. 3 may not be the sexy pick, but solidifying the offensive line should be Miami’s No. 1 priority this offseason.
The former Oregon Duck could be Tua Tagovailoa’s blindside protector for the next 10+ years. I know fans want to see the Dolphins draft a pass-catcher here at No. 3, but the receiver class is the deepest position in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Miami trades Pick 18 and a 2022 1st Round Pick to the Detroit Lions for Pick 7.
BOOM! Aggressive. After a clear rebuild and hoarding picks, the Miami Dolphins see an opportunity to get my No. 1 player in the 2021 NFL Draft, former Florida Gators tight end Kyle Pitts. before you stop reading and tweet at me or comment on this and say, “I stopped reading after you had them trade up for Pitts,” hear me out.
I know the Dolphins need a wide receiver. There is no debate from me on that, and waiting to take a receiver in the 2nd round will be risky. However, Pitts is a once-in-a-lifetime type player. Here is a snippet of Pitts’ strengths from my scouting report on him:
"“He is a mismatch nightmare, and honestly, sometimes having two or even three guys on him will not matter. He can do it all. He dominated legit SEC corners 1v1, and if you had a safety or a linebacker on him, good luck! No one on the field could cover him. When the ball is snapped, his burst is impressive, and it really helps him set up defenders. He is an elite route runner at the position, and someone of his size shouldn’t be able to move as well as he does. You can use him as a chess piece, lining him up outside as a wide receiver, inline as a tight end, in the slot, as an H-back, or even in the backfield. Offensive coordinators will sleep easier at night knowing they have Pitts to bail them out. He showed the ability to run deep, catch short passes, catch screens, dominate on RPOs, and be a terror on intermediate routes. There isn’t anything Pitts can’t do as a route runner.”"
Yes, I know the Dolphins have Mike Gesicki, but teams have won the Super Bowl with a heavy 12 personnel (1 running back, 2 tight end set) in their arsenal. Pairing Pitts and Gesicki would be incredible, and Miami still has the 2nd round to add a pass catcher.
Well, you waited for two picks to see a receiver get drafted, and trust me, it was worth the wait. One of my favorite receivers in the 2021 NFL Draft is former Ole Miss receiver, Elijah Moore. I am incredibly high on Moore and would not be surprised if NFL teams were too. He could sneak into Round 1, but if he is there at 36 and the Dolphins have this exact draft, they should run to the podium with the pick. Adding Moore to the offense would be incredible. He is an excellent route runner who feels the game so well. The way he moves in traffic to find his openings is impressive. In 8 games in 2020, Moore caught 86 passes for 1,193 yards and eight touchdowns. In the SEC! He produces when he is on the field and would be the perfect compliment to Pitts.
If you make this move, and the others before, that would mean the Dolphins base 12 personnel, which would be their most-used formation would look like this:
QB: Tua Tagovailoa
RB: Aaron Jones
2 TE: Pitts and Gesicki
2 WR: DeVante Parker and Moore
Add that to this offensive line we talked about earlier:
LT: Austin Jackson
LG: Solomon Kindley
C: Corey Linsley
RG: Robert Hunt
RT: Penei Sewell
And you can see just how much better the Dolphins would be. Not only that, this offense would be able to be together for multiple years and grow into one of the best offenses in the NFL.
Every draft season, I fall in love with a prospect early, and sadly that player starts to get hyped up and is no longer the gem I thought I found. For me, that is former UCF safety, Richie Grant. In my last mock draft, I had the Dolphins getting Grant in the 3rd round only one month ago. Now I have them getting him in the 2nd round, at Pick 50, and they would be lucky if he even makes it this far.
Grant has been flying up draft boards after an impressive Senior Bowl. He turned some heads and made those heads go back and look at his film a little harder. And once you do that, it is game over! You can see how he can line up at free safety, strong safety, in the slot, and count on him to help in the run game. His best attribute is making plays on the football and creating turnovers.
Grant was responsible for 19 turnovers in his four years at UCF, with ten interceptions, four fumble recoveries, and five forced fumbles. I have said it before, but I will repeat it. There is something about the way he plays the game that excites me if he becomes a Dolphin. He fits Brian Flores’ way of football and would be a Day 1 starter in Miami. Fans will fall in love with him flying around the field making plays. He can play deep and pick a pass off with ease or fly up in run support looking to tackle. Players like Grant are not easy to find, which is why the Dolphins take him here.
Like Richie Grant, Jabril Cox has been flying up draft boards after a great showing at the Senior Bowl. Cox had some preseason hype in draft circles, but after a poor showing by LSU this season, his name has seemed to become almost forgotten. Even after improving his stock at the Senior Bowl, it seems he is still not getting as much hype as he should. However, the Miami Dolphins should not complain, as getting him at Pick 81 would be fantastic.
Cox is a fascinating study, mainly because he started his career at North Dakota State University before making the transfer to LSU for the 2020 season. At NDSU, Cox was a star for their defense. He was good at LSU but only has the one-year sample size at a big-time D1 school.
He covers like a safety and had nine career interceptions and 23 pass breakups. Six of those came at NDSU, but he had an impressive three interceptions this season at LSU. On Day 1, you can trust Cox in coverage. At the very least, Cox will be an elite sub-package linebacker, but I think he will be so much more.
Cox will need to improve as a run defender, but he adds some value as a blitzer as well. He had 15 career sacks and 38.5 tackles for a loss. I would love to see how Flores and the defense would use him. I think he could become an impressive linebacker in Miami, and they would be able to get the most out of him.
Miami trades Pick 123 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for Pick 137 and Pick 253.
It is always odd to see late-round trades in mock drafts, but stay with me here: there is a reason the Miami Dolphins made this move. After trading back and picking up the last pick in the draft, Miami gets former Florida Gators defensive tackle Tedarrell Slaton. He is a UNIT! He stands at 6-5 and weighs around 360 pounds. Slaton would be a great rotational defensive lineman that can line up at the nose right away.
Pick 208 for Cornell Powell seems like a long shot because his film is intriguing. The 5th year senior from Clemson rarely saw the field in his first four years at Clemson. However, in year five, he impressed everyone with his 52 receptions, 882 yards, and seven touchdowns.
He isn’t the biggest guy, and he isn’t the fastest guy, but he works hard and gets open. I feel like he is being slept on in this draft class because it is so deep, but this kid showed he belongs, in my opinion. I think he has a chance to become a No. 3 receiver in the NFL that you can trust to compete and make plays every single week.
Miami Dolphins trade Pick 253 to the Tennessee Titans for offensive lineman Isaiah Wilson.
And this is why the Dolphins traded back, to trade this pick to the Tennessee Titans for 2020 1st round pick Isaiah Wilson. It would be best for everyone involved for this move to happen. According to Wilson, Wilson and the Titans are done. The Titans can save some money by trading him. Imagine the irony of getting the Mr. Irrelevant pick for the player that will be remembered forever in Tennessee as one of their biggest draft busts.
Wilson is a risky addition, but for a 7th round pick, it is a no-brainer for the Dolphins. If he becomes a problem, they can cut him and move on. If they can revive him, I think at the very least Wilson can be useful. I see him as the 3rd tackle that can come in on short-yardage and get after it in the run game. It also wouldn’t hurt to have him as your depth for any guard or tackle spots.