Why the Miami Dolphins may actually want to draft Rashawn Slater
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins fanbase was in an uproar on Thursday when Peter Schrager mocked the team with Rashawn Slater at six. He might be right.
At first, the notion of drafting Slater at six sounded absurd but the more you think about it, the more he might actually make sense. In fact, he may be exactly who the Dolphins are targeting with their first pick. If Chris Grier does indeed pick him, we can expect a lot of complaining on social media but is really a bad choice?
On the surface, yes. Fans want a playmaking receiver or that tight end everyone keeps talking about. The Dolphins still need to fix the offensive line and even though they drafted so many linemen last year, they can still shuffle them around to make room for Slater.
Obviously, the first thought is why would the Dolphins draft a left tackle when Tua Tagovailoa is left-handed? Well, Slater makes more sense than Sewell because he has played two years at right tackle for Northwestern.
Slater makes a lot more sense than Penei Sewell as I dug deeper into it. My question kept coming back to why would the Dolphins pass on a top receiver talent when they need one. Well, thanks to Alain Poupart over on SI.com, history hasn’t exactly been good to the Dolphins with first-round receivers.
The one thing that stood out to me in his article was that these players, Ja’Marr Chase, DeVonta Smith, and even Jaylen Waddle are players that we see in the draft every year. He’s right. Kyle Pitts may be a big exception but he may not be there at six.
If the Dolphins don’t view the receiving class at the top of the draft head and shoulders over a receiver at 18 or 36 then why draft one at all? The reality is Miami very well may be looking at Slater as their option. He fills a need, can protect Tua’s blindside, and they can add weapons to the offense later.
It’s not going to be fun hearing his name called but I’m starting to think that Schrager was on to something. It could also be an opportunity for the Dolphins to trade back a couple of picks and still get him.