The best Miami Dolphins players ever drafted out of “The U”

Jaelan Phillips

The latest of all of the Hurricanes drafted by the Miami Dolphins, Jaelan Phillips has a chance to be one of the best.

Phillips was a UCLA Bruin for the first two years of his collegiate career before transferring to Miami before his junior season. After sitting out a year due to transfer rules, he became one of the most feared pass rushers in the nation for the Hurricanes in 2020. Phillips finished the season with 8 sacks and an impressive 15.5 tackles for loss, while being named second team All-ACC as well as second team All- American.

The Miami Dolphins drafted Phillips with the 18th overall pick in the 2021 Draft, and the team hopes that he can be their cornerstone edge rusher for the foreseeable future. His build reminds a lot of fans of Jason Taylor, and Phillips showed flashes of brilliance last season that have hopes high for the second-year player. He finished his rookie campaign with 8.5 sacks and 26 total pressures despite playing just 54 percent of defensive snaps, and he will look to build on those numbers in 2022.

Phillips was selected as a part of a draft group that the Dolphins could end up being proud of for years to come. Both Jaylen Waddle and Jevon Holland look like they will be mainstays on their respective sides of the ball, and Phillips could end up being the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae that is the 2021 Draft class.