Miami Dolphins draft history should ban them from taking any Olinemen
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins need to find a right tackle to compete with Austin Jackson and they could use a guard to compete with Liam Eichenberg but they shouldn’t be allowed to draft one.
Since 2008 when Bill Parcells took over the Miami Dolphins’ football operations, 20 offensive linemen have been drafted. Parcells, Jeff Ireland, Mike Tannenbaum, Dennis Hickey, and now Chris Grier have all had their hands in the selection process and all of them failed.
As an organization, you would have to go all the way back to 2004 when Vernon Carey was drafted in the first round and succeeded as a year-to-year starter.
Of the 20 players drafted since 2008, only Laremy Tunsil and Mike Pouncey were perfect selections and Tunsil didn’t last long as Chris Grier traded him away for a bounty of draft picks. The trade may have been good for the Dolphins but they have not been able to fill that hole through the draft instead turning to Terron Armstead and a lofty contract instead.
In 2018, the Dolphins drafted Jake Long number one overall. You could argue that he was a smart move but in reality, Long couldn’t stay healthy and his career was cut short. He never played beyond his rookie contract for Miami.
In 2020, Robert Hunt was drafted in round two. So far, he looks like a smart and capable guard but is not an elite guard by any stretch. Not yet anyway. Hunt is by far the best offensive lineman that Chris Grier has drafted.
As fans start to clamor for Miami to draft a 2nd or 3rd-round lineman, history actually says that the Dolphins should stick with the free agency because they simply have very little success in evaluating draft prospects.
2021
- Liam Eichenberg – round 2
- Larnel Coleman – Round 7
2020
- Austin Jackson – Roun 1
- Robert Hunt – Round 2
- Solomon Kindley – Round 4
2019
- Michael Dieter – round 3
- Isaiah Prince – Round 6
2017
- Isaac Asiata – Round 5
2016
- Laremy Tunsil
2015
- Jamil Douglas – round 4
2014
- Ja’Wuan James – First round
- Billy Turner – Round 3
2013
- Dallas Thomas – Round 3
2012
- Jonathan Martin – Round 2
2011
- Mike Pouncey – round 1
2010
- John Jerry – Round 3
2009
- Andrew Gardner – Round 6
2008
- Jake Long – 1st overall
- Shawn Murphy – Round 4
- Donald Thomas – Round 6
The fact that Grier rarely hits in the draft and to date has only hit on a couple of free agents, the Dolphins might need to consider finding a new scout that can analyze offensive linemen prospects.
Is the coaching staff to blame? That is a problem that dates back quite a while as well. Tony Sparano couldn’t fix Miami’s Oline any more than Joe Philbin could and both were offensive line coaches prior to their HC jobs.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Miami’s running game has suffered over the last decade and that no elite quarterbacks have lined up behind center. Drafting a QB has been a big problem for the Dolphins as well but not being able to protect them is also a problem.
With the draft only a couple of weeks away, Grier shouldn’t bother to waste any of his four selections on linemen. He should just let the pass by and concentrate on skill positions.