Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier will lead the franchise in the NFL Draft once again this week when the league kicks off the event in Green Bay on Thursday.
Miami will have 10 draft picks and potentially more if they make an expected move with Jalen Ramsey. The Dolphins could slide up and down the draft board given their draft capital, and it wouldn't be surprising to see them spend a future draft pick to move up or back into a round this year. They did that to get Jaylen Wright during last year's draft.
There are a lot of fans who believe Grier should sit on his selections and draft players that will help the team win now, rather than get cute and draft players likely to sit while they develop. Grier has a history of drafting good players. His biggest issue is keeping them on the roster.
5 best picks made by Miami Dolphins GM Chris Grier in the NFL Draft since 2016
5. Andrew Van Ginkel - 2019 Fifth-Round Pick (151st Overall)
It still makes no sense that the Dolphins let Andrew Van Ginkel walk last year in free agency. Maybe it was new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver who believed he wasn't a fit, and given the fact that the team didn't make an offer to retain him at all, it lends some credence to that potentially being true.
Van Ginkel turned in a Pro Bowl season with the Minnesota Vikings under Brian Flores in 2024 while Miami's defense spun its wheels and looked for contributing edge rushers and depth at linebacker. The money they paid Jalen Ramsey and Tyreek Hill would have easily covered the contract Van Ginkel received from the Vikings.
4. Jevon Holland - 2021 Second-Round Pick (36th Overall)
Jevon Holland was a great draft pick, and you can't fault Grier for the fact that he never reached the potential he should have. Holland was good but was never great, and he should have been a perennial Pro Bowler given his abilities.
Whatever problems Holland had with taking the next step wasn't entirely a coaching problem. Grier made the right decision to draft him, who was the replacement for the traded Minkah Fitzpatrick, but there was a disconnect in his development.
3. De'Von Achane - 2023 Third-Round Pick (84th Overall)
So far, this has worked in Grier's favor, but De'Von Achane needs to be more of a down-line running back. The Dolphins are not doing him any favors by not fixing the offensive line, and they are burning him up by running him off-tackle.
He is one of the more involved players in the passing game, but Miami needs him to be a running back first. That isn't Achane's fault; it's McDaniel's.
2. Robert Hunt - 2020 Second-Round Pick (39th Overall)
Robert Hunt became a leader on the offensive line. He was the best lineman the Dolphins have had in maybe ten years. Consistently good, rarely hurt, and always playing at a high level, Hunt should have been the solution to years of line issues.
Instead, Miami drafted a player who was so good they didn't want to pay him. Hunt took big money from the Carolina Panthers and made the Pro Bowl, while the Dolphins are gutting their line once again and keeping their fingers crossed they can succeed.
1. Christian Wilkins - 2019 First-Round Pick (13th Overall)
NFL teams know that when they draft a player, especially in round one, they should develop them into a big part of their roster. That means you have to pay a lot of money to keep them.
Christian Wilkins was a leader on the Dolphins' defense. He was consistently good, and while he may not have put up the statistical numbers some (Grier) may have wanted, his absence has been noticed. This year, Miami is still looking for a more permanent solution to fill the void Wilkins left.