The Miami Dolphins still needed to improve their secondary, and they felt the fifth round was a good time to finally add someone to the unit.
After taking Jordan Phillips with their first pick in Round 5, they finally made the move to get someone to compete in the secondary.
Miami spent its second pick in the round on Florida corner Jason Marshall. He will need to develop, as will most of the players selected this deep into the proceedings.
Marshall will return to his hometown of Miami. He is a fast corner who posted a 4.49-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. He also has great size for the position, fitting the prototype teams often look for. He uses his size well against big receivers and isn't afraid to hit a receiver off the line because he's quick enough, and fluid enough, to get back into the coverage of the route.
The young corner is going to need to clean up his game as he tends to get lazy at times. He needs to find a way to be more consistent with his concentration.
Jason Marshall will compete for playing time, but don't expect him to start early
It is unlikely that Marshall starts right away, but the talent is there. If he can be developed quickly enough, he could steal a job from either Cam Smith or Storm Duck. Miami, should it trade Jalen Ramsey, would likely have a different solution for that self-created hole.
Anthony Weaver and his secondary coach will have their work cut out for them, as Marshall has a lot to clean up. His tackling is a problem since he tends to try to be more physical instead of driving through the tackle. He tends to "catch" the ball-carrier with the hopes of holding on. That isn't going to cut it in the NFL.
Dolphins add to the safety position with their final pick in Round 5
Miami should have considered beefing up its offensive line with one of its three selections in the round. But after adding another defensive tackle, it instead opted to add depth to the secondary with Maryland safety Dante Trader Jr.
Trader isn't a bad selection, but there is a lot of work ahead of him. He will need to get better, but the Dolphins won't expect him to start immediately. He will learn the ropes of the NFL.
Dolphins need to continue building their trench in Round 6.
As we have said previously, the Dolphins seem to have something up their sleeves in regards to their cornerback unit. While there are still quality corners left in the draft, it is much thinner, and Miami isn't likely to find an immediate starter this late. It should instead find talent to develop.