Entering the 2025 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins had a big task ahead of them. They needed to replace two players they lost during the 2024 free-agency period.
Christian Wilkins left Miami for a mega contract from the Las Vegas Raiders, while Robert Hunt turned down a soft extension offer from Miami to bank a massive contract with the Carolina Panthers. Miami couldn't fill Hunt's spot in the lineup, but it landed Calais Campbell to lessen the impact of losing Wilkins.
The Dolphins were awarded two compensatory picks in 2025 for the losses of Wilkins and Hunt — a third-rounder for Hunt and a fourth for Wilkins. On Friday night, the Dolphins used both picks to trade up for Jonah Savaiinaea.
Miami coincidentally sent both compensatory picks to the Raiders to move up to No. 37 overall.
Dolphins finally replace their star departures in the 2025 NFL Draft
With the additions of Kenneth Grant in Round 1 and Savaiinaea in Round 2, Chris Grier found his replacements for the two losses. Had the Dolphins kept both of them, they would not have had the third- and fourth-round picks, but they would have had two draft picks in Rounds 1 and 2 that could have been used in other ways.
The debate on whether Miami made the right move with Wilkins and Hunt (the team should have extended them a year earlier) will likely start to fade away now that they have been replaced.
Grant and Savaiinaea are far enough removed that they will not be constantly compared to Hunt or Wilkins, but the stigma remains. If Grier is still around in four years, it will be interesting to see if he is able to retain them or if they are good enough to be retained. That has been a huge knock on the Dolphins' GM, who managed to keep average players but can't keep the better ones.