Day 2 draft thoughts: The Miami Dolphins elect to go with a weird draft on day 2

Weird draft. The draft that Chris Grier and the rest of the brass at the Miami Dolphins put together on day 2 is one I consider to be a weird draft.

I understand that when you're picking at #51 you're not working with bonafide studs and consensus game-changers. I get that. But that doesn't mean you need to go rogue and draft guys at #51 that you could have gotten at #61 or later.

That's what I think about when I think about the Dolphins drafting Cam Smith at #51. I think they could have traded down a few picks, gathered another pick somewhere, and still have their man.

I like many didn't think the Dolphins would go defense with their first pick of the 2023 NFL Draft but that's what they did. They drafted a cornerback to go along with their very elite starters and with their decent enough depth. Xavien Howard, Jalen Ramsey, Kader Kohou, and Nik Needham seemed like enough quality players that you wouldn't draft a corner in the 2nd round. Later in the draft, sure. But not at #51.

I'm not going to pretend that I know too much about Cam Smith. I vaguely remember seeing him play in some South Carolina games and I randomly watched some highlights of him the last month or so. I'm far from an expert on him. But, watch this video package and try for one second not to feel like this guy doesn't have all the fight in him.

If you got chills, I'm with you. Cam Smith seems like a guy who has already experienced a good amount in this world. That's really good and it's even better that he has some great teachers in front of him on the depth chart in Xavien Howard and Jalen Ramsey that can help in many aspects of not just football but life.

Go right ahead and start telling yourself that Cam Smith will be the eventual replacement for Howard. We've all had that thought cross our minds. Maybe that's the way it goes down, maybe it's not.

I just feel like we're going to be sitting there in week one and it's going to be the 3rd quarter and we're going to say "Where's Cam Smith? Did he get in the game?" Then we're going to get the snap count list and see that he got two snaps.

I wouldn't have taken Cam Smith at #51. I would have gone with Dewand Jones, who is still on the board amazingly, Zach Charbonet who went one pick later, or Tucker Kraft who went in the 3rd. Jones and Kraft address positions that the Miami Dolphins need. And when you add in the probable fact that the Dolphins could have traded down a few picks and potentially picked up another 3rdish pick and still get Cam Smith it makes my head hurt.

You couple that with the fact Cam Smith played college ball with Chris Grier's son and you can't stop but think about the haunting memories of another Cam drafting the entire Ted Ginn family once upon a time.

One thing you can't take away is how excited Cam Smith is that he's going to be a member of the Miami Dolphins.

Cut to the 3rd round and the Dolphins have their #84 pick. It's a 3rd rounder so we really should be keeping expectations low that an immediate impact player will be had.

Tight ends are flying off the board. Luke Schoonmaker, Brenton Strange, and Tucker Kraft are all gone. Darnell Washington, the guy who was free-falling and who we have learned has a medical red flag in the form of a knee issue, is still on the board at #84. Dewand Jones is still there as well.

And then the Miami Dolphins select Devan Achane a running back out of Texas A&M.

Here's my thing, how many snaps is Devan Achane going to see this year? The Miami Dolphins brought back the entire running back room meaning Mostert, Wilson Jr. Ahmed, and Gaskin are there. Can that easily change? Sure. But I will bang the drum with the idea that the type of back that Achane is was not something needed in the 3rd round. If you want a scat back type, who Miami always loves for some reason, on day 3 somewhere, go for it. But not in 3rd round when some guys have fallen to you.

We already knew the Miami Dolphins were trying to assemble the fastest offense in the history of mankind and with the addition of Achane they have achieved that.

The phrase homerun ability is what you say about Devan Achane. He has all of that. He's not the most polished blocker and I'm putting that lightly, however. That will obviously need to be addressed.

Once again, everyone wants to play for the Miami Dolphins.

And you can see the difference in reaction from Mike McDaniel from when Cam Smith was picked to Devan Acahne.

You have to assume Mike McDaniel had some influence on this pick. Naturally, I will take a back seat to his expertise in this matter but I just feel like you can get a Devan Achane type later in the draft to go along with the backs you already have.

This tweet from Joe Schad that Chris Grier apparently says has me irate.

From a guy who comically wears a hat with a suit like Gallagher would wear rainbow suspenders, I don't need to hear about how we the fans seem to worry about the offensive line and the tight end position. I don't know Chris, maybe because you're beyond terrible at creating a functional offensive line, and the fact that you currently have the human turnstile, Austin Jackson, as the starting right tackle gives us much concern for Tua's health and the overall progress of the offense. Maybe that's why we wanted an offensive lineman and a tight end drafted on day 2.

And I like Grier, for the most part. Has he had some swings and misses? You know he has. Austin and Igbinoghene and even Tua before Herbert come to mind. But he also delivered Waddle, Phillips, Holland, and others as well. You take the good and the bad I suppose. It's not like we the fans can bring in our own GM. It be nice, but I don't think that will happen.

I guess it's good that Grier said this at the end of the night.

Overall, it was a weird day 2 draft for the Miami Dolphins. I don't know how you can give it anything more than a C-. Let's see what they can do on day 3 today but it's day 3 meaning not a ton of names are going to get announced where you're like "Oh man that was a great pick." Oh well, I guess. We just tell ourselves that these guys get paid to do this for a living and they know more than us. That's what we do and it's what we will continue to do. Enjoy day 3 of the draft.

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