Miami Dolphins Chris Grier isn't bad at drafting, he is bad at retention

The Miami Dolphins lost three of their former draft picks when NFL free agency tampering began, the problem isn't the draft, it's retention.

Chris Grier is often criticized for his drafting inability. That isn't entirely true. The reality is Grier can hit on some and miss on others just like everyone else. His biggest problem is he can't judge the market.

Since 2019, Grier has made 32 draft picks. As of today, only two remain from 2019 and 2020. Tua Tagovailoa who is about to get grossly overpaid, say what you want but you know it is true, and Austin Jackson.

Since 2021, Grier has managed to draft Jaylen Waddle, Jaelan Phillips, and Jevon Holland but he also drafted Liam Eichenberg, Cam Smith, Elijah Higgins, Ryan Hayes, Erik Ezukanma, Channing Tindall, Cameron Goode, Skylar Thompson, Hunter Long, Larnel Coleman, and Gerrid Doaks. Let's not forget Noah Igbinoghene from 2020 either.

Some of those players may still turn out good but many of them are not going to get to that level.

Where Grier does fail is in judging the market. This year Grier didn't have the foresight to get Wilkins under contract last year or even the year before when he had the cap space and the cost level would have been much less. He didn't have the foresight to get Robert Hunt signed. He tried but clearly, Hunt and his agent knew the market far better than Grier did.

Andrew Van Ginkel? There are reports that Miami didn't offer him a deal at all. It can't be confirmed but clearly, AVG wasn't part of the defensive plans that Anthony Weaver is trying to install. That is fair but again, another draft pick of Grier walked out the door for nothing at all.

Grier impresses his fans with big trades that tend to lean toward the favor of the Dolphins but keeping good players has been a problem long before Grier took over full control of the team.

Even when he does get a fix on the future, he overpays. Case in point, Xavien Howard's deal had to be reworked because he gave more money to Byron Jones a year later.

It's a mess in Miami that is masked by two playoff seasons and three winning seasons in a row. It is masked by big trades and a likable head coach. It is simply masked. The Dolphins have spending problems which is amazing considering Stephen Ross has an open checkbook when it comes to his team's needs.

Losing Wilkins, Hunt, and AVG will not implode the Dolphins roster. The Dolphins still very well may make the playoffs again and who knows, maybe they win a postseason game. We can say that with those three on the roster, the Dolphins still didn't win a playoff game so are we really losing much more than an identity and personality?

It is easy to get wrapped up in loving players and buying their jerseys, something I will go to my grave saying "never do" but there was no way Miami was paying Wilkins $110 million or Hunt $100 million and while they could have paid AVG $20 million, the fact is they didn't view him as part of the future.

The problem for Grier is that he could have had all three back if he wanted to. He could have had them all back under contract last season or the season before but he took a gamble and waited and they played over what Grier was willing to pay. It's retention and when it comes to the Dolphins draft, they rarely retain anyone.