The 2024 NFL Draft is around the corner and as we wrap up the month of March, we head forward with a look back at the drafting of Dolphins' Chris Grier.
What constitutes a great draft class? Longevity of the players' draft? Perhaps the number of Pro Bowl appearances? What about in-house retention with extensions? There are a lot of variables that go into looking deep into a draft class and calling it successful or the opposite.
Chris Grier has been the Dolphins' general manager since 2016 but his first draft especially was more Mike Tannenbaum than Grier, or so the rumors way back then indicated.
For this ranking, we took it all into consideration equally and we gave Grier the credit for the 2016 draft. From worst to first and why, there may be some debates but those are the ones we will have afterward. Here are the Dolphins' last 8 draft classes ranked in order of worst to best.
2023 for the purpose of this ranking will remain unranked. The Dolphins had only four draft picks after having one taken by the NFL and others traded away. The drafting of DeVon Achane was a smart selection by Grier and the third-round pick paid off. The same can not be said about Cam Smith who is still developing.
Smith spent his rookie season in the Vic Fangio doghouse so we don't truly know what he will be. This one will get revisited in another year.
2017 is the worst draft class for Chris Grier and the Miami Dolphins.
Miami could have done a lot more than what they did. The entire draft was a mess from the start. Charles Harris was selected with pick 22 in round one and the Dolphins should have drafted anyone but him. Harris is still in the NFL but as a Dolphins DE, he was horrible.
2nd round pick Raekwon McMillan was marginally better at best. A depth piece at LB that never really got rolling. Inconsistent play platooned him from the start. He started only 28 games in his two seasons with the Dolphins before being traded to the Raiders.
The best draft pick of that class was Davon Godchaux who played quite well for a 5th round draft pick. He was able to turn his career into a free-agent contract with the Patriots that totaled nearly $31 million. Not bad for a rotational DT.
The rest of the draft? Cordrea Tankersley - round 3, Isaac Asiata - round 5, Vincent Taylor - round 6, and Isaiah Ford - round 7, didn't amount to much. Ford, however, was a pinball bouncing on and off the Dolphins roster and around the NFL. He hasn't played since 2021.
2022 remains a bad draft class for Chris Grier despite the Dolphins only having four draft picks.
Sometimes when you have little, you have to make the most of it. The Dolphins were not able to do that with their 2022 draft class.
Missing picks in rounds 1 and 2, Miami used their first pick in round three to draft Channing Tindall. The Dolphins are still waiting for him to develop. His consistency isn't there and he has yet to break into a starting role as a result.
The same can be said about Erik Ezukanma who has done nothing with his career yet and his time on the field in two seasons has been limited. He didn't play last year until late in the season.
Skylar Thompson and Cameron Goode were both taken in round 7. Their careers thus far are as good as you would expect for late-draft picks. At least Thompson started in a playoff game.
2019 was a massive rebuild for the Miami Dolphins and the draft was average when it was all over with.
The Dolphins opted to not draft a quarterback in round one but they got a gem in Christian Wilkins. Wilkins isn't with the Dolphins but he was going to be a hard retention given his monetary demands and boy did he cash in.
Miami ended the draft with 6 draft picks. They hit on Wilkins and 5th round LB Andrew Van Ginkel but Michael Dieter in round three was a reach and aside from the work they got out of Myles Gaskin in round 7, the other two selections, Chandler Cox and Isaiah Prince were wasted.
With AVG and Wilkins gone, no one from that class remains on the roster.
2016 in hindsight was only good because of what Chris Grier did with the number one pick.
When the draft was over, Miami walked away with a major steal, Laremy Tunsil. The "bong" video was one of the most fortuitous events in Dolphins draft history. Tunsil was an amazingly good left tackle and Chris Grier wasted no time trading him for a bevy of draft picks that are setting the future of the franchise.
This draft ranking may seem a bit low considering it also produced Xavien Howard who was a Pro Bowl shutdown CB at his best. The Dolphins, however, ended the draft with 8 selections. Of those 8, Tunsil and Howard were fantastic. Kenyan Drake was good, and Jakeem Grant was a specialist. The rest of the draft, not so much.
Leonte Carroo was a horrible draft pick in round three and none of the selections after Grant in round 6 were any good at all.
2018 should have been a great draft but other forces played a huge role in it not becoming what it could be.
The Dolphins drafting of Minkah Fitzpatrick should have this draft class much higher but they caved to his whining about where he was going to play and traded him after a year.
Mike Gesicki played 5 seasons with the Dolphins, one under the Franchise Tag but Dolphins fans all know that was wasted money. Mike McDaniel had no use for Gesicki and this is shown throughout 2022. Gesicki was at his best as a slot WR. The better TE was drafted in the same draft in round 4. Durham Smythe remains in Miami and was extended.
Jerome Baker was a solid selection in round three and he lasted almost through his extension. Baker was a big part of the Dolphins' defense, a leader, and a starter.
Jason Sanders, despite some ups and downs, remains with the team still and is on his second contract. Not bad for a 7th-round pick. Miami did miss on LB Quentin Poling in round 7 and CB Cornell Armstrong in round 6 didn't pan out. Grier did well, however, getting work out of Kalen Ballage in round 4.
2020 is still a question mark but ultimately, it is the number of remaining members who stand out.
This draft class is still being evaluated. Miami left the draft with 11 draft picks. That is a crazy amount of picks for a team coming off a huge rebuild only a year earlier but after only 4 years, this class doesn't look as good as it could have.
Miami it seems, for now, hit on Tua Tagovailoa but we still are not sure if the extension of Austin Jackson will pan out. The Dolphins 3rd first-round pick was a major bust. Noah Igbinoghene remains a huge black mark.
Miami was able to get Robert Hunt in round two as well as Raekwon Davis who never became more than a rotational defensive tackle. Brandon Jones in round three turned out to be o.k. but nothing great in the end. While Grier seems to have hit on several of his early draft picks, he wasted mid-round picks on Solomon Kindley, Jason Strowbridge, and Curtis Weaver. They took a long snapper in round six, Blake Ferguson, who is still with the team. Malcolm Perry had potential but didn't pan out either.
Overall, this should have been the draft that built Miami for the future. Tua seems to be that guy but no other player from that draft, sans Ferguson and Jackson is still on the roster. 11 draft picks, three remaining players, and a QB that still keeps the fanbase divided.
2021 is far and away the best draft that Chris Grier has had as a general manager. Can he keep them in the future?
Grier set this draft up moving from the 3rd overall pick to the middle of the first round then back into the top ten again to take Jaylen Waddle. Waddle has been everything Grier hoped he would be. He is borderline elite.
With his second pick in round one, Grier took Jaelan Phillips and despite his Achilles injury that ended his season late last year, Phillips looks to be a major part of the Dolphins' defensive future. Grier wasn't done either. Jevon Holland in round two has been exceptional and another building block and cornerstone for the roster.
Sadly, the big miss came in round two when Grier wasted draft capital to trade up for Liam Eichenberg. He would then miss on Hunter Long in round three by a wide margin, and his two-round 7 picks, Larnel Coleman and Gerrid Doaks did nothing.
The play of the top three elevated this draft class to the top but that could change in the future when we have more evaluation of Tua Tagovailoa and Austin Jackson.