The Miami Dolphins are that team. Lurking. And if a pair of underrated sleepers break out in the 2024 NFL season, maybe this is the year The Fish just keep swimming. They aren't the only rookies who could make an impact. But offensive lineman Patrick Paul and pass-rushing linebacker Mohamed Kamara could sneak into the picture for important supporting roles.
Paul was a second-round pick while Kamara went in the fifth round. Paul is a big dog, manning up at 6-foot-7 and 331 pounds. While he's currently behind left tackle Terron Armstead on the depth chart, there's a lot to like about Paul.
As for Kamara, he provides glimpses of promise at a “need position” for every NFL team. He is 6-1 and 248 pounds.
LB Mohamed Kamara seems to be great match for Dolphins
Miami addressed a need in the 2024 draft, collecting Penn State's Chop Robinson (nice football name for a linebacker) in the first round. They shored it four rounds later and perhaps struck a gold vein.
There's already talk in the Dolphins camp that Kamara could have a chance to make a least a moderate impact as a rookie. Draft projections had him higher than his No. 158 overall pick, but the Dolphins didn't mind the possibility of a bargain.
Kamara told si.com he plans to use the snub as motivation and “just roast the whole NFL.”
“It's not the end of the world,” Kamara said. “I'm grateful for Miami allowing me to just even get picked, but for me and my (personality) … that's just how I look at things.”
ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jaques and Pro Football Network's Oliver Hodgkinson joined in the bargain chorus.
“Kamara was highly productive in college with 29.5 career sacks,” Louis-Jaques wrote. “He also recorded 45.5 tackles for a loss, proving he can be a disruptive presence in the front seven. The Dolphins needed to rebuild their depth at pass rusher. And they may have found a steal with Kamara in the fifth round.”
Hodgkinson said, “The Dolphins landed one of the top pass rushers from the Group of Five level. An impressive athlete with a good pass rush toolbox, he can translate that college production to the NFL in Miami.”
OL Patrick Paul brings impressive resume to Dolphins
When a player lists every college snap at the most important quarterback-protecting position on the field, it says a little something.
And not only was Paul a fortress at left tackle, he was extremely efficient for the Houston Cougars. His pass-blocking grade of 91.5 for the 2023 was elite. He surrendered only one sack.
His new head coach, Mike McDaniel, told miamidolphins.com that Paul also brings an absorbing attitude.
“(Paul) has a vision,” McDaniel said. “He's watching how players were developed on the team by Butch (Barry), Frank (Smith) and everyone. So when we say he was yearning for the opportunities (it's) because he wants to work and wants to develop his game and is super eager to do it.
“That's why we keep talking about the human being tied to the player because those types of things he has the ability to be really good at with a lot of deliberate work and motivation to do so.”
Another thing Paul possesses is mobility. With his 5.13 time in the 40, he easily eclipsed the average time for NFL offensive tackles (5.32). And that speed will serve him well in the Dolphins zone blocking schemes that McDaniel uses with his genius.
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