Thanks to the Tyreek Hill trade, the Miami Dolphins came into the draft with the fewest selections of any team in the league, totaling four, and none inside the top 100. Thus, the Dolphins were left with few options to improve the rest of their roster. They also didn't make any moves during the draft, so four players it is. Not that the Dolphins had too many holes in the roster, but there are still some that went unfilled.
They really just encapsulated the 2022 NFL Draft in a way most other teams don't. 8 teams traded away their 2022 first-round pick either this offseason or last, but no team adopted the once long-dead “who needs draft picks” strategy of former Washington head coach George Allen quite like the Dolphins. Thus, it's only appropriate we take a closer look at the smallest draft class of all, here's a grade for the selection of all four brand new Miami Dolphins.
Miami Dolphins 2022 NFL Draft Grades
Round 3, Pick 102- Channing Tindall, LB, Georgia: A
One of the roster holes that the Dolphins did attempt to remedy was inside linebacker. It just hasn't been a very strong position group for the team for a few years now, and here, they take one of the cornerstones of a Georgia defense that produced more first-round picks than the Dolphins had picks total. Tindall formed half of an absolutely outstanding linebacking duo with Nakobe Dean, and his testing numbers were, to say the least, pretty good. It becomes exponentially more difficult to find players who can really make a serious difference as a rookie outside the top 100, but it seems as though the Dolphins have done just that with Tindall. Great pick.
Round 4, Pick 125- Erik Ezukanma, WR, Texas Tech: C
You know, when you think of the Dolphins' remaining needs after acquiring one of the five best receivers in the league, you typically don't think “yeah, I think they'll take another wide receiver here!” Alas, that is exactly what they spent a quarter of their draft capital on. Of course, Ezukanma profiles as a receiver with a similar skill set to Deebo Samuel, a receiver new head coach Mike McDaniel has been coaching in San Francisco, so maybe that was the thought process?
Ezukanma is a good player, there just doesn't seem to be a legitimate reason for the Dolphins to sink so much of their draft capital in a position where they honestly can't improve much, especially not on day three of the draft.
Round 7, Pick 224- Cameron Goode, LB, Cal: C+
Goode spent his time in Berkeley as one of the better 4-3 outside linebackers in the Pac 12, and that's what bumps the grade here up a little bit. However, there doesn't seem to be much reason to double-dip at linebacker for the Dolphins, considering this position is already filled by Andrew van Ginkel. Even as a depth pick, linebacker doesn't immediately strike me as a need big enough for the Dolphins to sink half of their draft on, with other options already on the roster, and undoubtedly fringe roster quality players will pop up throughout the summer as teams trim their own squads during training camp.
Round 7, Pick 247- Skylar Thompson, QB, Kansas State: D-
Let me preface what I'm about to say with the qualifier that Skylar Thompson is a very good player and deserves a shot in the NFL after his illustrious career in Manhattan. But there are exactly zero reasons the team that drafted him should've been the Dolphins. None whatsoever. The Dolphins already have Tua Tagovailoa, who still could stake his claim as the franchise, in addition to signing Teddy Bridgewater this offseason. I challenge any of you readers to come up with a legitimate explanation for this pick. It might be one of the most baffling of any in the entire draft, by any team.
Overall Team Grade: C
If we broaden our gaze to look at the entire offseason by the Dolphins, they've done really well, but stuck within the confines of last weekend's draft, they did mediocre at best. Channing Tindall is an incredible player who fills an immediate need, that pick is not in question. But the other three? Questionable just barely scrapes the surface. Ezukanma makes the most sense, in that he profiles as a similar player to one that Mike McDaniel is used to building a scheme around, but for the Dolphins specifically, the other half of the draft makes little to no sense at all. Both Cameron Goode and Skylar Thompson deserved to be drafted, but the Dolphins had almost no business being the team that did so.
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