Subscribe
Follow Us
It feels the Miami Dolphins have turned a corner.
They are coming off their second straight winning season, Mike McDaniel has taken the reins at head coach and the Dolphins recently made a blockbuster trade to land Tyreek Hill. Acquiring the superstar wide receiver emptied a good deal of the franchise's draft capital, but it is a worthy gamble to pair Hill with Jaylen Waddle and provide Tua Tagovailoa with the best weapons in the NFL.
Even so, the draft is less than two weeks away and the Dolphins will attempt to improve their roster with the picks still in tow. Miami will have just four selections in the 2022 draft and none before the third round. Regardless, they will look to take advantage of the picks they have, so here are 3 predictions for the Dolphins' 2022 draft.
Dolphins Predictions for 2022 NFL Draft
3) Miami will add depth to the trenches
The Hill trade marked a statement of the direction this franchise hopes to go. Heading into his third season with the Dolphins, it likely will be looked at as a make-or-break year for Tagovailoa. The Dolphins clearly intend on setting up the team around him so he has the ultimate chance at success. However, if he is unable to capitalize Miami will likely will be in search of an upgrade next offseason.
For insight and predictions on the 2022 NFL Draft, listen below:
While the wide receiver problem may be solved, the Dolphins arguably have an even larger issue at the offensive line. Part of the reason is coaching as the Dolphins have not had the same offensive line coach for back-to-back seasons since 2015. However, even the best coach may not have been able to fix what Pro Football Focus ranked as the worst offensive line in football last season. The Fins did ink Terron Armstead and Connor Williams to deals already this offseason, but using late-round picks on lineman would also be a wise decision.
Look for the Dolphins to use at least one to two of their draft picks on beefing up the offensive line and protecting Tagovailoa. Considering they will have to wait until days two and three to make a selection, this likely won't be the most exciting draft for the Dolphins but it will be impactful nonetheless.
Article Continues Below
2) There will be a trade down
Given the five draft picks they gave up in the trade for Hill, it would make a lot of sense for the Dolphins to trade down and re-stock their draft coffers. While third, fourth, fifth and seventh-round picks do not hold nearly the value of earlier rounds, recouping any additional pick to move down a couple of slots would be worth it for Miami.
Expect Dolphins' GM Chris Grier to be working the phones during the final two days of the draft with the hopes of finding a way to add more than just four players.
1) Dolphins select James Cook in third round
While the signing of Raheem Mostert has decreased the need for a running back to some extent, Miami would be wise not to rely on the injury-prone 30-year-old. Mostert has played in all 16 games just once in his career and a variety of ankle and knee injuries held him to just one game last season.
*Watch NFL games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)*
A tidy solution would be using their third-round pick on James Cook, who thoroughly impressed during his time at Georgia. The 5'11” back has impressive potential as a pass-catcher out of the backfield and is an advanced route runner compared to most RBs coming out of college. An impressive athlete, he's also the younger brother of Minnesota Vikings star Dalvin Cook.
Running back seems to be the sole weak spot in Miami's new-look offense, one that could be fortified by the addition of a playmaker like Cook.
