Sports

/

ArcaMax

How six national outlets graded the Dolphins' draft. And Miami adds more players

Barry Jackson, Miami Herald on

Published in Football

MIAMI -- Assigning draft grades to teams immediately after a draft is a traditional, if largely, senseless exercise.

With that caveat, here’s how six national publications assessed the Dolphins’ draft, which included Penn State edge player Chop Robinson (21st overall), Houston left tackle Patrick Paul (55th), Tennessee running back Jaylen Wright (120), Colorado State edge player Mo Kamara (158th), Virginia receiver Malik Washington (184th), California safety Patrick McMorris (198th) and Southern Cal receiver Taj Washington (241):

▪ ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. gave Miami a B with this comment:

“Miami was hit hard in free agency as a result of a salary-cap crunch, losing guard Robert Hunt, defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, linebackers Andrew Van Ginkel and Jerome Baker and cornerback Xavien Howard, among other players. And while I liked the Dolphins’ additions of linebacker Jordyn Brooks, cornerback Kendall Fuller and tight end Jonnu Smith, they have big holes to plug. Plus, they came into this draft with six picks, tied for the second fewest in the league.

“Chop Robinson (21) has elite upside if he can reach his ceiling, but when you turn on his Penn State tape, you wonder why he didn’t dominate. He had just four sacks last season. If I were running this team, I would have taken tweener defensive end/tackle Darius Robinson or center Graham Barton instead. Patrick Paul (55) is a selection for the future — he played left tackle in college and could replace Terron Armstead there down the line. But I’m not sure he’s ready to start as a rookie for a team that really had to get instant-impact players.

“I’m a huge fan of speedy running back Jaylen Wright (120), but Miami gave up its 2025 third-rounder to get him. That’s not great value, especially for a team that doesn’t necessarily have a need at the position. I had Mohamed Kamara (158) at No. 67 overall in my rankings, so this is a fantastic pick. He had 13 sacks last season. GM Chris Grier tried to hit his void at wideout with Malik Washington (184) and Tahj Washington (241) on Day 3; Malik is the guy to watch, as he had 110 catches last season.

 

“I like a bunch of these players, but it’s a small class and giving up the 2025 third-rounder means it can’t make it to a B plus.”

▪ Respected analyst Warren Sharp said Miami extracted the second best value in the draft, after only Detroit. He gave Miami an A.

He said edge player Kamara provided the best value.

“The Dolphins filled needs and got great value at each draft slot,” Sharp said. “No one has an obvious path to an immediate starting job, but Chop Robinson will factor into the rotation of pass-rushers and Patrick Paul will undoubtedly be forced into action by a Terron Armstead injury at some point.”

...continued

swipe to next page

©2024 Miami Herald. Visit at miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus