Dolphins mock draft roundup: What is everyone’s opinion going into Round One?

Analysing the numerous national mock drafts and the Miami Dolphins’ projected selection in the first round

 

In the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins will make a significant splash. When it comes to mock drafts published in national media, it seems to be the general consensus, at least.

For the first time since 2021, the Dolphins are slated to select with the 21st overall pick. The general consensus is that they will draft either a defensive lineman or an offensive lineman with their first pick.

Exactly two-thirds of the 32 mock drafts we looked at, from national media sources like ESPN, Yahoo.com, and Sports Illustrated, projected a lineman would be the Dolphins’ first pick.

DIVING DOWN THE Mock drafts of the Dolphins
Of the 32 first-round mock selections made by the Dolphins, 17 were made by offensive lineman, with defensive linemen being selected seven times.

It’s important to note, though, that only one defensive lineman—Jer’Zhan Newton of the University of Illinois—was projected to join the Dolphins out of seven different offensive linemen.

“I feel like the Dolphins are in a less than enviable position of having to draft for immediate needs as they carry the Mike McDaniel experiment into Year 3,” Conor Orr of SI wrote in his mock draft. “In a perfect scenario, when Tyreek Hill gets closer to his mid-30s, they may start looking for ways to vary up the offence. However, as of right now, a one-for-one substitute for the late Christian Wilkins is being considered. On paper, this defence doesn’t seem very strong. Even though the division doesn’t have many world-class backs, Miami can’t afford to sit its high-scoring offence for extended periods of time throughout a game.”

Regarding offensive linemen, Duke’s Graham Barton, Penn State’s Olumuyiwa Fashanu, Georgia’s Amarius Mims, Washington’s Troy Fautanu, Alabama’s J.C. Latham, Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson, and Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga were among the predicted new Dolphins.

Barton was the most frequently mentioned of them all with six mentions, followed by Mims with four, Powers-Johnson and Fashanu with two each, and Fautanu, Fuaga, and Latham with one each.

Charles Davis, an NFL.com analyst, explained why he selected Barton as follows: “Agile physically and mentally, Barton moves from college left tackle to NFL centre (he did start five games at the pivot early in his Duke days) and anchors Mike McDaniel’s lightning-speed offensive attack.”

PROSPECTS WITHOUT LINE OF WORK MOCKED TO MIAMI

Maintaining the winning pattern in the trenches, six edge defender selections were made in the thirty-two mock drafts that were analysed.

There were two mentions for UCLA’s Laiatu Latu, the Jaelan Phillips comp, and four for Florida State’s Jared Verse.

Out of our 32 national mock drafts, the Dolphins selected defensive back Cooper DeJean of Iowa and cornerback Nate Wiggins of Clemson, who both played corners in college but are predicted by most pundits to be safeties in the NFL.

Interestingly, despite Xavier Worthy of Texas and Brian Thomas Jr. of LSU have been discussed as potential Miami targets in recent weeks, none of the 32 mock drafts we polled had a wide receiver selected for the Dolphins at number 21.

Remember that there are a tonne of other mock drafts out there with projections involving players other than quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and tight end Brock Bowers for the Dolphins.

Nonetheless, it appears that the offensive or defensive line is the focal point of the wheelhouse.

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