The Miami Dolphins Could Target Illinois' Jer'Zhan Newton With the No. 21 Pick In NFL Draft

This weekend, former Ilinois Fighting Ilini defensive tackle Jer'Zhan Newton will have a life-altering moment during the NFL Draft.

He is expected to be chosen in the first round at some point Saturday, but it remains a mystery which team will choose him. One media outlet thinks Newton will land with the Miami Dolphins at the No. 21 pick.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Newton fits the Dolphins' needs. Here's what Dolphins beat writer Chris Perkins wrote:

"Newton (6-2, 304) is a bit of a lightweight for interior defensive line but he uses his football intelligence to be effective as a pass rusher (7.5 sacks) and run stopper. His feet might be his best asset. The Dolphins could certainly use Newton’s pass rush skills to replace Wilkins. Newton is another player who could stir up some creativity from defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver because Newton can disrupt in lots of ways along the defensive front and be used in creative packages."

Last year Newton was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and also earned All-American honors. He had 52 tackles (8.5 for loss), 7.5 sacks, nine quarterback hurries, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and four blocked kicks on the season.

Fox Sports draft analyst Joel Klatt recently compared him to NFL three-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald, a likely future Hall of Famer.

"When I would cover teams in the Big Ten, I always asked them about players around the conference," Klatt said. "Almost every offensive coach would bring up a man we couldn't block was Jer`Zhan Newton. At some point, you call a spade a spade and you say that guy is a football-playing Jesse."