Checking Out Draft Prospects Mocked to the Dolphins
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Draft season again is a bit different for the Miami Dolphins this year because they again don't have a first-round pick.
In particular, it makes mock draft season a lot less eventful because many prognosticators limit themselves to the first round. But there also are several draft analysts producing two-, three-, sometimes seven-round mocks and that's when the Dolphins get involved.
And what we're finding, to no one's surprise, is a focus for the Dolphins on tight ends and offensive linemen with their selections in the second and third rounds, which come at number 51 and number 84.
Scanning five national mock drafts that extend beyond Round 1, we find three different tight ends and three different offensive linemen among the Dolphins' 10 overall mock selections. The other four come at four different positions, with one running back and three defensive players.
Given the moves they've made this offseason, it certainly does appear that the biggest needs heading into April do reside at tight end and the offensive line, and it again would surprise no one if the Dolphins went to those positions for the first two selections before they wait until the sixth round to draft again.
PROSPECTS MOCKED TO THE MIAMI DOLPHINS IN ROUNDS 2-3
Here's the rundown of the five recent national mocks that go beyond the first round and their selections for the Dolphins:
NFL.com (Chad Reuter)
Round 2 — TE Sam LaPorta, Iowa
Round 3 — Edge Derick Hall, Auburn
CBS Sports (Ryan Wilson)
Round 2 — T Cody Mauch, North Dakota State
Round 3 — TE Tucker Kraft, South Dakota State
CBS Sports (Chris Trapasso)
Round 2 — T Blake Freeland, BYU
Round 3 — LB Owen Pappoe, Auburn
PFF
Round 2 — C Luke Wypler, Ohio State
Round 3 — S Jordan Battle, Alabama
ESPN (Jordan Reid)
Round 2 — RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Alabama
Round 3 — TE Luke Schoonmaker, Michigan
BREAKING DOWN THE MOCKED DOLPHINS SELECTIONS
As with every draft, predicting where each prospect will get picked is highly subjective, which is why you might see a prospect pegged for a certain slot much higher or much lower than maybe you've seen ranked.
Here are some quick thoughts on some of these prospects:
-- At first glance here, Gibbs' all-around ability as a running back would make it seem highly unlikely he'd be available at number 51, but the Alvin Kamara-type prospect indeed would be awfully hard to resist if he were — though it should be noted the Dolphins already have brought back all four running backs from last year, so this would be strictly a value pick.
-- Selecting Wypler as early as the second round might entail moving veteran Connor Williams back to guard, where he played his first four NFL season before joining the Dolphins last offseason and being moved to center. Of course, Wypler also could be moved to guard, but the Dolphins are in win-now mode and maybe that wouldn't be the best option.
-- Ryan Wilson's draft would be very interesting indeed, considering South Dakota State defeated North Dakota State in the FBS national championship game. Additionally, we profiled SDSU tight end Tucker Kraft during our trip to the combine early this month.
-- Mauch played tackle at NDSU, but his less-than-ideal arm length makes him a likely candidate to get moved to guard in the NFL.
-- Battle, a native of Fort Lauderdale, is one of two Alabama safety prospects along with Brian Branch, who projects as a first-round pick.
