Monday Dolphins Mailbag: Chop, Wright, Mostert, and More

Tackling all kind of draft-related topics involving the Miami Dolphins

Jaylen Wright / Hannah Mattix/News Sentinel / USA TODAY

Part 1 of a post-draft Miami Dolphins mailbag:

From Big Ern McDolphin (@dana_buice):

Hey my friend, from the 2024, 2023, and 2022 drafts classes which 3 players are most likely to have the biggest impact in the 2024 NFL season for the Miami Dolphins?

Hey Dana, that is a very good question and very interesting as well. The first player who jumps out, of course, would have to be De’Von Achane because, well, he already had a big impact last year. Toss names in a hat after that, right? The best hope here would be Cam Smith taking a big step forward in his second season, but that’s no sure thing, just like Erik Ezukanma emerging. Among this year’s rookies, I’d go with Chop Robinson because he will get pass-rushing opportunities and the Malik Washington because he could get a lot of playing as the slot receiver.

From Craig M (@Dolfan2334):

Hi Alain. With the Dolphins drafting two WRs in this draft, do you see this as a wake-up call for EE and essentially a last chance for him to keep his job? Is he in danger of not being on this team in September? Second one for you to consider: with the draft now completed, which player or players do you think the Dolphins would look to sign in FA, and would they need to wait until June 1 to get anything significant done?

Hey Craig, the selection of two wide receivers had nothing to do with EE and there was no wake-up call needed — the dude had a neck injury that kept him on IR all year, it’s not like he was slacking. The Dolphins will get $18 million of cap space in June when Xavien Howard’s money comes off the books, but I wouldn’t anticipate anything major regardless. As for likely veteran targets, I named a few in a story published earlier Monday.

From Cj (@CjCrosta):

Who do you think makes the pick? Like percentage wise. How much is Ross involved, McDaniel, etc. We had an argument about Tua. My buddy is convinced it was an ownership pick.

Hey C.J., I don’t know about percentages, but I do know the Dolphins always talk about a collaborative effort and I do know Chris Grier makes an effort to give his coaches players they really want. As for the Tua pick, it’s been shrouded in mystery, but I’m not sure your buddy is crazy to think the way he does (either ownership or high in the organization). We know by now that Brian Flores was not behind that pick, that’s for sure.

From BLT (@BillfromBoynton):

2 schools of thought ... get more physical to handle December/playoff weather or get even better at what you do with enough depth to withstand injury and lock up division/home field, making the weather a moot issue. Do you feel that Miami drafted along those lines?

Hey Bill, it absolutely appears the Dolphins went with option B, which is fine, except it’s not strictly about weather issues. We can focus on December games all we want from last year, but the reality is the Dolphins also lost against BUF, PHI and KC before the middle of November. And, because I know it's coming, yes, those games all were on the road, but if the Dolphins want to be legit Super Bowl contenders, they’ll have to start winning those games. There’s another issue at play here, and it’s that the Dolphins’ core players on offense are speed guys and it's tough to have a track team and play physical offensively at the same time. The issue there is that history has favored physicality over finesse more often than not.

From CaptBlackbeard (@BlackBeardCapt):

Can you envision Chop or Mo in any hybrid MLB, off-the-ball roles? I saw a few that said they could both even play DT on passing downs (like Parsons).

Yeah, you always could line them up in different spots when you’re throwing unique packages at the offense or trying to disguise who’s coming after the quarterback, but the defense won’t thrive with Kamara or Robinson in coverage at linebacker very often.

From Mark Lever (@MarkFinsFan):

Who’s your favorite person that we picked up in the draft?

Hey Mark, since you phrased it as “person,” I’m going to guess you mean personality and not player. Under that edict, Mo Kamara and Patrick Paul were the two guys that stood out to me.

From Rich McQuillen (@rkmcquillen):

Woke up today, and we found a very good UDFA SS. I was not impressed this year's crop of safeties at the combine. This is a small-school kid with big potential. How does Chris Grier find these UDFA gems?

Hey Rich, first off, we’ll have to wait until he actually does something before we call Mark Perry (assuming that’s who you’re talking about) a gem. Second, he finds UDFAs the exact same way he finds draft prospects. The Dolphins evaluate probably every single solitary prospect in the draft, and once it’s over they refer to their evaluations to see who they liked.

From Chris Shields (@shieldsc_):

2 for 1. Hope they both work out but feel like 3 years from now Kamara over Robinson is a real possibility. Thoughts? If you had to say today, how many RBs do the Fins keep and who are they iyo? Also, give me your list of potential current NFL FA signings or trades you see for the Fins now that draft is over. Glaring holes left to fill?

Hey Chris, that’s a lot of questions there. OK, rapid-fire, everything is possible regarding Robinson vs. Kamara, but I’d still think Robinson will be better. I’d peg the Dolphins at keeping four running backs — Achane, Mostert, Wright and a slight nod for Brooks over Wilson. Five is not impossible. Trades are very difficult to predict from an acquisition standpoint because you just don’t know (for the most part) what team is willing to move which player). From the other standpoint, I could see the Dolphins try to flip Wilson for a late-round pick. Possible FAs would include maybe a right guard like Van Roten or Risner, maybe a Calais Campbell for versatility up front and leadership and given his experience in the Baltimore defense.

From Stephane Cote (@StephaneCote17):

Salut Alain, so what do the Fins do about getting a guard? Any decent FAs left?

Hey Stephane, I listed a few guard options in free agency in a story earlier today, but I’m not 100 percent sure the Dolphins aren’t comfortable with the idea of having the guys they have now just battle it out and go with Eichenberg, Jones, Driscoll or Cotton.

From Dave (@angryvet59):

Is it concerning that most of WRs on the roster are on the smallish size? Ezukanma is the only one I can recall is over 6 feet. Also Kamara a bit smaller but has a Bryan Cox attitude/feel to me. Thoughts?

Hey Dave, this is an offense built on speed, so that will remain the focus, but it absolutely would be nice if they had a taller guy (preferably with speed). As for Kamara, I literally tweeted that exact thing after his Zoom media session that he was giving me all sorts of Bryan Cox vibes, which I love.

From Ohio Jon (@thejonrambo80):

I've read and heard that Patrick Paul will be a project early on. What specifically are the weaknesses he will be developing/improving on to work his way into being Armstead’s replacement?

Hey Jon, the concerns with Paul deal with technique and inconsistency. He’s a physically imposing guy, with great size and arm length, but he’s not refined (a bit of a concern given he had plenty of starts at Houston).

From mrmotriniusa (@mrmotriniusa):

Wright had great shiftiness and vision in college. Were the Fins missing that with current RBs on team?

Very simple answer, no. The Dolphins already had very good backs with speed and vision with Achane and Mostert. This was a pick made for value, for depth and for the future when Mostert no longer is around.

From Lord George (@Geobots2):

Is it possible that next year the backfield is Achane, Wright and Brooks? No Wilson or Mostert.

Hey George, yes, anything is possible. Mostert signed a contract extension through next early this month, but that involved mostly a signing bonus for Mostert because the Dolphins can get out of the contract in 2025 and carry only $1 million of dead space. That said, the Dolphins aren’t going to dump Mostert just for the sake of it.

From Rob Jacoby (@rjjjr82):

Do you think the Wright pick could mean that the Fins will move away from Tyreek doing all that pre-snap motion? We can run a lot of 2 WR 2TE 2RB where 1RB is in that jet sweep motion? Would make having 3 viable RBs important to keep them fresh.

Hey Rob, I’m sure Mike McDaniel is going to explore any and all possibilities with the offensive personnel and the speed at his disposal, but I have a hard time believing they’ll abandon the out motion before the snap with Hill given how much success they had with it last season. That would be foolish IMO.

From Javier (@jboy1724):

Seems like they are not only building but creating competition. Why don’t they do this in the QB room? Things that make you go hmmm.

Hey Javier, the Dolphins clearly feel they have their guy with Tua, so I’m not sure I have a major issue with not bringing in competition. One argument for drafting a quarterback is there’s always value if the guy can be in demand, but there can be drawbacks as well, like Atlanta is going to find out the second Kirk Cousins starts to struggle and Michael Penix Jr. is killing it in practice. Competition everywhere is great, but quarterback is just a different position.

From Gilbert Martinez (@Gilbert00669204):

Hi Alain, what's your thoughts on Chop? You're one of my favorites because you tell it like it is?

Hey Gilbert, thanks for that. My opinion on Chop is the Dolphins took a big swing, meaning this is the prospect with maybe the biggest floor/ceiling difference in the first round. I’m very troubled by his lack of production at Penn State, but he is a freakish athlete and there are plays on his highlight reel where he doesn’t get credit for anything statistically but he disrupts the play nonetheless. And in the NFL, I’m with Chris Grier that it’s not so much about sacks but affecting the quarterback. And edge rusher clearly was a need for me. So I’ll say I overall kinda like the pick, though it does make me nervous.