Ranking the Dolphins Draft Position Priorities
A day before the start of the 2023 NFL draft, the Miami Dolphins still sat with only four selections, none in the first round for a second consecutive year, and only two before Round 6.
So the Dolphins better make good use of their two second-day picks, which stand at numbers 51 and 84, barring some kind of trade.
Because it's always difficult to predict how prospects will fall off the draft board, this year as much as any other, the focus when it comes to the Dolphins should be as much on what positions they need to address as opposed to specific players.
With that in mind, here's our ranking of what we see as the positional priorities for Miami heading into the 2023 draft:
THE BIGGEST PRIORITIES
1. OFFENSIVE LINE
Sure, the Dolphins have enough players now to go into training camp and they have a projected starting five based on the idea that 2020 first-round pick Austin Jackson will get another shot at right tackle and 2021 second-round pick Liam Eichenberg will get another shot at left tackle. But a big factor here should be the left tackle position because while Terron Armstead is a tremendous player, he's got age and injury history working against him, and the Dolphins need to find a front-line backup and eventual successor for him. And that's not even addressing the idea that maybe the Dolphins also could use an upgrade at LG or RT.
2. TIGHT END
The Dolphins have only three tight ends on the roster at the moment with Durham Smythe, newcomer Eric Saubert and Tanner Conner, but along with numbers, the group is lacking somebody who could make a difference in the passing game.
3. DEFENSIVE LINE
The Dolphins have some talent up front with Christian Wilkins, Zach Sieler and Raekwon Davis, but not one of those players is signed beyond the 2023 season and depth is an issue here as well.
4. LINEBACKER
The addition of David Long Jr. in free agency absolutely will help, but the depth here is a bit suspect, even after the re-signing of veteran Duke Riley in free agency.
5. SAFETY
The Dolphins have a star in the making (if he's not already a star) in Jevon Holland, but a bit of a question mark on the other side with Brandon Jones coming back from a torn ACL and DeShon Elliott having posted poor coverage metric numbers the past three seasons.
POSITIONS OF LOW PRIORITY
6. RUNNING BACK
The Dolphins are prepared to run it back with the same group as last season after re-signing Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr., Salvon Ahmed and Myles Gaskin, but adding an elite talent here would make an explosive offense even more dangerous.
7. EDGE DEFENDER
The Dolphins have both front-line talent here with Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips, as well as some depth with Andrew Van Ginkel, newcomer Malik Reed and Emmanuel Ogbah, who is listed as a defensive end but clearly is more of an edge player.
8. WIDE RECEIVER
The Dolphins have as good a starting tandem as there is in the NFL with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, but there's a question as to whether there's a clear-cut third option among newcomers Chosen Anderson and Braxton Berrios, or Cedrick Wilson Jr., River Cracraft or 2022 fourth-round pick Erik Ezukanma.
9. QUARTERBACK
The Dolphins look set here with Tua Tagovailoa as their starter, Mike White as the new backup and Skylar Thompson as well if the team again decides to keep quarterbacks on the 53-man roster.
10. SPECIALISTS
The Dolphins are set here with kicker Jason Sanders, new punter Jake Bailey and long-snapper Blake Ferguson, though it would not be a surprise if a kicker was brought to camp to give Sanders some competition after a down 2022 season.
11. CORNERBACK
The addition of Jalen Ramsey gives the Dolphins an elite starting tandem with Xavien Howard, and there's plenty of depth here with 2022 surprise Kader Kohou, Keion Crossen and two promising young players returning from injury, Nik Needham and Trill Williams.
WHAT THE ODDSMAKERS ARE SAYING
BetOnline released odds for the position that will become each team's top pick in the 2023 draft, and their odds for the Dolphins matched our ranking — but only to a certain degree.
Here then are the BetOnline (www.betonline.ag) odds for 2023 first pick for the Miami Dolphins:
Offensive Lineman — 2/1 (+200)
Tight End — 2/1 (+200)
Defensive Lineman — 4/1 (+400)
Running Back — 7/1 (+700)
Linebacker — 15/2 (+750)
Wide Receiver — 15/2 (+750)
Cornerback — 40/1 (+4000)
Quarterback — 40/1 (+4000)
Safety — 40/1 (+4000)
Kicker/Punter/Long Snapper — 200/1 (+20000)
DOLPHINS HISTORY WITH TOP PICKS
The Dolphins' top draft pick by position (includes years without a first-round pick)
Offensive line — 13 (Chuck Bradley*, 1973; Darryl Carlton, 1975; Jon Giesler, 1979; Roy Foster, 1982; Richmond Webb, 1990; Billy Milner, 1995; Todd Wade*, 2000; Seth McKinney**, 2002; Vernon Carey, 2004; Jake Long, 2008; Mike Pouncey, 2011; Ja'Wuan James, 2014; Laremy Tunsil, 2016;
Defensive line — 12 (Bill Stanfill, 1969; Mike Kadish, 1972; Don Reese, 1974; A.J. Duhe, 1977; John Bosa, 1987; Eric Kumerow, 1988; Tim Bowens, 1994; Daryl Gardener, 1996; Jared Odrick, 2010; Dion Jordan, 2013; Charles Harris, 2017; Christian Wilkins, 2019
Running back — 8 (Jim Grabowski, 1966; Larry Csonka, 1968; David Overstreet, 1981; Lorenzo Hampton, 1985; Sammie Smith, 1989; John Avery, 1998; J.J. Johnson, 1999; Ronnie Brown, 2005
Wide receiver — 7 (Otto Stowe*, 1971; Randal Hill, 1991; O.J. McDuffie, 1993; Yatil Green, 1997; Ted Ginn Jr., 2007; DeVante Parker, 2015; Jaylen Waddle, 2021
Defensive back — 6 (Don McNeal, 1980; Troy Vincent, 1992; Jamar Fletcher, 2001; Jason Allen, 2006; Vontae Davis, 2009; Minkah Fitzpatrick, 2018
Quarterback — 5 (Bob Griese, 1967; Guy Benjamin*, 1978; Dan Marino, 1983; Ryan Tannehill, 2012; Tua Tagovailoa, 2020)
Linebacker — 5 (Larry Gordon, 1976; Jackie Shipp, 1984; John Offerdahl*, 1986; Eddie Moore, 2003; Channing Tindall**, 2022
Tight end — 1 (Jim Mandich*, 1970)
Kicker/punter — 0
*-indicates second-round pick when the Dolphins didn't have a first-round pick
**-indicates third-round pick when the Dolphins didn't have a first- or second-round pick
