Dolphins Mock Draft Roundup, Jan. 26 Edition
It's that time of year again.
Mock draft season.
There are going to be literally thousands of them between now and the actual start of the draft on the night of April 29 and there will be constant changes.
But as a starting point, we can examine nine national mock drafts, and what stands out is an offshoot of the story we wrote after DeVonta Smith's huge national championship game performance to cap his Heisman Trophy that it didn't necessarily mean a slam-dunk choice by the Miami Dolphins to take him at number 3 overall.
Yes, the Dolphins have a massive need for an impact wide receiver and, yes, Smith played with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa at Alabama, but there obviously are more factors at play.
And based on those nine national mock drafts — by Mel Kiper of ESPN, Steve Palazzolo of Pro Football Focus, Vinnie Iyer of The Sporting News, Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com, Pete Fiutak of College Football News, Nick Klopsis of Newsday, and Chris Trapasso, Ryan Wilson and Josh Edwards of CBSSports.com — the Dolphins pretty much aren't going to be taking Smith, period.
Trapasso was the only one of the nine who mocked Smith to the Dolphins at number 3, though three tabbled a wide receiver at that spot. Only it was LSU's Ja'Marr Chase, who opted out of the 2020 season after helping Joe Burrow win the Heisman Trophy in 2019.
It should be noted that Kiper and Iyer both had Smith going second overall to the New York Jets, both times after the Jacksonville Jaguars selected unanimous projected first pick Trevor Lawrence.
Along with Chase, the other player to get selected three times at number 3 in the nine mocks was Oregon tackle Penei Sewell, who like Chase sat out the 2020 season.
Mark J. Rebilas - USA Today Sports
The other two mentions went to Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons, yet another player who opted out of the 2020 season.
When it comes to the 18th overall selections, the most popular choice was Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who might project more as a safety in the NFL because of his size.
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He was mentioned as the 18th pick in four of the nine mocks, and the only other player to get more than one mention at that spot was another Alabama wide receiver, Jaylen Waddle.
The other three prospects mocked to the Dolphins at number 18 were tackle Christian Darrisaw from Virginia Tech, wide receiver Rashod Bateman from Minnesota and guard Wyatt Davis from Ohio State.
NFL media analyst (and former NFL player) Bucky Brooks pointed out the dilemma in trying to project Smith at the next level.
The Dolphins will get a close-up look at Smith this week at the Senior Bowl, though he won't practice because of the finger injury he sustained early in the second half of the national title game at Hard Rock Stadium after he had torched Ohio State for 12 catches for 215 yards and three touchdowns in the first half.
