Checking Out Some Dolphins Draft Fits

NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah suggested some prospects who fit what the new coaching staff might want at wide receiver and on the offensive line

Author:
Alain Poupart
Publish date:
Feb 25, 2022 4:47 PM EST

In this story:

Miami Dolphins

It was time again for NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah's pre-combine media session Friday, and as usual he provided great insight surrounding prospects and teams, and sometimes matching prospects to teams.

Jeremiah, a former scout for the Eagles, Ravens and Browns, provided some insight as to what the Miami Dolphins would be looking for if they decided to use one of their early 2022 draft picks on either an offensive lineman or a wide receiver.

DOLPHINS OPTIONS FOR INTERIOR OFFENSIVE LINEMEN

Along the offensive line, it's easy to connect the Dolphins to one of the top Boston College prospects, either Zion Johnson or Alec Lindstrom, considering the new assistant for that position Matt Applebaum coached both of them in college.

"Yeah, both those guys would be good fits," Jeremiah said. "I like Zion a little bit better as a player. He would be a good fit there."

Jeremiah then provided two more interior offensive line prospects who would be a good fit for the Dolphins, Tennessee-Chattanooga's Cole Strange and Kentucky's Luke Fortner.

"You know, Cole Strange is somebody that I think all those outside zone teams are gonna love," Jeremiah said. "He just he can really move. He started 44 games. Only one of them was at center but then he goes to the Senior Bowl, played center all week and was really, really competitive. And if you look at the Dolphins coach (Mike McDaniel) and how smart he is and his reputation and then you look at a guy like Cole Strange, who was looking at the service academies and was an engineering major and is really, really a brilliant guy, I think that's an interesting fit.

"And Luke Fortner, Zion Johnson, all those guys are intelligent. Luke Fortner is going to have two master's degrees. So you've got guys that can move and guys that are really, really smart. And if you kind of look at what the Niners have tried to do, they've really tried to zone in on those two things. Get guys with really good smarts, particularly football intelligence and guys that are really athletic and can move, so those would be (guys) I think would be really, really good fits in that scheme."

AN INTERESTING DOLPHINS OPTION AT WIDE RECEIVER

The Dolphins selected a wide receiver with their top pick with Alabama's Jaylen Waddle last year and it's certainly possible they could go that route again.

And it's also possible they could go back to Alabama as well because Jeremiah says that maybe Jameson Williams is a better fit for what the Dolphins want to do offensively (based on the 49ers scheme) than maybe a bigger wide receiver.

"I think one of the things with this offense that's coming in they usually like those guys to be interchangeable," Jeremiah said. "So, yeah, we talk all the time about basketball team, right? But a lot of times when you're talking to guys that are in this McVay, Shanahan system, they talk about having guys that can play all three positions, they're interchangeable. So they don't really have that same philosophy in terms of like building a basketball team.

"So if I'm looking at them, and golly, let's see what number they pick, 29, Jameson Williams, if they want to take a take a flyer on that if you you get him in there. You know what he can do with a slant. I mean Tua, the best thing he does RPO-slant people to death. That's where he's in his comfort zone. And you get a chance to get somebody like that, you've got him and Waddle, you miss a tackle, it's over. So I would love to see them just continue to add those type of guys instead of saying, oh, you need to get the bigger, more physical player. I would try and build a track team, a run-after-catch team with Tua because his best thing he does, survey the field, get the ball out quick, accurately underneath, intermediate and then it's up to them to do something with it."