A Proposed To-Do List For Dolphins GM Chris Grier

Take a look at 10 things the Miami Dolphins should be focused on heading into the NFL draft if this franchise wants to get to the next level

Chris Grier usually is a popular man about this time of year.

When it's NFL draft season, the Miami Dolphins general manager's phone usually is ringing every few minutes because teams are jockeying for information and agents are pitching their prospects.

Next week represents the midway point to the NFL offseason, and via the NFL draft, which begins Thursday night, teams have a chance to set their franchise up for long-term success.

Here's a list of 10 things Grier should be focused on to help the Dolphins, who have produced four straight winning seasons but own the longest playoff win brought in the NFL, get to the next level and become legit Super Bowl contenders.

1. Sign Tua Tagovailoa to a multi-year extension

Miami needs to appease the quarterback, which means don’t embarrass him with an offer that will make him and his agent look bad to their peers but can’t handicap the Dolphins’ books in 2025 and 2026, extending the team’s window to win a championship. The Dolphins should use the contract Kyler Murray (five years, $230.5 million) got last offseason or the new deal Atlanta gave Kirk Cousins (four-year, $180 million) as the framework of what they should offer Tagovailoa because at this point Miami is bidding against itself.

2. Add a third receiver

According to Grier, a deal with Odell Beckham Jr. is “not imminent,” which means the two sides aren’t close on a contract. The Dolphins might wait to see how the 2024 draft plays out. Wide receiver happens to be one of the deeper positions in this draft, so don’t be surprised if Miami uses the team’s first- or second-round pick on an upper-echelon wideout, following Grier’s BPA (Best Player Available) approach to drafting. The Dolphins need to do better than Braxton Berrios, River Cracraft and Erik Ezukamna and might need to use pick No. 21 on LSU’s Brian Thomas Jr., who would bring physicality, or Texas’ Xavier Worthy, who would bring speed to the room.

3. Find Terron Armstead’s eventual replacement

Armstead recently admitted he’s flirted with retirement for a couple of seasons, which hints that this could be his swan song in the NFL. The 12-year veteran is elite when he’s healthy, but that’s rarely the case these days. That’s why it would be ideal for the Dolphins to select an offensive lineman like Washington’s Troy Fauntanu, who can man the left guard spot his rookie season before bouncing outside to play left tackle in year two, much like Laremy Tunsil did.

4. Work on extensions for 2021 draftees

The Dolphins had a ridiculous exodus of talent this offseason because Miami didn’t get ahead of free agency and signing players like Christian Wilkins, Robert Hunt and Brandon Jones to extensions heading into the final year of their rookie deals. Hopefully the franchise learned from that mistake and plans to address Jaylen Waddle, Jaelan Phillips and Jevon Holland’s contracts before the 2024 season begins. While it takes two to tango, Miami should put pace-setting contracts on the table now before the price escalates.

5. Find talent for Anthony Weaver’s scheme

Weaver will be the sixth different defensive coordinator Grier will be picking players for since taking over as Miami’s general manager in 2016, and most of them ran significantly different schemes than their predecessor. Some wanted press cornerbacks while others wanted zone corners. Some played with linebackers on the edges and some played with traditional defensive ends. Grier says Weaver has been very clear about the players who fit the scheme he intends to build for Miami, and we’ll soon learn how good Grier is at finding players that fit.

6. Acquire more second- and third-day picks

The Dolphins' stable of young, developmental, and more importantly cheap talent, is running thin, and the best way to replenish that important supply of players is through the NFL draft. The Dolphins have six draft picks, and only two of them (No. 21 and No. 55) are among the draft’s first 158 selections. Grier has hinted that he might trade pick No. 55 to acquire more selections, and that could end up being beneficial because the meat of this draft will be between rounds 2-4 from a talent standpoint. The Dolphins have had success finding and developing undrafted players, but the team’s late-round picks under Grier have been rather disappointing lately.

7. Find a trade partner that wants to unload a veteran

Teams regularly trade veteran players during and after the draft, especially once they’ve selected their replacement (see the Lions moving D’Andre Swift to the Eagles on the second day of the 2023 draft after selecting Jahmyr Gibbs in the first round). Grier had made more trades than every other general manager since gaining final say in the organization in 2019, and it would be disappointing if he didn’t turn one of Miami’s four late-round picks into a regular contributor, if not starter.

8. Find a way to make Dolphins tougher

When Grier began this rebuild in 2019 the point of emphasis was to fortify the trenches, building a forceful offensive and defensive line. Miami finally owned the trenches in 2023, but have now lost Wilkins, Raekwon Davis, Emmanuel Ogbah, Hunt and Connor Williams, five players who set the tone in past years. While Miami signed many of their replacements in free agency, it would be ideal for the Dolphins to fortify those units and improve the team’s ability to convert short-yardage situations. 

9. Add a backup center

The Dolphins need to add a proven center unless Miami’s coaches are completely content with Liam Eichenberg serving as Aaron Brewer’s backup, and won’t allow Eichenberg to compete for one of the two vacant starting guard spots. Clearly this is nitpicking, but Eichenberg, a 2021 second-round pick who has started 38 games in his first three seasons, deserves a legit chance to become a starter, and handling the second-team center reps would limit those guard opportunities.  This is an above-average crop of draftable centers, and it would benefit Miami to start developing someone young because Eichenberg is entering the final year of his rookie deal. There are also free agent options like former Chicago Bears starter Lucas Patrick, whose market should pick up after the draft.

10. Move on from unwanted pieces

Grier has a tendency to trade unwanted pieces, or players who aren’t an ideal fit for the franchise, like last year’s trade that sent Dan Feeney to the Bears for pick No. 184 in next weeks’ draft, and Noah Igbinoghene to the Dallas Cowboys in a swap of defensive backs. It’s a little early for Grier to know who does and who doesn’t fit right now, but the Dolphins might find takers for tailback Jeff Wilson, linebacker Channing Tindall and offensive guard Lester Cotton, who all might have issues making it onto Miami’s 53-man roster if the team has truly upgraded the talent base. Moving them for a 2024 or 2025 late-round pick could be beneficial to both sides.