The Book on Tyler Booker, and Why He Shouldn't Be Mocked to Miami

Alabama guard Tyler Booker is a high-end draft prospect who would love to be reunited with Tua Tagovailoa, but would that really be a good idea?

University of Alabama offensive lineman Tyler Booker (OL03) answers questions at a press conference during the 2025 NFL Combine at Indiana Convention Center. | Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

Alabama guard Tyler Booker is becoming a popular first-round mock draft selection for the Miami Dolphins this offseason and he said at the combine he'd love to block for fellow Crimson Tide Tua Tagovailoa, but he probably shouldn’t be.

NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah is probably the most well-known analyst to mock Booker to the Dolphins, and it’s easy to see why that would be an option from a national outlet. Everyone knows the Dolphins have struggled at guard for years and that the starters from last season, Liam Eichenberg and Robert Jones, are impending free agents.

While it’s true the Dolphins need to find multiple starting guards this offseason, it is doubtful the team will take one at 13th overall, and it’s even more unlikely that player would be Booker.

We’ve decided to review why this pick is unlikely and doesn’t make a ton of sense, even though the Dolphins have a need at guard.

The Dolphins Don’t Value Guard That Much

Throughout the last three years, coach Mike McDaniel and General Manager Chris Grier have not been coy about how the team views the offensive line, especially the interior. This brass does not view it as a premium position.

Grier is willing to invest in an offensive tackle with premium picks. He’s selected Austin Jackson, Patrick Paul and Liam Eichenberg in the first two rounds. In fact, the last college guard the team drafted at all was Michael Deiter in 2019.

It should be noted that this mentality is one of the main reasons the Dolphins need two starting guards in the first place. However, there’s a difference between ignoring a position for the better part of five years and taking one with a top-15 pick.

The guard position isn’t a premium position for the Dolphins offense. They’re more concerned with their blocking on the perimeter, and Tua Tagovailoa’s quick release can mitigate a lot of interior pressure.

The more likely outcome is that the Dolphins spend free agent money at guard. The group of free agent guards is pretty good this year. It includes Will Fries, Will Hernandez, Teven Jenkins, Kevin Zeitler, James Daniels and Patrick Mekari.

When it comes to the draft, Miami will likely target an interior offensive linemen on Day 2 or 3. Some of those options could include Jonah Savaiinaea (Arizona), Tate Ratledge (Georgia) and Miles Frazier (LSU). 

If Booker were a Quenton Nelson-level prospect, it would be easier to imagine the Dolphins having him high on their board, but he’s not at that level. If the Dolphins spend a first-round pick on an offensive lineman, it’s likely to be one who can play tackle and guard.

Booker Isn’t a Scheme Fit

Moving past the idea that the Dolphins don’t value guards enough to take one in the first round, Booker doesn’t fit the team’s offensive scheme.

The Alabama product is known as a people mover in the trenches with limited athletic ability. He’s a mauler in the running game, using his lower-body strength to create push off the line and his upper-body strength to turn defenders out of gaps easily.

"It's legal assault out there, and I love football because of the brand of football that I play,” Booker said at the NFL Combine last week. “I make guys not love football anymore, and I do that every day — every down —  by just giving them my all and letting you know I'm not going to let up. So, the thing I love the most about football is taking the love away from other people."

Booker can do that because he checks in at 6-4, 321 pounds with 34.5-inch arms, which ranks in the 89th percentile among guards who attended the combine since 1999.

These are all good traits for Booker to have in a vacuum, but they’re not what the Dolphins have typically gone after. Miami prefers its interior players to be on the smaller side, emphasizing mobility in the running game.

The Dolphins’ outside zone scheme demands a lot of later movement skills from its interior linemen, and that’s not something Booker is great at. On tape, Booker has heavy feet when moving out into space and struggles to reach his landmarks at the second level.

Those are some of the same things that got Eichenberg and Jones in trouble this past season.

Booker’s average, at best, athletic profile was backed up by his performance at the 2025 NFL Combine. He finished the week with a 4.15 Relative Athletic Score (RAS) after putting up below-average jumps and speed times.

The two most concerning testing numbers for the Dolphins are likely Booker’s 10-yard split, which came in at 1.96 seconds, and his broad jump, which came in at 7 feet 10 inches. Those numbers land in the 11th and 18th percentile, respectively.

Those tests show Booker’s short-area explosiveness and overall movement skills won’t translate well to the Dolphins’ offensive system.

The only argument worth entertaining regarding Booker's suitability for the Dolphins is whether the team should change its offense. Last season, the Dolphins struggled with physicality in the running game, and teams were starting to find creative solutions to their bread-and-butter outside zone concepts.

However, that change would have to go well beyond just drafting Booker. It would have to include the addition of other offensive linemen, tight ends, receivers, and running backs who fit a more gap/power-oriented scheme. This would also include considerable changes to the passing game, which is another challenge.

That change would also strand a player like Aaron Brewer. He’s a perfect fit for what the Dolphins do now, but changing the scheme to accommodate Booker would create a hole at center.

In the long term, the Dolphins probably should invest in different types of players and work to diversify their scheme. But starting that process with a top-15 pick at guard in a season where the team is under a lot of pressure to win meaningful games isn’t the way to do it.