Could the Dolphins Make a Legacy Pick and Other Tight End Thoughts

Tight ends Mason Taylor and Oronde Gadsden II both spoke at the scouting combine

Mason Taylor speaking at the 2025 NFL scouting combine | Alain Poupart - Miami Dolphins On SI

INDIANAPOLIS — At one end of the rows of podiums where 2025 draft prospects conduct their media session was Mason Taylor and at the other was Oronde Gadsden II.

Two gifted tight ends, two sons of former Miami Dolphins players.

In the case of Taylor, you can even add the nephew of another Dolphins great, Zach Thomas.

Both no doubt would love to get drafted by the Dolphins, but all they want is to make their own mark and will be happy to start out their NFL careers with whoever selects them.

It would make for a great story if the Dolphins were to select either, even though tight end isn't as big a need as many other positions on the roster with Jonnu Smith coming back after a great 2024 season and young backups or potential backups with Julian Hill, Tanner Conner and Hayden Rucci.

In some places, it has been suggested the Dolphins could take a tight end, but that would be in the first round and that player would be Tyler Warren out of Penn State.

Taylor and Gadsden generally are ranked below the top tier of tight ends that includes Warren, Colston Loveland of Michigan and Elijah Arroyo of the University of Miami, with Taylor at the top of that second tier and Gadsden a bit further behind — again, it always depends on who's doing the ranking.

Taylor and Gadsden have met with the Dolphins, but that was before they got to Indy for the combine, with Taylor getting his time at the Senior Bowl and Gadsden at the East-West Shrine Game.

Both prospects talked about the advantages of having a father who played in the NFL, but they also both were to quick to credit the talent at their South Florida high school — St. Thomas Aquinas for Taylor, American Heritage for Gadsden — in helping them develop.

Taylor did say he leared a valuable lesson from his father.

"I mean, my dad, even my dad and my uncle, they both weren't the highest recruited coming out of high school or college," he said. "And it just shows that there's no shortcuts to the game. It's a lot of straight hard work and dedication and seeing their work ethic."

Describing the strength of his game, Taylor had this to say: "I would say specifically in the pass game, route running. I think I'm a tremendous route runner. I think I'm running smooth, but again, I can separate myself from defenders. It really just depends. Like, the route tree we had at LSU, sometimes we're kind of running basic routes or something like that. But I think I have the potential to run any route I'm asked to do, whether that's out wide and number one, number two or three spot. I feel like I can run any route."

Taylor, of course, is playing a different position than his Hall of Fame father, who was a defensive end (and sometimes outside linebacker) for his brilliant 15 years in the NFL.

Gadsden also is playing a different position than his father, but one much closer.

In fact, Gadsden began his career at Syracuse as a wide receiver before he was switched to tight end.

Like his father, Gadsden was an oversized with wide receiver with average or even substandard speed. But like his father, Gadsden has the ability to make the difficult catch.

Even if it's maybe not quite as the same, ridiculous level as his father, who's got some memorable one-handed stretched-out grabs on his resume — along with some of the biggest hands you'll ever see.

"My hands ain't quite the same size as his, not yet," Gadsden said. " But definitely when he's throwing up those 50-50, balls, I'm gonna go get it.

"(NFL teams) might like Xavier Worthy fast, but guys like Keenan Allen, like Davante Adams, later on in his career, Travis Kelce, Cooper Kupp, not the fastest guys, but they always find ways to get open and create a lot of separation."

THE WARREN WATCH

Unlike Taylor and Gadsden, Warren did meet with the Dolphins at the combine and he came away with a strong impression of head coach Mike McDaniel.

“(McDaniel) is a unique guy, a smart offensive mind, so that was kind of cool being in there talking to him," Warren said. "I enjoyed that one. It was nice to meet him. That was a fun meeting.”

Warren delivered an interest nugget during his media session, how he wound up wearing number 44.

"I wear 44 because when I was younger my dad put on John Riggins' film and said, 'This is how I want you to run the ball.' " Warren explained. "Another guy I saw this summer was Jeremy Shockey and the way he kind of played and his mentality running the ball, something I kind of liked and tried to do a little bit this year."

Based on his stature of long hair, Warren looked a bit like a young Dan Campbell when he conducted is own media session at the podium where Gadsden would follow him.