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Grading the Dolphins Draft ... From Three Years Ago

If it's true that it takes about three years to properly judge a draft, that means it's time to revisit the Dolphins' 2017 haul
Alain Poupart|
Steve Mitchell-USA Today Sports

The Miami Dolphins just finished their 2020 draft, and generally got positive reviews for their work.

The truth, though, is that we won't know for about 2-3 years just how good (or bad) this draft was for the Dolphins — or any team in the NFL, really.

If that's the correct gauge, then we should have a pretty good idea of how well the 2017 draft turned out for the Dolphins, and it clearly was a mixed bag.

In Round 1, the Dolphins selected defensive end Charles Harris from Missouri, and he clearly hasn't deliver to this point, with 8 starts, 3.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss to this point. In three seasons.

The Dolphins haven't talked about where Harris fits into their long-term plans, but their moves this offseason have spoken volumes.

First, they signed edge rushers Shaq Lawson and Emmanuel Ogbah in free agency before drafting Curtis Weaver from Boise State in the fifth round. All of them figure to rank ahead of Harris in the pecking order.

Then there's this: The Dolphins have until early next week to exercise the fifth-year option on Harris' contract, and it's such a safe assumption that it won't happen that not one reporter bothered to ask GM Chris Grier in either his pre-draft or post-draft video  press conference.

In the second round, the Dolphins selected linebacker Raekwon McMillan from Ohio State, and this pick looks a lot better now than it did a year ago.

After missing his entire rookie season with a torn ACL sustained on his first preseason play, McMillan was a non-factor in 2018 as he worked his way back from the injury. But he really stepped up his game last season and became one of the Dolphins' most effective players on defense.

It's also telling that the Dolphins did not select one off-the-ball linebacker among their 11 picks in this draft.

In Round 3, the Dolphins went for Clemson cornerback Cordrea Tankersley, whose career clearly is at a crossroads.

After starting 11 games as a rookie in 2017, Tankersley worked as a backup the following season until he landed on IR with a knee injury. Then he sat out all of last season after starting off on PUP when the Dolphins declined to activate him after his mandatory six-week absence.

With the Dolphins having an abundance of young cornerbacks, Tankersley will face a battle simply to make the roster in 2020.

The Dolphins did not have a pick in the fourth round in 2017, but had two selections in the fifth — guard Isaac Asiata and defensive tackle Davon Godchaux.

Asiata never panned out and is now a police officer in Utah, but Godchaux has become an important member of the defense.

Godchaux was the only player on the roster to start all 16 games last season and he once again figures to play a prominent role for the Dolphins in 2020. Godchaux, who was the Dolphins nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2019, is entering the last year of his rookie contract, but he certainly figures to be in line for an extension.

The Dolphins selected another defensive tackle in the sixth round in Vincent Taylor, but he was a surprise cut last year before he joined the Buffalo Bills practice squad and ultimately their active roster. Taylor appeared in 21 games in two years with the Dolphins, all as a backup.

Finally, the seventh-round pick was used on wide receiver Isaiah Ford, and that can be classified as a good move since he's still on the roster.

It took a while for Ford to contribute, though, as he missed his rookie season with an injury and then bounced on and off the practice squad for the next two seasons before coming on late last year.

Ford ended 2019 with 22 receptions, all but one of them in the final four games of the season.

As is often the case, this was a draft with hits and misses for the Dolphins, and it included some good third-day picks with Godchaux and Ford.

But it obviously needs to be downgraded because of the minimal contributions from Harris.

Three years later, this draft probably deserves a C+.

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Alain Poupart has covered the Miami Dolphins full time since 1989. You can follow him on Twitter at @apoupartFins.

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Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of Miami Dolphins On SI and host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press and the Dolphins team website. In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books, such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.

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