Observations on a Slow Dolphins Draft Week

We have arrived at draft week in the NFL, but the level of anticipation is pretty far down when it pertains to the Miami Dolphins.

Not that anybody will be complaining, but that's the price for acquiring a talent like Tyreek Hill, who cost the Dolphins their first- and second-round picks of the 2022 draft along with three other selections spread out over the next two drafts.

As a result, the Dolphins aren't scheduled to make a selection until late Friday night — after some seven or eight hours of draft proceedings, predictions and evaluations have taken place.

It also means the Dolphins won't be involved in the 7,000 mock drafts expected to be unveiled this week — unless those go beyond the first round, where the hit ratio on predictions is naturally exponentially lower.

Dolphins at Bottom for Picks

It's not just the premium rounds that will be light for the Dolphins, though.

Three days before the start of the draft, the Dolphins are scheduled to have only four selections for the entire seven rounds — the lowest total of any team in the league.

Now, we certainly wouldn't be surprised to see the Dolphins move some picks around — we might go as far as to say we expect it — to collect more selections, though GM Chris Grier mentioned rookie free agents as a way of building up the draft class.

While we never would rule out anything when it comes to the Dolphins and potential big moves, it's difficult to envision them getting back into Round 1 or Round 2 first because of the cost that would be involved but perhaps more significantly because this is a draft lacking in the type of prospects for whom teams will want to give up additional assets.

Dolphins Historical Precedent

Barring a trade, the Dolphins will be without a first-round pick for the first time since 2003. That year also was the only other time the team didn't have a pick in either of the first two rounds.

Since 2003, the Dolphins' first-round picks have been Vernon Carey (2004), Ronnie Brown (2005), Jason Allen (2006), Ted Ginn Jr. (2007), Jake Long (2008), Vontae Davis (2009), Jared Odrick (2010), Mike Pouncey (2011), Ryan Tannehill (2012), Dion Jordan (2013), Ja'Wuan James (2014), DeVante Parker (2015), Laremy Tunsil (2016), Charles Harris (2017), Minkah Fitzpatrick (2018), Christian Wilkins (2019), Tua Tagovailoa (2020), Austin Jackson (2020), Noah Igbinoghene (2020), Jaylen Waddle (2021) and Jaelan Phillips (2021).

The other years when the Dolphins didn't have a first-round pick were 1970, 1971, 1973, 1978, 1986, 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2003.

And this is how those first-round picks were used:

1970 — Traded to Cleveland for WR Paul Warfield

1971 — Sent to Baltimore as compensation for hiring Don Shula as head coach

1973 — Traded to Buffalo for WR Marlin Briscoe

1978 — Traded to San Francisco as part of the deal for RB Delvin Williams

1986 — Traded to Tampa Bay as part of the deal for LB Hugh Green

1999 — Traded to Detroit for 1999 draft picks

2000 — Traded to Carolina for 1998 second-round pick used to select CB Patrick Surtain

2002 — Traded to New Orleans as part of the deal for RB Ricky Williams

2003 — Traded to New Orleans as part of the deal for RB Ricky Williams

Around the NFL

As fate would have it, the Dolphins will not be the only team without a pick in the first or second round this year because the L.A. Rams are facing the same situation — though considering they won the Super Bowl last season, you won't hear anybody from that organization complaining very much.

In the first 22 drafts of the 2000s (2000-21), 13 teams have ended up without a pick before the third round, Of those 13, six went on to make the playoffs that following season and three of them ended up in the Super Bowl — the 2002 Super Bowl champion Buccaneers, the 2017 Patriots and the 2018 Rams.

It happened last year with the Houston Texans and the Dolphins played a role in it because they had their first- and second-round picks as the final pieces of the 2019 trade involving Laremy Tunsil.

The Bottom Line

It's indeed going to be a different draft week for the Dolphins, their fans and those who cover them.

The first round most likely will come and go without any news involving the Dolphins, though it still will bear watching mainly to see who the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots ended up getting — and to a lesser degree the New York Jets because they're still in rebuilding mode.

For the Dolphins themselves, the fun won't start until late Friday night.