Why This Time It REALLY Should Be About Best Player Available for Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins have needs just about everywhere on their roster and the 11th overall selection should help address one of those

Miami Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Now that the draft is officially closing in on a week away, speculation continues to grow about who the Miami Dolphins will select at pick 11.

With recent reports indicating that the Dolphins are big fans of Utah offensive lineman Spencer Fano, the growing theme is that Miami will select the best lineman available on the board.

Another tidbit that can reinforce this point is that Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan also discussed building the team from the inside out.

But what cannot be ignored is what Sullivan said in his first interview as Dolphins GM when discussing draft philosophies.

“Our approach within the draft is a best player available approach,” Sullivan said.

That point was hammered home Monday by assistant general manager Kyle Smith in another interview on the team website.

“Sometimes it’s, we try to keep things simple. You know, and it’s take good football players… we’re a best player available team.” Smith said.

And Sullivan repeated the same point during his pre-draft press conference Wednesday.

"We're always going to be a best-player-available approach, because you really have no idea what your needs are going to be," he said. "I've lived that lie before where you feel like you have an embarrassment of riches in a room, and then all sudden you're a hamstring and an ankle away from stealing guys off the emergency board. So, yes, sure, I look at I look at the holes, and I say, man, I got to fill this, and I got to fill that. But it's also a stark reminder, just take good football players and everything will work itself out slowly."

Both Smith and Sullivan come from two organizations in the Green Bay Packers and the Atlanta Falcons that have followed the best player available approach in most of their drafts.

There are not many layers to these statements, but each of these quotes show there is no deviation from what they have seen in each draft process.

While previous Dolphins GM Chris Grier was consistent in saying the team also adhered to a best-player-available philosophy, drafts in the past had the Dolphins drafting more toward team need rather than following the BPA approach.

THE DOLPHINS' PAST MISTAKES FOCUSING ON NEED

Living by this approach could have changed the outlook for the Dolphins

Although it is hindsight, reflecting on past draft picks for the Dolphins showed that more impact players could have been taken.

In what turned out to be a polarizing 2020 NFL draft, selecting Austin Jackson was done with the thinking of giving Tua Tagovailoa protection. Who was left on the board that the Dolphins could have taken was Justin Jefferson.

This was a headscratcher because the Dolphins also needed a wide receiver. Taking Jackson seemed like a chain reaction, knowing that Tagovailoa was coming off a major hip injury. But there was no need to rush him to play.

Simply taking the best talent on the board would have had the Dolphins with a premier wide receiver who is often discussed as being one of the best at that position.

The following year, the Dolphins wanted to give life to a porous offense by selecting Jaylen Waddle. Waddle had very productive seasons in Miami, but the talent that Miami decided to pass on still leaves a mark.

Still on the board was now three-time All-Pro tackle Penei Sewell, who was widely regarded as one of the best tackle prospects.

Adding to the possibilities, the Dolphins also had the opportunity to select Micah Parsons. Even after opting out of the COVID-ridden 2020 season, Parsons was still known to be one of the best defensive players, if not the best, coming into the draft.

Since entering the league, Parsons has established himself as a game wrecker and is one of the best defensive players in all of football.

Oh, and the Dolphins also could have selected cornerback Patrick Surtain II, who besides being the son of a former Miami great, went on to become NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2024.

NO EXCUSES THIS TIME

The Dolphins now have the most leeway to stand by their word.

Given the current state of the roster, there are many positions that need massive upgrades. This is the perfect position for the Dolphins to be in to take the most talented players on the board, especially with their war chest of draft selections.

No one definitively knows how the board will fall, and it might be that the Dolphins select an offensive lineman after all. But if a player such as Caleb Downs was on the board, would anyone be mad if Miami decides to zero in on him, knowing he’s one of the most polished players in the draft?

It’s going to take more than one draft to make this roster complete. However, stacking up on the best talent would be the best route to go to stir the ship right. And the entire Dolphins brass seems aligned, at least based on their comments, in following that philosophy.