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In recent years, the Miami Dolphins haven’t drafted players with intent to make them immediate starters. That will have to change in the 2025 NFL draft.
While players like Chop Robinson, Patrick Paul, and Cam Smith joined position groups that already had experienced veterans (when healthy, at least), the Dolphins currently have gaping holes at a few spots that can’t be ignored. General manager Chris Grier isn’t planning on filling all the team’s remaining holes with draft picks, though.
“There’s more good street free agents on the street now than there have been in a long time,” Grier told reporters last week. “It seems like a lot of veterans are waiting until after the draft to see where they’re going to sign. So again, there are opportunities to just keep building the roster that way.”
Last year, the Dolphins waited until after the 2024 NFL draft to add Calais Campbell and Odell Beckham Jr. to the mix. In 2023, Isaiah Wynn signed with the Dolphins in May.
If Miami is planning on plugging some of the vacancies in their starting lineup with veteran help, that’s a realistic strategy for their offensive line and cornerback deficiencies.
Players still on the market at the cornerback include Rasul Douglas, Asante Samuel Jr., Stephon Gilmore, and Shaquill Griffin — players who all have several seasons of starting experience under their belt. Free agent offensive linemen include Brandon Scherff, Jedrick Wills, Will Hernandez, and Dalton Risner.
It’s a different story along the defensive line, though.
That market has been picked clean and the top options left are Johnathan Hankins and Folorunso Fatukasi, PFF’s 115th and 116th ranked interior linemen in 2024 out of 118 qualifying players.
While mock drafts have increasingly pointed to cornerback and offensive linemen for the Dolphins, the defensive line may be the spot that has to be addressed early.
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