The Dolphins announced the signings of three draft picks on Wednesday. Third-round linebacker Jerome Baker, fourth-round tight end Durham Smythe, and fourth-round running back Kalen Ballage have inked their deals, leaving second-round tight end Mike Gesicki as the last straggler in the team’s eight-man class. 
Baker was Ohio State’s leading tackler last year as he registered 72 stops in total. He also had eight tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks in his final year on campus. As shown on Roster Resource, Baker projects to be one of the team’s first linebackers off of the bench behind starters Kiko Alonso, Raekwon McMillan, and Chase Allen. Some evaluators feel that Baker is too small to play linebacker at the pro level, but Alonso doesn’t seem concerned about the 6’1″, 229-pound prospect.
“Nowadays it’s all about, ‘Can you run?’” Alonso said recently (via Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post). “You see what linebacker position is nowadays. It’s getting smaller and smaller.”
Smythe, a Notre Dame product, put himself on the NFL radar with his blocking ability. He figures to do the dirty work while fellow rookie Gesicki figures to play a bigger role in the passing game.
Ballage, a tall running back at 6’3″, averaged 4.4 yards per carry while at Arizona State. He’ll likely serve as the Dolphins’ No. 3 running back this year behind Kenyan Drake and veteran Frank Gore.
I remember when another late round LB was considered too small to play for the dolphins…Zach Thomas turned out to be pretty good