Jonathan Taylor - Pro Football Rumors

Dolphins Eyeing RBs In NFL Draft

April 12th, 2020 at 4:40pm CST by Zachary Links

The Dolphins’ recent track record on early-round running backs leaves much to be desired. Since 2000, the Dolphins have selected just two running backs in the first two rounds. Neither one panned out – they picked Ronnie Brown in 2005 when Aaron Rodgers was still available and went with Daniel Thomas over DeMarco Murray in 2011. This year, the Dolphins may look to buck the trend.

The Dolphins are likely to select a running back in the first two days of the draft, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. That may include their No. 26 pick towards the back of the first round or the No. 56 pick in the second.

One team official has been telling people that Georgia’s D’Andre Swift is high on their list. And, per a source who spoke with Jackson, he was set to visit in Miami before the league put the kibosh on travel. Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins left his visit (pre-kibosh) feeling like the Dolphins were infatuated with him. There’s also Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor, who went to dinner with RB coach Eric Studesville. Plus, they’ve been in contact with FSU’s Cam Akers. Dobbins and Swift could be in the mix at No. 26, Jackson hears, while Taylor, Akers, and LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire seem to be candidates at No. 56.

If the Dolphins want Swift or Dobbins, they’ll probably have to pounce on them in the first round. Swift has been on the NFL radar since his freshman season, when he averaged 7.6 yards per carry. The noise around him is still substantial after he ran for 1,218 yards and seven touchdowns. Dobbins, meanwhile, is coming off of a 2,000-yard campaign, his third straight season past the century mark.

Jonathan Taylor Declares For Draft

January 3rd, 2020 at 6:44pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

One of the most productive players in recent college football history is leaving school early. Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor will forego his final year of college eligibility to enter the 2020 NFL Draft, he announced in a video posted to Twitter.

Taylor isn’t considered to be a first-round pick by most analysts as of right now, but he’ll be among the first handful of running backs to be selected and has the potential to rise throughout the process. In his latest mock draft, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller had Taylor getting taken 54th overall. Taylor became a starter at Wisconsin as a freshman, and instantly started etching his name in the record books. During Wisconsin’s bowl game this past week, he became the second college player ever to have multiple 2,000 yard rushing seasons.

He finished with at least 1,977 rushing yards in all three of his college seasons, and has the most ever by any player through his junior season. He was a unanimous first-team All-American in each of the past two seasons, and won the Doak Walker Award for the nation’s best running back in each of the past two years as well. The Badgers legend was a non-factor in the passing game his first two years, but managed to catch 26 passes for 252 yards and five touchdowns in this most recent campaign. That aspect of his game will be crucial for his draft stock.