Latest On Dolphins’ Position Battles
After moving on from Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, and Jaylen Waddle in the offseason, the Dolphins have essentially initiated a bit of a rebuild. A big part of that process is identifying which pieces are worth building around, so Miami will be keeping an eye on the outcome of a few key position battles this summer.
A year ago, the Dolphins exchanged third- and fourth-round picks for a fifth-rounder in order to move up 11 slots in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft to select Arizona offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea. As a rookie, Savaiinaea started every game of the season for the Dolphins at left guard, grading out as the worst of 79 players graded at the position last year, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Miami drafted Alabama’s Kadyn Proctor with its first of two first-round picks, but the college tackle will start his NFL career at Savaiinaea’s left guard spot. With starting right guard Cole Strange departing in free agency, the Dolphins have opted to move Savaiinaea over the right side of the line in the hope that he might play better on the side he played on in college. The team isn’t banking on that possibility, though.
According to Omar Kelly of the Miami Herald, if Savaiinaea continues to struggle through Year 2, the new front office/coaching regime will be perfectly willing to give an opportunity to their own roster additions in the sixth-round rookie out of Texas, DJ Campbell, or free agent addition Jamaree Salyer.
At running back, the Dolphins already worked this offseason to secure star rusher De’Von Achane to a four-year deal, but in order for him to be effective all four years, Miami needs him to have some help at the position. Last year, second-year back Jaylen Wright and rookie rusher Ollie Gordon both finished the season with 70 carries apiece. Wright didn’t get on the field until Week 7 due to injury but proved to be efficiently productive when he did play, averaging 4.1 yards per carry to the tune of 288 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Gordon was viewed as a fantasy sleeper early on in the season due to concerns about Achane’s durability, but the Oklahoma State product saw a difficult transition to the pro-level, averaging only 2.8 yards per carry to finish Year 1 with 199 yards and three touchdowns. Miami will hope that coming into the season healthy will help Wright make a bigger impact early in his third season of play or that Gordon will be able to recapture the big-play ability he displayed as the NCAA’s 2023 rushing yards leader as a sophomore with the Cowboys. They’ll rely, of course, on Achane first, but they’ll need change of pace to keep him effective.
Lastly, the Dolphins saw their top three cornerbacks depart in free agency this offseason, and the team will have to find new starters this summer. Miami spent their second first-round pick this year on San Diego State’s Chris Johnson, and the team expects the rookie corner to slot into one of the starting boundary positions. According to Kelly, the opposite boundary spot will see JuJu Brents, Storm Duck, and Ethan Bonner as the main contenders for a starting spot.
Brents and Duck have started a few games as part of the defensive rotation in recent years, and Bonner saw increased responsibility off the bench last year, as well. Kelly calls this “an open competition,” though, granting that any defensive back will have an opportunity to land starting honors. Recent free agent additions Darrell Baker Jr. and Marco Wilson are two names that stand an outside shot of earning a bigger role.
Dolphins Sign First-Round DT Kenneth Grant, Six Others
Many teams around the NFL are busy inking draft picks to their rookie deals. In the case of the Dolphins, that includes their top selection now being on the books. 
Kenneth Grant has signed his rookie deal, the team announced on Friday. The defensive tackle was one of several prospects at his position seen as a strong candidate to hear his name called during the first round. While it therefore came as little surprise he came off the board on Day 1, the No. 13 draft slot was seen by many as a slight reach.
Grant spent each of his three college seasons at Michigan, handling a notable role along the defensive interior alongside Mason Graham. Those two were both key contributors in the Wolverines’ national title in 2023 and they remained impactful players last year. Whereas Graham showcased plenty of potential against the pass, though, Grant has not developed as much in that area. Still, the latter will be counted on to be an impactful producer on early downs as he transitions to the pro game.
In 2024 – their first season following Christian Wilkins‘ free agent departure – the Dolphins ranked ninth against the run. That level of success is a testament in part to the team’s D-line, a unit which lost Calais Campbell this spring. Grant will compete for snaps alongside Zach Sieler and Benito Jones; Miami had Neil Farrell in the fold until yesterday, when he was among the veterans cut in anticipation of rookie minicamp beginning.
Now, Grant will join fellow rookies Jordan Phillips (fifth round, Maryland) and Zeek Biggers (seventh round, Georgia Tech) in vying for playing time along the defensive line. Both Phillips and Biggers have signed their respective four-year contracts. The same is also true of fifth-round cornerback Jason Marshall (Florida), fifth-round safety Dante Trader (Maryland), sixth-round running back Ollie Gordon (Oklahoma State) and seventh-round quarterback Quinn Ewers (Texas).
As a result, seven of the team’s eight draftees are on the books at this point. The lone exception is Arizona guard Jonah Savaiinaea, whom the Dolphins traded up to select in the second round.
2025 NFL Draft Visits: Schwesinger, Cowboys, Nolen, Ezeiruaku, Burden, Turner, Bond, Steelers, Emmanwori
This isn’t exactly a visit in the sense of top-30 visits, like most of the rest of bullets that follow this will be, but UCLA linebacker Carson Schwesinger held a private pro day earlier this week in Los Angeles and had 30 teams in attendance, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
While, obviously, not a comprehensive list, Schefter specifically mentions the Cowboys, Giants, Saints, Chargers, and Broncos, and notes that the linebackers coaches from Dallas, New York, and New Orleans all met privately with Schwesinger.
Schwesinger is not currently the top-ranked linebacker prospect in most analysts’ eyes, but he often slides in as the second-best off-ball linebacker in the class behind Alabama’s Jihaad Campbell — third if you count Georgia defender Jalon Walker, who has the ability to play every linebacker spot at the next level. Some thought Schwesinger may sneak into the back end of the first round at the end of the month, but more likely is that he hears his name on Day 2. Per Tony Pauline of sportskeeda, it would be surprising to see him fall past the first half of the second round.
Here are some more prospect-NFL team connections we’ve seen recent reports on:
- The Cowboys have certainly been very busy in the runup to the 2025 NFL Draft. On Friday, the team held their invite-only “Dallas Day,” hosting draft prospects without the visits counting towards their top-30 visits. According to Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports, North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton met with the team at “Dallas Day.” The well-balanced rusher continues to skyrocket up draft boards, is likely to join Ashton Jeanty in the first round, and has several other visits lined up.
- Jeanty was also in attendance on Friday, per ESPN’s Todd Archer. We had relayed that Jeanty would be taking a top-30 visit with the Cowboys, but it’s unclear whether this is what was meant in that original report. Also in attendance for “Dallas Day” were Texas A&M defensive tackle Shemar Turner, Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon, TCU wide receivers Savion Williams and Jack Bech, Texas quarterback and offensive lineman Quinn Ewers and Cameron Williams, and Miami tight end and running back Elijah Arroyo and Damien Martinez.
- Also in attendance at “Dallas Day” was Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen. Per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, Nolen will follow up his Dallas visit with a visit with the Panthers on Monday and a visit with the Bengals some other time this week.
- Joining Nolen in Carolina on Monday will be Boston College pass rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku, per Joe Person of The Athletic. The ACC Defensive Player of the Year has been a hot topic with multiple scouts of late, per ESPN’s Jordan Reid. He’s currently viewed as an early-Day 2 prospect, and his stock continues to rise.
- Speaking of another “Dallas Day” athlete, Wilson of KPRC 2 provided an updated list of teams that Turner, from Texas A&M, is set to visit with. We already noted his recent visit in New Orleans, but Wilson tells us that Turner has also visited the Texans and plans to visit the Ravens, Rams, Eagles, Dolphins, Colts, Buccaneers, and Cardinals.
- According to Mike Klis of 9NEWS, the Broncos hosted Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden for a top-30 visit last week. The talented wideout fell off in 2024 after an incredible sophomore campaign with the Tigers, but his high ceiling makes him a borderline first-round prospect. Denver would love to bring in another talented weapon for young quarterback Bo Nix.
- We already reported recent visits for Texas wide receiver Isaiah Bond in Atlanta, Chicago, Green Bay, and Los Angeles, but we now have a couple sources adding some new locations for the Longhorn. Wilson of KPRC 2 tells us that Bond had dinner with the Bills before a private workout Friday and a top-30 visit as well as visits with the Browns and Packers. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler adds that Bond has visits scheduled with the Chiefs and Titans, as well.
- Brooke Pryor of ESPN tells us that the Steelers hosted a full house on Thursday. Prospects on hand last week included Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden, Florida State cornerback Azareye’h Thomas, Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson, and Pittsburgh tight end Gavin Bartholomew.
- Lastly, Pryor adds that Pittsburgh was one of the recent teams to host South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori. The pre-draft standout had reportedly lined up visits with Atlanta, Carolina, Seattle, Cincinnati, and Miami already. The Steelers’ interest in the Gamecock is no surprise as he’s trending towards being a Day 1 selection at this point.