I’ve looked at the Dolphins’ current squad and picked out the players most likely to make the final 53-man roster. By my reckoning, there are 64 players who have the inside track on making the team. I’ve gone through all 64 players and noted their current age, college, and which round they were drafted in (if they were drafted.) I think the results are interesting and show that the Fins are a unique team that is rebuilding around young, talented players from different backgrounds acquired in every way possible.
Youth Movement
Out of the 64 players checked, 19 are currently 23 or younger. 2 of our RD1 picks this year, Austin Jackson and Noah Igbinoghene, are still only 20. 5 of the other 2020 draft picks, including Tua (22), are still under 23. Both our TE and RB groups don’t have any players over 25. Our specialists: Jason Sanders, Matt Haack, and Blake Ferguson, come in at an average of 24 years old which is a lot younger than what is common around the rest of the league. The average age of the 64 players is 24.58. The average age of all teams’ initial 53-man rosters in 2019 was 25.95. In 2019, Miami had the youngest 53-man roster at 25.2. Interestingly, the Chiefs were right around the average at 25.9 and the Patriots had the oldest roster at an average of 27 years old.
Over 30s
The Fins only have one current player who is over 30; Ryan Fitzpatrick. It’s not uncommon these days for teams to put their faith in youth and remove aging players because of cap space implications. However, having only one player over 30 is very unusual. To further prove the Fins movement towards a younger squad, there are only 4 players who are currently 28 or over. Jesse Davis and Allen Hurns are 28; Kyle Van Noy is 29. Notably, most of the free agents that we’ve signed this year are either 25 or 26. It’s clear that we avoided going after any players of 30 or older. We have 28 players that are 25, 26, or 27 – a good sign if this is indeed the prime of a players’ career.
Miami Dolphins Tua Autographed Football https://t.co/3rMplZd2wp
— DolphinsTalk.com (@DolphinsTalk) May 3, 2020
RD1 Draftees
The Dolphins have 9 players that were selected in the first round of the draft. Only 5 of the players were selected by the Dolphins; 3 of them from this year of course. 3 of the RD1 players, not selected by Miami, were picked up in free agency this year (Byron Jones, Shaq Lawson & Ereck Flowers.) The other former RD1 pick is the best third-string QB in the league; Josh Rosen. Rosen may not make our final 53-man roster this year, but we could go with 3 QB if there’s prolonged concern over Tua’s health. Christian Wilkins should improve in his 2nd year and DeVante Parker will hope to develop on his breakout 2019 season.
Fins’ Draftees
Of the 64 players I checked, 29 were drafted by the Dolphins. As mentioned, 5 were selected in RD1. We still currently have 5 players that were selected in RD2, RD5, and RD7. The RD7 selections are Myles Gaskin, Chandler Cox, Isaiah Ford, Malcolm Perry, and Jason Sanders. Robert Hunt and Raekwon Davis are our 2 RD2 selections this year, but we’re all banking on productive seasons from our former RD2 selections Mike Gesicki, Raekwon McMillan, and Xavien Howard. The only players listed that were picked by the Fins in RD6 are this year’s selection, Blake Ferguson, and Jakeem Grant from 2016.
Undrafted Stars
I didn’t include any of this year’s undrafted free agents in the players I checked, but the Fins have 13 former UDFA that could make the team this year. 5 of the 13 signed with the Fins straight out of college: Patrick Laird, Preston Williams, Shaq Calhoun, Nik Needham, and Matt Haack. Sam Eguavoen came from Canada and didn’t sign for another NFL team at any time beforehand, so I’ve counted him in the 13. Matt Breida, Albert Wilson, and Jesse Davis are notable players that went undrafted and found their way to Miami via other teams picking them up as UDFA. Ryan Lewis and Steven Parker are former UDFA that will push hard for a roster spot this year.
— DolphinsTalk.com (@DolphinsTalk) May 3, 2020
Small School Prospects
The Dolphins have players who played their college ball at places as diverse as Harvard, Georgia Southern, Bucknell, Ferris State, Youngstown State, Navy, and New Mexico. Of the small school prospects, only 2 were drafted by Miami: Malcolm Perry and Jason Sanders. Interestingly, 5 of the 11 2020 draftees played in the SEC (Tua, Noah Igbinoghene, Raekwon Davis, Solomon Kindley, and Blake Ferguson.) Depending on how you view Boise State (Curtis Weaver) and Lousiana (Robert Hunt), only Malcolm Perry was taken from a small school in 2020. Maybe it became the draft philosophy, in 2020, to draft big school prospects given the unusual nature of the evaluation process this year.
Home Grown Talent
On paper, it appears Miami has a preference for players from the University of Miami. There are 5 former Miami U players in the 64 I checked. Weirdly, none of the 5 players were drafted by the Dolphins (Allen Hurns, Ereck Flowers, Danny Isidora, Trent Harris, and Adrian Colbert.) Even odder is that there are no other players from any of the other Florida colleges. Miami has 3 players from both Wisconsin and Clemson. We also have 2 players from Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Arizona State, Texas Tech, Illinois, and Ohio State. Of the top 10 ranked college teams in 2019, Oregon and Florida have not provided any current Fins players.
Former Patriots
A lot has been made about the Fins picking up former Pats’ players. There are 8 players, within the 64 I checked, that have links to the Pats. Amazingly, the Fins this year have signed all 3 of the Patriots RD6 draft picks from 2016. Kamu Grugier-Hill (208), Elandon Roberts (214), and Ted Karras (221) were all comp picks by the Pats in 2016. Trent Harris and Ryan Lewis are former Patriots UDFA that have ended up with the Fins. Ken Webster was drafted by the Pats in RD7 in 2019. Eric Rowe spent 3 years with the Pats after being drafted by the Eagles in RD2 in 2015. Kyle Van Noy spent 4 years with the Pats after being drafted by the Lions in RD2 in 2014. Michael Roberts was nearly traded to the Pats, from the Lions, but failed a physical and, therefore, never played for them.
Long-time Fins
The Dolphins don’t currently have a lot of long-tenured players. There are only 16 players that have been on the Fins roster for longer than 1 year. Two players have been on the roster for 5 years; DeVante Parker and Bobby McCain. Jakeem Grant and Xavien Howard have tallied 4 years each so far. 2 of the players that have been with the team for 3 years have missed an entire season through injury: Raekwon McMillan in 2017 and Cordrea Tankersley in 2019. Isaiah Ford was selected in 2017 but didn’t play at all in his rookie year. Kalen Ballage has 2 years on the team so far but will be lucky to make a third.
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