The NFL Draft will be here before we know it, and the Miami Dolphins are actually sitting in a nice spot with the 13th overall pick in Round One. They should be able to land themselves a very good player who can come in and start from day.
There is no way they can screw this up right? (Actually, don’t answer that)
So, today, I will look at the five best (and most realistic) options for Miami with the 13th overall pick in this draft.
Will Johnson, CB, Michigan
Out of the five names I have in this article, if Will Johnson is there, I have to think he is the pick. If you think that a cornerback isn’t the biggest need on this team, well, you are correct after the news of Calais Campbell leaving for Arizona. But, if you study Chris Grier’s history with the draft in rounds one and two, you will see that he loves drafting guys who play the premium positions (CB, EDGE, OT, WR, QB), and Johnson falls into this category.
While a cornerback isn’t this team’s biggest need, it may be the second biggest need. Miami released Kendall Fuller this offseason and has not replaced him, and Jalen Ramsey is now on the wrong side of 30, so Miami must look not only at this season but also at the future at this spot.
What makes Will Johnson so intriguing is that he is far and away the best cornerback in this draft, and he may actually fall to the 13th overall pick. But, there is a reason he may fall to 13 and that is because there is concern over some of his recent injuries. Johnson only played six games this past season due to a turf toe. Now, some context: he could have returned from that injury, but Michigan was having such an awful season that he decided not to return and get ready for the NFL Draft. That is totally fine and something many players in his situation would have done. The 2nd domino to fall is that he injured his hamstring in preparing for the draft and workouts and couldn’t participate at the combine or his pro day. But he has a private workout scheduled for scouts on April 14th, and if he runs fine there and is 100%, then that will put everything to rest.
And it is not like Johnson is injury-prone. Before this season, he played in 12 and 14 games, and again, he would have returned to the field this season if there was a reason to and if Michigan was in contention for something.
Kenneth Grant, DT, Michigan
Let’s stay with Michigan and talk about Johnson’s teammate, Kenneth Grant. In most experts’ opinions, Grant is the second-best defensive tackle in this draft (only behind his Michigan teammate Mason Graham).
This move makes a ton of sense for the Dolphins in every way, especially since Miami’s defensive line right now is not looking good. Yes, you have Zach Sieler, who is excellent, but that is all you have. Benito Jones is a career backup who cannot be counted on for, well, anything. For some odd reason, Miami let Da’shawn Hand sign with the Chargers on a 1 year deal “up to” $3.5 million. Calais Campbell left for Arizona. Since early March, when free agency began, Miami has ignored this entire position group.
So, as I said above when talking about Johnson, Grier’s history points to Miami selecting guys at the five premium positions (CB, EDGE, OT, WR, QB) in rounds one and two, of which defensive tackle is not one. But Miami’s defensive line situation is so bad at the moment that Grier may have to throw that out the window, not select the best player available, and may have to reach and take a defensive tackle at 13 because it is such a huge need.
It is never good to be desperate in the draft.
Is Grant at 13 too high? Many think so. I think so. But if Miami makes the pick, I get it because it fills a huge void for them.
Grant should probably be selected between 20 and 32, so taking him at 13, while a little high, isn’t outrageous.
Will Campbell OT/G, LSU
Well, we say it every year: Miami must address the offensive line. And they kind of never really do. If they take Will Campbell in round one, they will most certainly be making a statement that it’s a new day, and they realize they have mismanaged the offensive line. I know if you look at recent drafts, Miami has actually addressed the offensive line. They have done a poor job.
Liam Eichenberg in Rd. 2 was a bust. Austin Jackson for where they took him in Rd 1 is fine, but his first three seasons in the league were bad. It took until year four for him to become good. Again, this is not a huge deal, but for where they took him, you hope you will see the lightbulb go off sooner. Solomon Kindley was a bust. Robert Hunt worked out at the top of round 2. Yes, he was drafted to protect Tua’s blindside as a right tackle and failed there, but he was a great guard, so I will give Grier credit. But he loses all credit and then some by not locking Hunt up long-term before he priced himself out of Miami.
All of that aside, Will Campbell is the real deal. He is an offensive tackle in the SEC who has played against the best of the best, and he is arguably the best offensive lineman in this draft. BUT (there is always a but), his short arms have many teams thinking he is a guard in the NFL, and you don’t draft guards in the Top 10, let alone the Top 5.
Do I think 12 other NFL teams will be dumb enough to let Campbell fall to 13? NO
Do I think there is a chance Campbell will fall to pick 13 and Miami? YES
Teams do crazy things on draft night, and if Jaxson Dart somehow finds his way into the Top 10 of this draft, that means someone has to fall, and it may be Campbell.
The short arms do not scare me one bit. This guy is a football player. And yes, by the metrics, his arms are a little shorter than what you like, but it’s not like he has T-Rex arms. We are talking about less than an inch shorter than what teams find “acceptable” these days.
And I believe Campbell is so good that he is one of the guys who I think you can feel comfortable with moving to left guard, and he can transition from tackle to guard. With others (ie, Kelvin Banks), I don’t have that same comfort level, and that is why he isn’t on my list here in this article.
The bottom line is that if the BEST offensive lineman in this draft falls to pick #13, you take him. Worry about where you play him later. It wasn’t that many years back when Miami was selecting 13, and the best offensive lineman fell in their lap (cough Laremy Tunsil). #JustSayin
Jahdae Barron, CB, Texas
As I said, Chris Grier loves guys like those premium positions, and Barron is a name to watch. If Will Johnson goes in the Top 10 (which he may if he performs well at his April 14th private workout) then Barron is the next best cornerback on the board and Miami may look at him with the 13th pick.
I won’t repeat myself as to why Miami needs a cornerback (read my Will Johnson part above), and Barron checks a lot of boxes as to what Miami is looking for. He has good height, he ran a 4.39 40-yard dash, and has a lot of experience. Barron has played over 2,000 defensive snaps for Texas the past three years
Barron is an outstanding nickel CB and was sensational in that role in 2023. With that said, in 2024, he was a boundary cornerback, and he played outstanding there as well. Miami has Kader Kohou in that nickel cornerback role now, and Kohou struggles when asked to play on the boundary and be that outside CB. So, Barron would most likely be asked to come in as a boundary corner.
Barron brings physicality and versatility to any team he joins as he can play multiple positions, and his best fit may be at safety down the road once in the league for a few years.
I could totally see Chris Grier falling in love with him and him being the pick at #13.
Premiums Position: CHECK
Fills an immediate need: CHECK
Chris Grier loves to build up the secondary: CHECK
Keep an eye on this one, folks.
Shemar Stewart, EDGE, Texas A&M
While he is listed as an EDGE, in Miami, he would probably line up on the defensive line as a 3-4 defensive end. He has the size, speed, and especially length to play that position in the NFL, and that is how I think Miami would use him.
As stated above, when talking about Kenneth Grant, Miami needs to bolster their defensive line, and while Stewart isn’t a nose tackle or defensive tackle, he does fill a need on that line. If you can put him opposite Zach Sieler to be the other defensive end on the line, this would be a nice tandem. Let’s just call it “Salt and Pepper 2.0.”
Stewart is a physical freak. Chisled out of stone and tested off the charts at the NFL Combine in every metric. The thing that scares some people off is he didn’t have a lot of production at Texas A&M.
Wait, isn’t that what they said about Chop Robinson last season coming out of Penn St? Yep, they did.
How did that work out for Miami?!
The college game is so different than the pro game that the stats and lack of production don’t scare me off. This kid is freaky athletic and will cause opposing offensive linemen to have nightmares the week they play Miami.
I have seen Stewart go in some mocks inside the Top 10 to as low as pick 32 and Philadelphia. So, opinions on him are all over the map.
Selecting him at pick 13 doesn’t solve Miami’s IDL issue, but we have nine other picks in this draft to do that. Sometimes you just take the freak athlete, who while he doesn’t fill up the stat sheet, just watch the tape and see a guy who disrupts a lot of plays so his teammates fill up their stat sheet.
