Many people have been wondering why Miami traded up for guard Jonah Savaiinaea in the second round of the NFL Draft last week.
Well, we now have our answer.
According to long-time NFL reporter Greg Bedard, the Patriots were debating taking Savaiinaea at pick 38 until Miami traded up ahead of them and selected the University of Arizona offensive lineman.
This news, though, does not change anything regarding whether Miami was smart to make this trade or not.
For one, we won’t know if this was a smart trade or not for a couple of years.
Furthermore, if Savaiinaea turns into a great player, then the trade will end up being worth it.
If Savaiinaea turns out to be a bust, it will obviously be a bad trade.
But one aspect that hasn’t been spoken enough about, if guard Tate Ratledge, who went at pick 57, some nine picks after Miami’s original pick at 48, turns out to be a better player than Savaiinaea then again, this will be a bad trade as then Miami could have held onto its 3rd round pick, and a 4th round pick, and selected a better player at the same position.
Who was that player?
According to Reports from @GregABedard it was Arizona’s Jonah Savaiinaea.
Greg also suggests how he thinks Patriots next 2 Picks would have gone if they got him at 38 https://t.co/yLPg93SorK pic.twitter.com/fvcT3lwjPg
— Patriots on CLNS Media (@PatriotsCLNS) April 28, 2025
The Dolphins have done work this offseason to revamp their offensive line. Signing James Daniels to play one guard spot, handing over the reins to a younger and healthier Patrick Paul at left tackle, and then trading up and giving up a lot of draft capital for Jonah Savaiinaea.
Will these moves work out? One can hope.
But the Dolphins showed a lot of conviction in moving up 11 spots to land the big offensive lineman out of Arizona.
The last two offensive linemen they took at the top of Round 2 were Robert Hunt and Liam Eichenberg.
Miami needs Savaiinaea to be more “Hunt” and less “Eichenberg.”
