Todd McShay, formerly of ESPN and now working for The Ringer, says he keeps hearing a lot of chatter from his sources that Texas OT Kelvin Banks Jr. is a strong possibility for the Miami Dolphins with the 13th overall pick in the draft.

Miami has several needs heading into this draft, primarily on defense.

Miami lost all four starters in their secondary with the news that they are working to trade Jalen Ramsey. They truly only have Zach Sieler as the only quality defensive linemen you trust. So, addressing the defense early and often in this draft would seem like the wise thing to do.

With that said, Miami’s offensive line on paper today looks to be the worst in the entire NFL. And after years of ignoring the offensive line or treating it like an afterthought, and having a lot of misses on the offensive line with previous draft picks, addressing it in Round 1 cannot be frowned upon.

In fact, it is very understandable.

Will it happen? Who knows. But if Todd McShay, who is extremely well connected, is saying he is hearing this, it is worth believing it is a viable possibility on Thursday evening.

 

NFL.com Draft Profile

Overview

Three-year starter who has gone to battle in the trenches with current and future pros. Banks will come into the league as an early starter, but his run blocking is more pro-ready than his pass protection. He’s technically sound and scrappy in the ground game, with the quickness and athleticism to get to all move blocks. He has the leverage and strain to hold his own at the point. Banks has the slide quickness to deal with speed, but he must become more proactive in attacking power rushers and long-limbed attackers to prevent them from dictating the terms. He needs to improve his anchor and hand placement but he should become a long-time NFL starter at either tackle or guard.

Strengths

  • Plays with good initial quickness and easy athleticism.
  • Tracks rushers with smooth slides and a steady pace.
  • Refuses to overset and unnecessarily open an inside lane.
  • Feet are active and light to mirror counter movements.
  • Has a feel for his punch range and when to throw his hands.
  • Dips and drives hips into the opponent, creating leverage.
  • Runs feet into down blocks and kick-outs, and keeps them chopping.
  • Centers up man-on-man blocks and strains to neutralize.
  • Athletic in space with basketball feet to adjust and connect.

Weaknesses

  • Lacks desired thickness in his limbs.
  • Pass protection features excessive forward lean into punch.
  • Needs to expand set depth to create a wider corner for rusher.
  • Labors to keep power from compressing his edges.
  • Athletic but body control can get away from him in protection.
  • Sloppy hand placement and tardy resets impact block sustain.
  • Needs to play with more consistent clinch and control at the point.

 

PFN 7-Round Miami Dolphins Mock Draft