5 of the top 50 draft prospects draw comparisons to former Dolphins
In just days, the Miami Dolphins, along with the other 31 teams, will look to add collegiate prospects to their rosters at the NFL draft in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Dolphins have just four draft picks throughout the three-day event with their first pick coming at No. 51.
While Miami doesn’t pick until the middle of the second round, it’s important to get familiar with the top prospects in this year’s draft. Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar recently put together a list of the top players in the draft and compared them to current and former players in the NFL.
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Farrar compared five of the top 50 to former Dolphins.
4. Devon Witherspoon, CB, Illinois: Sam Madison
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“Selected by the Dolphins in the second round of the 1997 draft out of Louisville, Madison transcended any concerns about his size (5-foot-11, 180 pounds) with great movement skills and the toughness to take any receiver right to the woodshed. Madison parlayed all that into four Pro Bowl appearances and two All-Pro nominations. Witherspoon seems to have the tools to possibly put up an equivalent NFL career, given the right home.”
13. Brian Branch, DB, Alabama: Minkah Fitzpatrick
Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
“The Dolphins took Fitzpatrick out of Alabama with the 11th overall pick in the 2018 draft, and they played him similarly to the ways in which he was deployed at Alabama — all over the defense. When the Steelers traded for Fitzpatrick in 2019, they turned him into more of a pure free safety, and Fitzpatrick was able to make that transition. Branch has all the attributes to make that happen, though you probably don’t want to take too much away from his outstanding slot coverage. Nick Saban and his staff have had a knack for developing these multi-position stars, so it’s no surprise that Branch is the latest guy to shoot out of that pipeline.”
35. Will McDonald IV, EDGE, Iowa State: Robert Quinn
Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
“I’m not going to compare McDonald to Dwight Freeney, though there are similarities in the spin techniques and the ability to create turnovers. So, I’ll go with Quinn, selected with the 14th pick of the 2011 draft by the Rams. Quinn has parlayed a smooth, quick, athletic tool box to 106 sacks, 505 total pressures, and 26 forced fumbles in his NFL career so far. It’s hard to give an accurate comp for McDonald right now because he’ll be used so differently in the NFL (at the edge as opposed to inside the tackles in a bunch of three-man fronts), and to his great advantage. I can’t wait to see what he does at the next level.”
41. Jack Campbell, LB, Iowa: Karlos Dansby
(Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
“There aren’t a lot of linebackers who move as well as Campbell does at his height and weight, but Dansby was one. Selected in the second round of the 2004 draft by the Cardinals out of Auburn, Dansby proved able to do just about everything on the field at 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds. Campbell has that kind of potential — once again, let’s have him not think and diagnose quite as much once he gets the hang of his NFL defense.”
50. Tuli Tuipulotu, EDGE, USC: Adewale Ogunleye
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, center, loses control of the football on a fumble in the first quarter against the Miami Dolphins in Foxboro, Mass., Sunday Dec. 29, 2002. Surrounding Brady are Dolphins defensive end Adewale Ogunleye, bottom left, and defensive end Jay Williams (91). At rear are Patriots tackle Adrian Klemm (70) and center Damien Woody (65). (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
(Photo by Josh Merwin/Getty Images)
“An undrafted free agent out of Indiana, Ogunleye caught on with the Dolphins in 2001, had a couple of double-digit sack seasons with Miami and later Chicago, and was able to get to the quarterback at a high rate from multiple gaps when such things weren’t as common as they are today. At 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds, Ogunleye had “tweener” size for an edge defender, but he and his coaches turned that into versatile productivity, and I think Tuipulotu has similar traits.”
