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Dolphins add speedy RB, another edge rusher and wide receiver among Day 3 draft picks

david furones, south florida sun-sentinel
·5 min read

Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier is known to wheel and deal, and it’s no secret coach Mike McDaniel loves himself some speed.

Those two worlds collided Saturday afternoon as the Dolphins got into the fourth round early in Day 3 of the NFL draft, trading with the Philadelphia Eagles and selecting Tennessee running back Jaylen Wright at pick No. 120.

Miami, which had a 103-pick drought between its selections in the second and fifth rounds before the trade, sent the Eagles a 2025 third-round pick for the fourth-rounder. The team fielded calls and flirted with the idea of a trade each of the first two days, according to Grier, before finally making a move Saturday.

The selection of Wright began a five-pick haul Saturday after the Dolphins started the 2024 draft with Penn State edge rusher Chop Robinson in the first round Thursday and Houston offensive tackle Patrick Paul in the second round on Friday for seven total drafted rookies.

“We feel like we got a lot of good football players, guys that we had targeted at positions we felt good about that can contribute. Guys that we feel have upside,” Grier said as he wrapped up the team’s draft.

But there are questions as to whether this draft, with its top picks maybe needing time to develop, can help Miami win now.

“We always feel that way,” Grier said, “but it remains to be seen. No one’s given anything. We have some good players on the roster here, and these guys are going to have to work to beat them out. But, yes, we selected them because we feel they have a chance to contribute.”

The Dolphins are expected to receive compensatory third-round picks in next year’s draft after the departures of defensive tackle Christian Wilkins and right guard Robert Hunt in free agency. Grier said that provided the team flexibility to move into the early portion of the draft’s final day.

By the time that fifth-rounder at No. 158 came around, Miami selected edge defender Mohamed Kamara from Colorado State, doubling up on pass rushers taken in the 2024 draft after going with Robinson in the first round Thursday night. In the sixth round, they took Virginia wide receiver Malik Washington, No. 184 overall, and then California safety Patrick McMorris at 198. The Dolphins’ last pick in the draft was USC wide receiver Tahj Washington at 241.

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Wright, who measured in at 5-foot-10 1/2 and 210 pounds, is another speedster for Grier and McDaniel, running a 4.38-second 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine. He said Saturday the fastest he has been tracked as running is 23.7 mph.

“Yes, we like the fast guys,” McDaniel said, “but it starts as football players. … You draft players because they’re football players, and if they’re fast, that’s cool.”

Wright joins a blazing backfield that returns 2023 third-round pick De’Von Achane and veteran Raheem Mostert.

“It’s really going to be scary,” Wright said. “I’ve got a lot of fire built in me. I want to prove my point, make people who passed on me to feel me, want to make a lot of plays.”

Said McDaniel of the running back depth: “The competition is fierce.”

Wright, who rushed for 2,297 yards and 18 touchdowns in three college seasons with the Volunteers, said the Dolphins were the team he wanted to go to in the draft, reiterating a sentiment from the team’s second-round pick, Paul.

“I think our whole point has been trying to create some place that is a winning culture, winning environment that players want to come to to play, win and be developed,” Grier said.

Miami’s running back corps also has power runners Jeff Wilson Jr. and Chris Brooks in the mix, while shifty Salvon Ahmed returns, too.

With plenty of tailbacks for next season, McDaniel has also been adamant that a team can never have too much depth at edge rusher. Kamara (6-1, 248) was the Mountain West Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 with 13 sacks.

Scouts say he has an effective power rush and is sound with his hands against pass blockers. He also will bring fuel to his fire after he felt slighted from sliding in the draft.

“I’m very excited, but I’m also very, very angry going at the round that I did,” Kamara said. “I’m going to give them that burning desire. … All 31 other teams, look out.”

Kamara can compete for playing time on a unit that boasts veterans Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb — both who are rehabbing from season-ending injuries — Shaquil Barrett plus the rookie Robinson and core special teamer Cameron Goode. Kamara and Barrett both went to Colorado State.

Malik Washington is 5-foot-8 1/2, 191 pounds and ran a 4.47-second 40-yard dash at the combine. He led college football with 110 receptions, turning that into 1,426 yards and nine touchdowns.

McMorris had a humorous anecdote on his draft day. Receiving spam calls recently, he initially hung up on the Dolphins after a couple seconds of silence from an unknown number with the team. Fortunately, the team wasn’t offended and called back.

Miami didn’t have a third-round pick in 2024 as part of the penalty handed down in 2022 for tampering with quarterback Tom Brady and coach Sean Payton. The franchise’s own fourth-rounder was dealt at the 2022 trade deadline as part of the package for outside linebacker Bradley Chubb.

Immediately following the draft Saturday night, the Dolphins began the process of adding undrafted rookies.