A look back at Chris Grier’s 2021-2023 Miami Dolphins draft picks

Looking back over his first five drafts, how has Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier actually performed?

Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier assumed that title in 2016, appearing to give him the final say on personnel decisions within the organization. At the time, however, the Dolphins also had Mike Tannenbaum as the team’s executive vice president of football operations, placing him ahead of Grier in the team’s hierarchy. In December 2018, Tannenbaum was reassigned within the organization before quietly leaving the team and paving the way for Grier to take full control of personnel decisions – including control of the team’s draft picks.

The fans scrutinize Grier’s selections, with someone somewhere always calling for him to be fired. Grier is the ultimate team player, deferring, for the most part, to the coaching staff to make sure they agree with the players being selected. He understands how to tailor his selections to the coaching staff’s schemes and ideal players. Taking a step back to look at the five drafts in which he has had full control, do the results of the draft support the idea that Grier does not know how to make picks?

Here are the picks from each draft, as well as the trades Miami made with the picks they held.

2023 Miami Dolphins draft

51st: Cam Smith, CB, South Carolina
84th: De’Von Achane, RB, Texas A&M
197th: Elijah Higgins, WR, Stanford
238th: Ryan Hayes, T, Michigan

• First-round pick forfeit for Tom Brady/Sean Payton tampering charges.
• 29th: Traded to Denver Broncos as part of package for Bradley Chubb
• 77th: Traded to Los Angeles Rams as part of package for Jalen Ramsey
• 122nd: Traded to Kansas City Chiefs as part of package for Tyreek Hill
• 155th: Traded to San Francisco 49ers for Jeff Wilson, Jr.
• 178th: Traded to Kansas City Chiefs as part of package for Tyreek Hill

Smith immediately jumps out as a concern after essentially having a redshirt rookie season. Is he such a bust that the Dolphins could not afford to have him on the field last year? Will that continue into 2024? Or will a change from former defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s system to new coordinator Anthony Weaver be the spark that reignites Smith’s career?

Terrell Owens’ beef with Steve Mariucci set the tone for T.O.’s entire career

Forget everything you know about Terrell Owens – his on-field absurdity, his off-field… well, absurdity fits there too. But forget all that. This is an origin story, an account of how Owens became the T.O. we remember today. And it’s basically thanks to beef. This is the story of Terrell Owens and Steve Mariucci failing to get along in a way that helped nobody but T.O. Couple little errors: at 1:53 I said Jeff Garcia a 28-year-old rookie, he was in fact 29! And then at 10:39 that was actually their second game since being together in SF. That’s my bad. Taking my flogging in private.

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After Smith, the Dolphins found a gem in Achane. Along with Raheem Mostert, the Dolphins will have a strong one-two punch from the backfield featuring Achane.

Higgins and Hayes were both claimed off waivers when the Dolphins attempted to add them to the practice squad at the end of the preseason. Higgins joined the Arizona Cardinals, while Hayes moved to the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts waived Hayes a few weeks later, and the Dolphins brought him back to Miami as part of the practice squad and then signed him for the 2024 season as well.

Other than Achane, the rookies did not perform much for Miami in 2023, but it is too early to deem any of them a bust. The Dolphins’ 2023 Draft is probably more about the veterans they acquired than the selected rookies. Picks from this year were used to acquire wide receiver Tyreek Hill, cornerback Jalen Ramsey, linebacker Bradley Chubb, and running back Jeff Wilson.

2022 Miami Dolphins Draft

102nd: Channing Tindall, LB, Georgia
125th: Erik Ezukanma, WR, Texas Tech
224th: Cameron Goode, OLB, Cal
247th: Skylar Thompson, QB, Kansas State

• 15th: Traded to Philadelphia Eagles in 2021 Draft picks trade
• 29th: Traded to Kansas City Chiefs as part of package for Tyreek Hill
• 50th: Traded to Kansas City Chiefs as part of package for Tyreek Hill
• 81st: Traded to New York Giants in 2021 Draft picks trade
• 121st: Traded to Kansas City Chiefs as part of package for Tyreek Hill
• 158th: Traded to New England Patriots as part of package for 2023 third-round pick
• 196th: Traded to Baltimore Ravens for Greg Mancz and pick 224
• 238th: Traded to Los Angeles Rams for Aqib Talib
• 242nd: Traded to Carolina Panthers for Greg Little

The 2022 draft may prove to be a rough one for Miami. The third year in the league is typically when players find themselves and grow into key roles. Will any of this group take that step forward in 2024? The Dolphins’ first pick in 2022 was the third-round selection of Tindall, who has struggled to find the consistency that would allow him to contribute to the team’s defense. He has played a total of 21 defensive snaps his first two seasons, though he has appeared on special teams for 411 snaps, including being on the field 54 percent of the special teams plays last year. The hopes for contribution on defense from Tindall are still there, but he may prove to be primarily a special teams contributor.

Ezukanma is someone many fans hope will breakout. He had flashes in training camp and the preseason in 2022, but has only played in three games with two receptions in his first two seasons. Last year he was limited to two games due to a neck injury. The potential is there, but Ezukanma needs to stay healthy and take a huge step toward reaching his potential on an offense desperate for a third receiver.

Goode spent his rookie season on the Dolphins’ practice squad. He began the 2023 season on the practice squad as well but was promoted to the active roster during the season. Injuries seemed to have Goode in position to see an increase in playing time as an edge rusher late in the season and into the playoffs, but he sustained a torn patella tendon in the team’s Week 18 game and was moved to injured reserve before the playoff game.

Thompson has served as the Dolphins’ third-string quarterback since being selected. While he did not see playing time in 2023, during his rookie season in 2022, he appeared in seven games, starting two of them, and started the team’s playoff game. He threw for 534 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions on a 57.1 percent completion rate. The Dolphins coaching staff appears to really like Thompson as their developmental quarterback and, unless something dramatic happens during the draft or prior to training camp, he seems set to return as the third quarterback on the roster this year.

This set of draft picks is dominated by the trade for Hill from the Kansas City Chiefs. Miami did make some trades for other veterans using late-round picks, but the Hill trade was the headliner of the 2022 Draft for the Dolphins.

2021 Miami Dolphins draft

6th: Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama
18th: Jaelan Phillips, OLB, Miami
36th: Jevon Holland, S, Oregon
42nd: Liam Eichenberg, T, Notre Dame
81st: Hunter Long, TE, Boston College
231st: Larnel Coleman, T, UMass
244th: Gerrid Doaks, RB, Cincinnati

• 3rd: Traded to San Francisco 49ers for 12th, 2022 first- and third-round picks, and 2023 first-round pick
• 12th: Traded with 123rd and 2022 first-round pick to Philadelphia Eagles for 6th and 156th picks
• 50th: Traded with 2022 third-round selection to New York Giants for 42nd
• 121st: Traded with 162nd to Las Vegas Raiders for Lynn Bowden and 203rd pick
• 123rd: Traded with 12th and 2022 first-round pick to Philadelphia Eagles for 6th and 156th picks
• 156th: Traded to Pittsburgh Steelers for 2022 fourth-round pick
• 162nd: Traded with 121st to Las Vegas Raiders for Lynn Bowden and 203rd pick
• 202nd: Traded to Houston Texans as part of Laremy Tunsil trade
• 203rd: Traded with Shaq Lawson to Houston Texans for 231st and Benardrick McKinney
• 207th: Traded to Kansas City Chiefs for 258th and DeAndre Washington
• 208th: Traded to Chicago Bears for Adam Shaheen
• 232nd: Traded to Tennessee Titans for Isaiah Wilson and a 2022 seventh-round pick
• 245th: Traded to Pittsburgh Steelers along with safety Minkah Fitzpatrick for package of picks
• 258th: Traded to Washington Football Team for pick 244 and Ereck Flowers

This draft started with the Dolphins moving out of the third-overall position, a spot they held from the Laremy Tunsil trade to the Houston Texans. They traded with the San Francisco 49ers to jump back to the 12th position, then traded that pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for the sixth pick. After the whirlwind of moves, the Dolphins added Waddle. In his three seasons with Miami, he has caught 251 passes for 3,385 yards with 18 touchdowns. His 18.1 yards per reception average in 2022 led the league.

Miami came back on the clock with the 18th pick, using that selection to add Phillips. The edge rusher has recorded 146 tackles in three years, along with 22 sacks, one forced fumble, three fumble recoveries, and an interception. His 2023 season was cut short by an Achilles tear, an injury that may cost him playing time early in the 2024 season.

With the 36th pick, the Dolphins added another starter to their depth chart with the selection of Holland. In his three years, Holland has recorded 230 tackles, four sacks, 20 passes defensed, five interceptions with a touchdown, four forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. While Miami has stated they will be exercising the fifth-year options built into the two first-round picks’ contracts, Holland, as a second-round selection, does not have that contract provision. The Dolphins have indicated they plan on working a contract extension with Holland to keep him with the team.

The 42nd pick led to Miami adding Eichenberg, a player much maligned by the fan base for most of his three years here. A large part of Eichenberg’s issues could be from the team using him all over the offensive line, never giving him a chance to learn and develop at one position. When the Dolphins added him to the starting lineup as a right guard last year, he flourished, but had to move back to center as injuries mounted. He has played in 43 games over the three seasons since he was drafted, starting 38 of them.

Long, the 81st pick, spent two seasons with the Dolphins, appearing in seven games as a rookie including two starts, then nine games in his season season. He caught one pass for eight yards with Miami before being traded to the Los Angeles Rams as part of the team’s trade for Jalen Ramsey before the 2023 season.

The pair of seventh-round picks, Coleman and Doaks, both had short stints with Miami. Coleman landed on injured reserve at the end of the preseason as a rookie, then was signed to the team’s practice squad at the start of the 2022 season. He was signed off the Dolphins’ practice squad by the Carolina Panthers a month later, then was released during the following preseason. In 2023, he played in the XFL, then started 2024 in the UFL but was released and signed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.

Doaks spent 2021 on the Dolphins’ practice squad before being released at the end of the 2022 preseason. He has bounced on and off the Houston Texans’ practice squad throughout the past two seasons and re-signed with the team for 2024.

The Dolphins were active throughout the draft, moving up and down the draft board. They came out of the draft with three superstar starters and a developing starting offensive lineman.