Earlier last week, I ranked the top players linked to the Dolphins in terms of how excited I’d be for the pick, as well as how realistic they would be. Now it’s time for the Dolphins’ pick number 30. With how the draft board tends to fall strangely towards the end of the first round, I decided to disregard the “realistic” ranking since I’ve seen each of these players mocked to the Dolphins at some point by different draft analysts, and the mid-teens into the 20s are always hard to predict.
Ranking the Top Players Linked to the Miami Dolphins at Pick 30
So, I will sort them less by ranking and more by position this time. A couple of these players could end up also falling to the Dolphins’ next pick at 43 as well, so the best-case scenario would be to see two of these players selected by the Fins come draft weekend.
With all the different prospects linked to pick 30 and, by extension, pick 43, I decided to limit these to only players who had pre-draft visits with the Dolphins, with one exception I’ll note when I get to them. This excludes a couple of talented players that I think would be a good fit for the Dolphins, such as lineman Blake Miller, but there are more than enough players to talk about here, so let’s get to it.
Wide Receiver
While I am still very fond of the Dolphins selecting a wide receiver at pick 11, whether that be Carnell Tate or Makai Lemon, wide receiver is a very deep class this year, and there are some great players in the late first round to early second round area. So if the Dolphins do opt to go with corner or offensive line at 11, which recent rumors suggest they might, here are some players that they can look for at 30.
KC Concepcion, WR, Texas A&M (5’11 5/8″, 196 lbs)
Excitement Level: 7/10
If you like receivers that can just flat out go, Concepcion is your guy. Last season, Concepcion was a 1st team All-American for all-purpose and won the Paul Hornung Award (the nation’s most versatile player) for the Aggies. Having 1,450 all-purpose yards and 12 total touchdowns will do that. Great speed and release would tend to suggest KC as a deep threat, but he has also displayed the makings of a good short- and medium-game route runner.
While I really like Concepcion, his size, which allows him to be so quick and dynamic, also leads to my two concerns about the Fins taking him. One is more semantic, while the other is more fair. The overarching issue with any player selected at 30, especially a receiver and more specifically one around 5’11” to 6’0″, is that they will inevitably receive comparisons to Jaylen Waddle, who the Dolphins functionally traded away to the Broncos for this pick. That comes with a lot of pressure and expectations that these first-round picks already will have in spades. The second reason is simply that the Fins need more size in the receiver room. The projected top 3 receivers for the Fins (Tutu Atwell, Jalen Tolbert, and Malik Washington) have an average height of 5’10”. Head Coach Jeff Hafley himself stated something similar.
Overall, I like Concepcion a lot as an explosive playmaker, but if the Fins do select him, they’ll need to secure a receiver with more size, like Ted Hurst or Chris Brazell II, on Day 2. The Fins should look to double up on receivers anyway, but there are many more players down the board who project better as slot receivers than the few with the size to play outside.
Denzel Boston, WR, Washington (6’3 5/8″, 212 lbs)
Excitement Level: 9/10
Speaking of X receiver size, Denzel Boston probably has the most projectable size in this class. Standing just a hair under 6’4″, Boston projects well as an outside receiver with a great catch radius and contested catch ability. He’s not as fast or twitchy as a Concepcion or Makai Lemon, but he does have deceptive long speed that can take the top off the defense if they’re not careful. He struggles a bit with shorter route running, but solid coaching can fix that.
As draft season approaches and more rumors swirl, it sounds like the Fins would like to beef up their team in the draft, so I do think the offensive line is the target for the Dolphins at 11. In tandem with this, as mentioned in KC Concepcion’s analysis, the Dolphins need size in that receiver room, and Boston would provide new quarterback Malik Willis with a bigger-bodied receiver with incredible hands. Because of these reports, I have actually changed my overall tune regarding what I’d like to see the Dolphins do in the first round. I still think you can’t go wrong with Makai Lemon at 11, but waiting for Boston at 30 and selecting a lineman like Olaivavega Ioane or Spencer Fano (who analysts have mocked to the Dolphins recently) or a cornerback might provide the best value for the Fins in the first round.
Defensive Line Roundup
Miami brought in a lot of defensive linemen for interviews and pre-draft visits, so here’s a general roundup of a couple of edge rushing prospects projected around the Fins’ 30th pick. As you’ll notice within these grades, I’m a bit less excited about the collective than I am with the other prospects, and that’s primarily because I think receiver, offensive line, and cornerback are all much bigger needs than the front 7 for the Dolphins. Still, improving the trenches isn’t a bad thing, so I would understand if the Dolphins were to select any of these players come Thursday, so long as they have plans to address their other gaping roster holes on Day 2.
Keldric Faulk, EDGE, Auburn (6’5 7/8″, 276 lbs)
Excitement level: 5/10
Faulk is a really tough player for me to evaluate. On one hand, Faulk was solidly productive at Auburn, is unbelievably athletic with a great 6’6″, 276 lbs frame, and is one of the younger prospects in this class with room to grow. That said, Faulk at this moment in time just does not have a proper way to win in pass-rush situations. It is a complete leap of faith in your coaching staff to develop his pass-rushing abilities. His freakish size also comes back to bite him a bit, as he’s stuck in that tweener role where he’s not fast enough to play edge but not large enough to play defensive tackle. Any coach drafting Faulk will have to have a plan to aid his development as soon as possible.
Jeff Hafley is a sound defensive mind, so I do have faith in his ability to develop Faulk if the Fins were to select him. I just wouldn’t be too excited about a first-round pick that requires so much development like this. I love trait-based players a lot, but spending a top 30 pick on a player that needs to build his pass-rush game practically from the ground up is a tough sell to me.
Ahkeem Mesidor, EDGE, Miami (FL) (6’3″, 259 lbs)
Excitement Level: 6/10
I think of all players in this analysis, Ahkeem Mesidor is the most likely not to be on the board at 30. Still, the Miami connection is there, so I figured I’d cover him. Mesidor was one of the many University of Miami players the Fins brought in on a local visit. Mesidor might not have the same buzz as fellow Miami edge rusher Reuben Bain Jr., but he is very refined as a prospect and has shown incredible growth under the tutelage of Hall of Famer and Dolphin great Jason Taylor at Miami. He isn’t the most athletic edge rusher, but he has incredible instincts and knows when to use power or speed to beat opposing linemen. This smart play led to first-team All-ACC honors with 12.5 sacks (t-3rd in FBS) and 17.5 TFLs (t-7th).
As much as I think Mesidor is a great prospect, I do think he just does not fit for the Dolphins. It’s less about a scheme fit and more about the surrounding issues. Mesidor dealt with injuries in college, leading to him sticking around for longer, as he is now 25 years old. Both these issues make it tough for me to be super excited for Mesidor as a fit with the Fins specifically, since the Dolphins, barring overly exceeding expectations, will not be competing for a long time. That’s the reason they made the Jaylen Waddle trade in the first place. Drafting an older prospect to be one of your first picks in a rebuild, especially this pick, doesn’t feel like the right move.
Still, if coach Jeff Hafley and general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan see a shorter timeline than the general public does, perhaps this pick can lead to some early success as a team.
Zion Young, EDGE, Missouri (6’5 3/4″, 262 lbs)
Excitement Level: 7/10
The final edge rusher in the roundup is the one I’d be the most excited for. Zion Young was very productive last season at Missouri thanks to his strong power-rushing profile. The first-team All-SEC selection had 16.5 TFLs, 6.5 sacks, 2 FFs, and even 2 PBUs. He projects to be good against the run at the very least, like Keldric Faulk, but Young has a bit more of a pass-rushing repertoire, just no go-to move. The former Tiger has extremely sound technique on the edge and displays very good instincts. Young may not project to be a superstar at the next level, but he can certainly be a dependable, every-down edge rusher.
The primary reason Young would even make it to pick 30 or beyond is his off-the-field issues. Back when he was at Michigan State, the team suspended him for his involvement in a nasty fight with Michigan players, and he was also recently charged with a DWI this past December. Players with off-field issues litter the history of the Miami Dolphins, with mixed results. Players like Tyreek Hill, Ndamukong Suh, and Richie Incognito come to mind when you think of notable Dolphins with off-field issues, but there are plenty more. On the other hand, Hafley and Sullivan come from the Green Bay Packers with a much higher no-nonsense policy. That may lead to them steering clear of Young, but the talent, if channeled, is certainly there.
Defensive Back
Surprisingly, the Fins didn’t really meet with many of the cornerbacks projected to go in this area. It is a pretty deep class, so I opted to include one extra player here that I think fits the Dolphins’ defensive scheme, and analysts projected around these two picks.
Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee (5’11” 5/8, 193 lbs)
Excitement level: 8/10
Colton Hood was the player I initially mocked to the Dolphins in our LWOS first-round mock draft. He showed incredible promise as the CB1 at Tennessee after Jermod McCoy’s injury and displayed his great athleticism and press-man cover skills, playing with feisty physicality. Hood has a solid frame, with very good athletic traits and production. He is also, by all accounts, a willing tackler, finishing last season at Tennessee with 50 tackles and 4.5 TFLs to go with his 8 pass breakups.
While I do still really like Colton Hood, it is clear that Hood is not the best fit for the Fins. Jeff Hafley is coming down to Miami with his Green Bay scheme in tow, a scheme that saw heavy zone usage. Last season, the Packers ranked 7th in zone coverage rate at 78.4%. So, with that being the new scheme for the teal and orange, Colton Hood might not be the best top cornerback prospect to hedge your bets on as your new number 1 cornerback, particularly because there are good zone corners in this range. I still think he has the talent to contribute to the Fins, but the tougher scheme fit makes me slightly less bullish than I was earlier in the draft process.
Chris Johnson, CB, San Diego State (6’0 3/8″, 193 lbs)
Excitement level: 9/10
Finally, this is the one exception to the requirement I set earlier. Chris Johnson has begun to get first-round hype as a very sound cornerback prospect. The talent level in the Mountain West is lower than the Power 4, yes, but Johnson absolutely dominated the conference, allowing zero receiving touchdowns all year and just 18 catches. That’s unfathomable levels of cornerback production regardless of the level they’re at. Oh, and he also had 4 INTs, two of which were taken back for touchdowns. The second-team Associated Press All-American, Mountain West Co-Defensive Player of the Year, and first-team All-MWC selections are not surprising in the slightest.
Couple that production with a pro-ready build with the best estimated athleticism score on NFL.com for cornerbacks, and you’ve got yourself a very interesting prospect in the latter half of the top 50. Again, the talent jump from the Mountain West to the NFL, as well as his decent, though not great, man coverage skills, are his major concerns, but Johnson might be the perfect boundary cornerback for Jeff Hafley’s zone coverage-heavy scheme. I think he at least warrants consideration at pick 30 and should be a no-brainer at 43 if he’s still available.
