Why the Miami Dolphins Didn’t Take an Offensive Lineman in Round 1

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Chop Robinson had been the Miami Dolphins‘ draft target at 21 for some time, so much so that they stiff-armed four or five trade offers to ensure they didn’t miss out on him.

You can never fault a team for adding more pass rushers, and if Robinson’s production meets his potential, no one will criticize the pick in a couple of years.

But every decision has consequences, and for the Dolphins, the consequence of that decision is that their thinnest position group — offensive line — didn’t get addressed.

Miami Dolphins Not Sweating Offensive Line

It’s not like the Dolphins lacked options. Eight tackles went in the first round, including Jordan Morgan at 25 and Tyler Guyton at 29. Graham Barton, the draft’s best interior lineman, was also still on the board when the Dolphins had their turn.

Plus Troy Fautanu, a trendy Dolphins pick among mock drafters, went one slot before the Dolphins went on the clock — but Miami gave no serious consideration of moving up for him, Grier suggested.

So why did the Dolphins ignore the offensive line — again — early in the draft? The short answer is they like what they have.

MORE: Miami Dolphins NFL Draft Grades 2024

“We still think those guys will keep improving [with] the job they did last year with how we were moving the ball and scoring,” Grier said. “[We’re] very excited.

“Again, the draft’s not over, and again there’s always still free agency to add pieces to come in. So, again, we’re excited with the guys we have in the room. We added a couple of guys through free agency and we’ll keep looking at it, but we’re excited with the guys we have in the room.”

Added Dolphins Mike McDaniel:

“Chris and I both share the firm belief that you position yourself as best you can to take the best available player and allow these players to kind of shape your team.

“… We have a really good orchestration of talent evaluation and coaching, and with that, we have a room of passionate guys that we know that are going to develop. You can only pick one guy, and depending on the value relative to the class and historical, you know, what produces in the NFL, you take a shot when you recognize the opportunity for your team to get better.

“So, I think it’s more a compliment of the development. I think the one thing you can say is there’s a history of guys getting better. We can understand how people, especially well-informed reporters and fans, look at a picture of a player from last year.

“Well, you know, part of the thing that we our mantra is if you’re signing up as a Dolphin, we’re going to invest and develop you.

“So what you see last year, you know, our bottom line is we’re expecting as coaches and players, that that’s a different guy the next time you see him.

“There’s a lot of positions, there’s a lot of players. I think when guys are continuing to develop. We’re investing. It’s just in-house commitment and making sure that we get the right guys that wanna develop and then we get the right developers.”

Draft with your friends today! PFN’s Mock Draft Simulator now supports multiple drafters during the same draft! Find out how the PFN Scouting Department ranks this year’s prospects with our 2024 NFL Draft Big Board and follow along throughout the draft with our NFL team needs tracker.