With the NFL combine in the books, mock draft season is upon us. Pretty much every national outlet is releasing at least one mock draft per week, which means we’ve got a lot of options to analyze for the Miami Dolphins.
The Dolphins have a ton of needs — position groups like safety, interior defensive line and offensive guard likely need more than one player added. Then there are the gaps at linebacker, cornerback and tight end.
Obviously, free agency will change the math on these needs, but it’s led to a wide variety of players getting mocked to the Dolphins this offseason.
Considering that, we’ve decided to rank the top 10 (with explanations for the top five) players frequently mocked to the Dolphins at 13 overall. It’s important to note that this list will not include players who are good fits for the Dolphins but are not seen paired with Miami in mock drafts.
The 10 players we considered for this list were Shemar Stewart, Kelvin Banks, Armand Membou, Malaki Starks, Kenneth Grant, Nick Emmanwori, Tyler Warren, Walter Nolen, Jahdae Barron and Luther Burden.
Ranking Top 5 Miami Dolphins Mock Draft Picks
1. Shemar Stewart, EDGE, Texas A&M
There’s a good chance Shemar Stewart doesn’t qualify for this list in a few weeks. His dominant performance at the NFL Combine likely will push him into the top 10 picks of most mock drafts. For now, it’s easy to see a universe where he could help the Dolphins now and in the future.Even though Bradley Chubb will return next season after agreeing to lower his base salary, EDGE is still a position of need. Chubb has a significant injury history and didn’t play last season. Jaelan Phillips has suffered two straight season-ending injuries, and Chop Robinson is still mostly unproven.
Additionally, Stewart is a different player than anything the Dolphins have on the roster. He’s a much bigger EDGE presence who is great against the run and can kick inside occasionally. Stewart is also a wildly impressive pass rusher despite underwhelming production at Texas A&M.He can bend the outside edge well and collapse the pocket with his length and power. The Dolphins have been burned by poor pass-rushing depth two years in a row, so adding Stewart still makes sense. Plus, a long-term edge rusher tandem of Robinson and Stewart has the potential to be one of the league’s best.
2. Armand Membou, OL, Missouri
Membou is another player who dominated the NFL combine, raising his stock in mock drafts quite a bit. The Missouri product is one of many offensive linemen who are frequently mocked to the Dolphins, but we believe he’s the best fit.For starters, he’s probably the second-best offensive lineman in the class, behind only LSU’s Will Campbell.
Membou produced dominant tape at Missouri last season, handling several NFL-caliber pass rushers like Stewart, South Carolina’s Kyle Kennard and Arkansas’ Landon Jackson.Additionally, Membou has experience in an outside-zone scheme.
Some of the best plays on his tape are when he seals the outside edge, setting up an easy hole for his running back. Membou is also a physical player who likes to finish defenders into the dirt. That’s something Miami was missing last season.The question for the Dolphins will be where Membou fits best. The Dolphins need two starting guards, and Membou could fill one of those roles. However, nothing on his tape or measurements suggests he shouldn’t play tackle — a far more valuable position.The Dolphins could take the Laremy Tunsil route with Membou by playing him at guard next season and then moving him to tackle to replace either Austin Jackson or Patrick Paul.Still, that introduces a lot of risk for a top-15 pick, which is why Membou isn’t number 1.
3. Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
Starks was a more popular pick for the Dolphins earlier in the draft cycle, but he’s still getting mocked to Miami enough to make this list. The argument for Starks is simple: the Dolphins need a starting safety, and Starks profiles as a potential starter in his rookie season.The deadline to place the franchise tag on Jevon Holland was Tuesday, and the Dolphins didn’t use it, so Holland is highly unlikely to return next season.
Of the safeties frequently mocked to Miami, Starks is a much better fit for Holland’s role.Starks was a versatile coverage option for Georiga. He played in deep zones and took a lot of snaps in the slot, especially this past season.
Starks is better suited to play in deep zones and make impact plays on the ball downfield. In three seasons, he recorded six interceptions and 14 pass breakups.Still, the versatility to provide adequate play from the slot should appeal to the Dolphins since their cornerback room needs help, too.The pitfall with Starks is that he had an underwhelming season in 2024. The Dolphins would have to decide whether that’s just a one-time issue or the product of a bigger problem.
4. Kenneth Grant, IDL, Michigan
A common refrain from this offseason is that the Dolphins need to get bigger in the trenches. Well, no player in this class will help the Dolphins do that more than Michigan’s Kenneth Grant, who is a massive 6-3, 331 pounds.Last season, the Dolphins didn’t do enough to replace Christian Wilkins. Calais Campbell performed well above expectations, but his age limited his snaps. That left Zach Sieler to hold down the line’s interior, which he can’t do by himself forever.
Grant is a massive presence against the run. He’s shown the ability to stack and shed blocks while keeping linebackers clean to come downhill and make tackles near the line of scrimmage.Typically, drafting a nose tackle in the top 15 would not be great value, but Grant’s athletic ability provides a glimpse into a much more impactful player. Some of his pass-rush reps at Michigan look like they’re from a player who is 30 pounds lighter.
Grant is wildly explosive in tight spaces and has good hand usage, allowing him to win with athletic ability and technique as a pass rusher. Of course, there is some risk that Grant’s movement skills don’t translate as well — he would be an outlier after all.Still, even if he doesn’t reach his ceiling, it’s hard to imagine him not being a useful player next to Sieler for the foreseeable future. Additionally, Grant’s presence would make any of the Dolphins linebackers better.
5. Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State
Warren seems to be a controversial pick for the Dolphins. Similarly to Grant, Warren’s position (tight end) is not typically considered inside of the top 15.However, for the Dolphins specifically, Warren could have a much more significant impact than anything in the box score. Miami had a lot of trouble running the ball in the second half of the season, and one of the biggest reasons was poor perimeter blocking on outside-zone concepts.Miami’s receivers, along with tight ends Julian Hill and Durham Smythe, whiffed on a ton of blocks that blew up running plays before they could get started. Warren took massive steps in his development as a blocker this past season.He would be a monumental upgrade on Smythe (who the Dolphins already cut) and Hill at the team’s in-line position. That would obviously improve the running game, but it would also make it easier for the Dolphins to feed Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.A better running game pulls defenses closer to the line of scrimmage. One of the reasons Jonnu Smith was wide open underneath so much last season is that teams had zero incentive to worry about the running game. Warren could help change that.This is all before getting into Warren’s potential contributions to the passing game. The Penn State product is a savvy route runner who can win with physicality at the catch point and in the open field with the ball in his hands.No Dolphins’ skill position player wins with physicality, and opposing teams know it. That has made the Dolphins predictable and easier to gameplan against through the years. Simply put, Warren would help the Dolphins running game return to a threatening presence and give the passing offense something to do when defenses can adequately account for Hill and Waddle’s speed on the outside.The Dolphins need offensive changeups if they want to beat quality teams consistently. There is no other tight end in the draft or free agency that would accomplish that goal in the running and passing game — only Warren.
Rest of The Rankings
6. Jahdae Barron, CB, Texas
7. Kelvin Banks, OL, Texas
8. Nick Emmanwori, S, South Carolina
9. Walter Nolen, IDL, Mississippi
10. Luther Burden, WR, Missouri