The 2020 NFL Draft is just about a month away, which means that The Game Haus will be doing draft profiles for every team. Each NFL team will be looked at heading into this year’s draft including what their needs are and who they could be targeting. The Miami Dolphins will be the fifth team evaluated.

Summary

This year the Miami Dolphins embarrassed the tanking movement. They might not admit it but when they traded away former first-round picks and young franchise centerpieces like Laremy Tunsil and Minkah Fitzpatrick. This was Brian Flores’ first year as head coach and he did exactly what he was supposed to do in his first year. Though they only won five games last year, but down the stretch, Flores established a culture of a tough locker room that showed late in games towards the end of the year.

Despite the team’s tough culture, the team was a mess on offense this past year. Josh Rosen, whom the Dolphins traded a second-round pick for couldn’t outplay Ryan Fitzpatrick for the starting job. Rosen only had one touchdown to five interceptions in six games with only three starts. Fitzpatrick threw for 20 touchdowns, 13 interceptions and also led the team in rushing. Fitzpatrick led the team with 243 rushing yards after trading away Kenyan Drake,  cutting Mark Walton and having to rely on Kalen Ballage and Patrick Laird down the stretch. This why the Dolphins signed Jordan Howard to help improve their running game. The Dolphins did have some inspiring play from some young playmakers this year. DeVante Parker, Preston Williams and Mike Gesicki will likely be the team’s starting pass-catchers next season again.

The defense didn’t play well on the stat sheet but, Flores got the most of the players on his defense. The Dolphins acquired former first-round pick Taco Charlton mid-season and he ended up leading the team with five sacks. This why the Dolphins added two defensive lineman early in free agency in Shaq Lawson and Emmanuel Ogbah. The Dolphins also added former New England Patriots Kyle Van Noy and Elandon Roberts who were both coached by Flores when he was the Patriots linebacker coach. The big free agent signing the Dolphins made to bolster their defense was Byron Jones. The Dolphins made Jones the highest-paid cornerback in the league. The combination of Byron Jones and Xavien Howard at cornerback along with the other pieces they now have on their defense, will make the Dolphins one of the better defensive units in the NFL next year.

2020 NFL Draft Picks

Miami will have fourteen picks to use in the 2020 NFL Draft.

First Round (three pick): No. 5, 18, 26

Second Round (two pick): No. 39, 56

Third Round (one pick): No. 70

Fourth Round (one pick): No. 141

Fifth Round (two pick): No. 153, 162

Sixth Round (one pick): No. 197

Seventh Round (three picks): No. 227, 246, 251

Team Needs

Left Tackle- After trading away Laremy Tunsil, left tackle shoots to the top of the list of needs. Regardless of who is at quarterback the Dolphins need a new blindside protecter.

Quarterback- The Josh Rosen experiment has failed and Ryan Fitzpatrick was good for a year, but should not start all 16 games next season. The Dolphins need to find their long term answer at quarterback

Right Tackle- Jesse Davis was serviceable at right tackle, but he is naturally a guard. The Dolphins need an actual right tackle to be starting at the position

Running back- Regardless of them bringing in Jordan Howard the Dolphins are going to bring in a young in the early rounds to compliment Howard or take a majority of the carries

Safety- After letting go of Reshad Jones, the Dolphins need a legit need at safety. The Dolphins can take a starting-caliber safety on day one or two in the draft

Wide Receiver- DeVante Parker proved to be a legitimate number one receiver for the Dolphins but the Dolphins should add another receiver to compete with Preston Smith and Allen Hurns for the number two receiver job.

2020 NFL Draft Targets

First Round: 

Pick No. 5: Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama

The Dolphins finally get the quarterback they have had their eyes on for over a year. There has been mixed signals from the Dolphins about selecting Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert in the first round. When healthy, Tua is the better prospect, and he appears to be healthy. The Dolphins cannot afford to pass up on Tua if he is there at no. 5 or are given an fair deal allowing them to trade up and select him.

Pick No. 18: Austin Jackson,  LT,  USC

The Dolphins’ decision will be between an elite tackle or quarterback at no. 5. If they go this route, which many expect them to do, Austin Jackson could be the best tackle on the board at this pick. Jackson would be a top-three tackle in most draft classes, but due to the depth at the position he falls all the way to the Dolphins here. Jackson has the skillset and build to be a teams left tackle for the next 10-12 years.

Pick No. 26: Xavier McKinney, S, Alabama

Xavier McKinney is likely going to be the first safety off the board. But due to the devaluation of the position, he could be selected in the lower half of the first round and possibly slip into the second round. On paper the Dolphins have one of the best secondaries in all of football and McKinney would the icing on the cake. He is a ball hawk who is outstanding in coverage, much like former Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Second Round:

Pick No. 39: J.K. Dobbins, RB, Ohio State

The Dolphins cannot rely on just Jordan Howard to carry their offense. He has never been a bell-cow back, and likely will not be in Miami long based off the money they’re paying him. The Dolphins brought in Dobbins for a work out the day before pre-Draft visits were canceled, which means they hold him in high regard. Dobbins can potentially be the next star running back, something that the Dolphins have not had in a few years.

Pick No. 56: Julian Okwara, EDGE, Notre Dame

Even after adding Shaq Lawson and Emmanuel Ogbah the Dolphins should add another edge rusher to their roster. The Dolphins don’t have a player on their roster that they can say confidently can get them 9-10 sacks a season. So bringing in a pass rusher like Okwara to their rotation will keep their edges fresh and able get them a decent amount of sacks when he sees the field.

Third Round: 

Pick No. 70: Brandon Aiyuk, WR, Arizona State

The Dolphins aren’t in need of a wide reciever per say, however they need playmakers and that is exactly what Aiyuk is. He is a burner who can catch the deep ball, but he could also be used all different routes because of his ability to take the top off a defense. If Brandon Aiyuk falls this late he has the potential to make analysts and scouts scratch their heads on how teams managed to let him fall this far in the draft.

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