The 2022 NFL Draft starts on Thursday, April 28. As a lead-up to the draft, we’ll be giving a team-by-team breakdown for positional needs. For each team, we’ll give an overview of the current depth chart and how big of a need each position is in the upcoming draft. You can find the rest of the team needs (as they’re updated) and the rest of our draft content in the 2022 NFL Draft hub.
What Picks do the Miami Dolphins have in 2022
The Miami Dolphins have five picks.
Round 3 (102)
Round 4 (125)
Round 6 (200)
Round 7 (224)
Miami Dolphins Top POSITIONS OF NEED
RT, C
Miami Dolphins Strength of Schedule, 2022
The Miami Dolphins have the 11th easiest NFL strength of schedule for the 2022 season.
Miami Dolphins Offense
By Rich Hribar
QUARTERBACK
Tua Tagovailoa
Teddy Bridgewater
Chris Streveler
Tua Tagovailoa saw improvement across the board in 2021 off his rookie numbers.
Tagovailoa worked behind the league’s worst offensive line, ranking last in ESPN’s Pass Block Win Rate and last in Pro Football Focus grades. This forced Miami to go into a heavy RPO passing game and played a role in Tua’s 7.4-yard average depth of target (33rd) and 6.8 yards per pass attempt (32nd).
Things are set up to be much different for Tagovailoa in terms of offensive support in his third season from the scheme through the surrounding talent.
Miami also added a capable veteran in Teddy Bridgewater as insurance. Miami will not be selecting a quarterback in April.
RUNNING BACK
Chase Edmonds
Raheem Mostert
Myles Gaskin
Lynn Bowden
Salvon Ahmed
Gerrid Doaks
Miami was 30th in rushing EPA (-45.5 points) in 2021 while also ranking 30th in success rate (44%) and 31st in yards per carry (3.5) on the ground.
Inserting Mike McDaniel as head coach was the first domino in establishing a run game in Miami, while they also went out and added Chase Edmonds and Raheem Mostert as scheme fits to their roster via free agency. They also signed fullback Alec Ingold since this offense is going to feature a fullback.
Edmonds has been highly efficient, averaging 5.7 yards per touch in each of the past three seasons.
Edmonds has carried the ball more than 12 times in just five career games, but as a runner, Edmonds does find a strong scheme fit with what McDaniel is bringing to the offense.
This past year, Edmonds logged 68 zone runs for 394 yards (5.8 YPC) while also handling 59 RPO carries for 323 yards (5.5 YPC).
Mostert has played just nine games over the past two seasons, but has familiarity with the scheme while in San Francisco, carrying the ball 284 times for 1,610 yards (5.7 YPC) with 11 rushing scores in the regular season during his tenure with the 49ers.
Those two signings join two of the already existing primary ball carries from Miami a year ago in Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed, who each have proven to be viable options when given opportunities on bad Miami offenses.
McDaniel also may be able to squeeze something here out of Lynn Bowden, who missed all of the 2021 season.
Only Edmonds and Bowden are signed beyond this season and a franchise back may not be on this roster, but Miami does not need to burn any of their limited remaining draft capital on a running back.
WIDE RECEIVER
Tyreek Hill
Jaylen Waddle
Cedrick Wilson
Preston Williams
Trent Sherfield
River Cracraft
Cody Core
Devonte Dedmon
Miami has done everything in their power this offseason to add team speed on offense and wide receiver was no exception.
They made a huge splash in trading for Tyreek Hill, who they then gave a contract extension. Hill is coming off a down 2021 season for his standards but has consistently been a quarterback and offensive elevator throughout his career.
The Dolphins also signed Cedrick Wilson. After 22 career catches for 235 yards and two touchdowns, Wilson broke out last season, catching 45 passes for 602 yards and six touchdowns. Wilson averaged 9.9 yards per target (15th among wide receivers) while his 1.70 yards per route run ranks 41st at the position.
Those two players join Jaylen Waddle, who set a new record for receptions in a season (104) by a rookie this past season. Waddle collected 28 more targets than the next closest Dolphin while he was targeted on a team-high 23.8% of his routes as a rookie.
Beyond the top of the target chain here, the only wide receiver signed beyond this season is Devonte Dedmon.
Wide receiver is not a position of need for 2022 or the immediate future with Hill, Waddle, and Wilson locked up for multiple seasons outside of adding a day three rookie contract to the fold for depth.
TIGHT END
Mike Gesicki
Hunter Long
Durham Smythe
Cethan Carter
Adam Shaheen
The Dolphins placed the franchise tag on Mike Gesicki as one of their first moves of the offseason.
Gesicki was second on the team with 112 targets last season, catching 73 passes for 780 yards and two touchdowns.
Behind Gesicki, the team has last year’s third-round selection, Hunter Long. Long played just 90 offensive snaps and received just three targets as a rookie.
To go along with Long in the second season of his rookie contract, Miami still has both Cethan Carter and Durham Smythe signed through 2023 with Adam Shaheen on the roster for this season.
The Dolphins are still another year away from potentially having a void here that needs more draft capital investment.
OFFENSIVE LINE
LT: Terron Armstead/Greg Little/Adam Pankey
LG: Connor Williams/Robert Jones
C: Michael Deiter
RG: Robert Hunt/Solomon Kindley
RT: Austin Jackson/Liam Eichenberg/Larnel Coleman/Kion Smith
Many of the problems Miami had offensively in 2021 stemmed from an offensive line that ranked 32nd in ESPN’s Pass Block Win Rate and the lowest graded team in pass protection per Pro Football Focus.
Outside of adding McDaniel’s scheme to provide a boost to this outfit, the team also went out and added Terron Armstead and Connor Williams in free agency.
Armstead has been one of the best left tackles in the NFL and once again graded out fourth among all tackles in pass protection in 2021 at Pro Football Focus. He allowed just one sack and a 4.8% pressure rate.
While still a force on the field, the only downside here is that Armstead only played 248 snaps in pass protection, appearing in only eight games last season. Armstead has yet to play a full season in the NFL through nine NFL seasons and had knee surgery in January.
Outside of Armstead locked in at left tackle, McDaniel has already stated that nobody else here has a true position at this time, so take the above depth chart with a grain of salt.
We know Williams will start somewhere, either at left guard or right tackle.
We also know Robert Hunt will start, either at right guard or right tackle.
It is probable that both of those players occupy the guard positions, leaving center and right tackle open for competition and addition.
It has been a struggle for Austin Jackson since entering the NFL. After a tough rookie season, Jackson opened last year at left tackle before moving to left guard, ending the year as the 80th graded guard per Pro Football Focus.
Miami selected Liam Eichenberg 42nd overall last season, with the rookie starting 16 games and playing 85% of his snaps at left tackle. It was a struggle as Eichenberg was the 84th graded tackle last year, allowing a team-high nine sacks to go along with a 9.5% pressure rate per snap in pass protection.
Miami likely does not want either Jackson or Eichenberg locked into a starting role in 2022, but no longer will they be forced to start both at full strength. Eichenberg also still has just one season on his resume to improve upon while Jackson has not shown much promise through two NFL seasons.
2019 third-round selection Michael Deiter has moved around over his first three years in the league, playing left guard as a rookie, playing just 23 snaps in 2020, and then playing full-time at center a year ago. He closed the year 29th in grade at his position at Pro Football Focus. Deiter is in the final season of his rookie contract.
Miami Dolphins Defense
By Dan Pizzuta
Interior Defensive Line
Christian Wilkins
Raekwon Davis
Adam Butler
Zach Sieler
Daeshon Hall
Christian Wilkins was second among defensive tackles in ESPN’s Run Stop Win Rate. He was also sixth at the position in pressure rate, according to SIS. The pass rush improvement was significant in Year 3. He had 4.5 sacks against 3.5 combined in his previous two seasons and 13 quarterback hits after seven combined from 2019-2020. The Dolphins will likely try to extend the 2019 first-round pick.
Adam Butler, Zach Seiler, and Raekwon Davis rotated around as the other interior defenders and the line ranked 10th as a team in Run Block Win Rate. Butler is a free agent after 2022, but Seiler and Davis are signed through 2023.
EDGE
Emmanuel Ogbah
Andrew Van Ginkel
Jaelan Phillips
Brennan Scarlett
Darius Hodge
The Dolphins re-signed Ogbah this offseason, keeping him through 2025. Ogbah has been a productive pass rusher in his two seasons with Miami, putting up 18 combined sacks and 45 quarterback hits. With Miami’s defensive scheme, he’s the primary full-time pass rusher that gets the benefit of some of the exotic pre-snap looks and simulated pressures. He was 28th in pressure rate among edge rushers last season.
Andrew Van Ginkel is the Dolphins’ defensive scheme personified for the front seven. Van Ginkel rushed on 63.2% of his pass snaps, per SIS, and ranked seventh among defensive ends/linebackers with at least 200 pass rushes. 2022 is the final year of the 2019 fifth-rounder’s rookie deal.
Jaelen Phillips was a first-round pick in 2021 but the rookie had some struggles while he played 54% of the defensive snaps. Phillips ranked 63rd among 102 qualified edge rushers in pressure rate last season. He’s still in line to develop and the scheme should open up more pass rush opportunities.
Off-ball Linebacker
Jerome Baker
Elandon Roberts
Sam Eguavoen
Duke Riley
Calvin Munson
Jerome Baker has been a key in the middle of the Miami defense and he signed a three-year extension that will keep him on the roster through 2024. Baker’s play in the middle allows the Dolphins to rely so heavily on using defensive backs — no team played more dime than Miami in 2021 (29.1%). Baker has been a plus in coverage, though had some ups and downs this past season, coming in about average among linebackers in yards allowed per coverage snap.
Elandon Robers, a 2016 sixth-round pick from the Patriots, was the No. 2 linebacker and played well when he was on the field. Roberts was 15th among linebackers in yards allowed per coverage snap. Roberts allowed Baker to move outside when multiple linebackers were on the field. He re-signed for a one-year deal.
Cornerback
Xavien Howard
Byron Jones
Nik Needham
Noah Igbinoghene
Trill Williams
Keion Crossen
Javaris Davis
D’Angelo Ross
Quincy Wilson
2021 was an up-and-down year for the Miami secondary. Xavien Howard had s rough start but ended ranked 36th among corners in Adjusted Yards allowed per coverage snap, which accounts for touchdowns and interceptions. Byron Jones did not quite have that bounceback and ranked 84th among 93 qualified corners.
There is little concern about those two starting on the outside, though both spent a decent amount of time in the slot last season. What’s more interesting is what’s developed for the No. 3 corner. Nik Needham, a 2019 UDFA, has taken over that spot and the Dolphins placed a second-round tender on him as a restricted free agent this offseason. He’s been able to play the slot and ranked 11th among corners in Adjusted Yards allowed per coverage snap.
Needham has outplayed former first-round pick Noah Igbinoghene, who only got into seven games last season and played just 7% of the overall defensive snaps.
Safety
Jevon Holland
Brandon Jones
Eric Rowe
Clayton Fejedelem
Sheldrick Redwine
Elijah Campbell
In a league that has shifted to two-high shells, few teams relied on single-high more than the Dolphins. Miami has a single-high shell on 52% of its defensive snaps (eighth) and played single-high coverage 54% of the time (sixth).
That put a lot on 2021 second-round pick Jevon Holland, but the rookie played extremely well in that role. Holland had 10 passes defensed playing the deep safety but also showed versatility with seven quarterback hits.
Holland’s ability to play deep opened things up for Brandon Jones and Eric Rowe. With all three safeties on the field, the Dolphins allowed just 4.81 yards per play on those 182 snaps.
Rowe has bounced between slot corner and safety and is in the final year of his contract. Jones, a 2020 third-round pick, was a force in the box with 10 quarterback hits and six tackles for loss.