Kelly: History says plenty of Dolphins rookies will be put in position to start

Miami Herald

5 days ago

The Miami Dolphins have Jonah Savaiinaea penciled in as one of the team's starting guards from the day they drafted the University of Arizona standout in the second round. Whether he's on the left or the right will be determined in training camp, whenever he signs his deal and shows up.
Kenneth Grant, Jordan Phillips and Zeek Biggers will each play 400-plus snaps this season if healthy. All three college nose tackles will be given an opportunity to cement themselves as Miami's starting defensive linemen because that unit's bare with the exception of Zach Sieler, who might participate in a training camp hold-in, limiting his practices while he and his agent pushes for a new contract, and nose tackle Benito Jones.
And there's literally nobody standing in Jason Marshall Jr.'s way of becoming a rookie starter at cornerback for the Dolphins.
That means five of the Dolphins' 20 rookies who report for training camp on Tuesday have a legit chance to become day one starters for Miami.
The recent addition of Pro Bowl safety Minkah Fitzpatrick makes it highly unlikely that Dante Trader Jr., the Maryland standout Miami selected in the fifth round, becomes a rookie starter. He'd have to beat out veterans like Ashtyn Davis, Ifeatu Melifonwu, and Elijah Campbell for one of the top four safety spots on the depth chart.
That's not impossible, but it's also not likely. It's more realistic that Trader becomes a core special teams contributor considering he excels playing the third phase of the game in college.
Marshall Jr. has the best runway to become a day one starter out of all late-round selections because Kader Kohou is the only established cornerback more securely fixed to the 53-man roster.
Marshall, who had an uneven collegiate career at the University of Florida, will compete with veterans Kendall Sheffield, Artie Burns, Cam Smith, Ethan Bonner, Isaiah Johnson, Ryan Cooper Jr., and fellow rookies B.J. Adams and Ethan Robinson for one of the three starting cornerback roles in Miami's secondary.
Last season the Dolphins carried six cornerbacks on the 53-man roster.
Rookie tailback Ollie Gordon II, a 2024 fifth-round pick, and quarterback Quinn Ewers, the Dolphins' seventh-round pick, will have a shot to unseat a top backup at their positions, and whether or not they achieve that will likely depend on how quickly both digest Miami's playbook, and how they perform in the exhibition season.
Coach Mike McDaniel has been known to elevate rookie tailbacks up the depth chart quickly, going back to his days as the run game coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers, so don't be surprised if Gordon finds a role in the backfield rotation.
His size (6-foot-2, 225 pounds) and physical running style could become beneficial to converting short yardage situations, which is an area the Dolphins have struggled for three seasons.
From a defensive tackle standpoint, the Dolphins have benefited from plenty of rookie contributors over the years. But most have gotten off to slow starts.
Christian Wilkins, a first-round pick in 2019, recorded 56 tackles, two sacks, forced a fumble and recovered one in the 729 defensive snaps he played in 16 games. However, that 2019 defense was a disaster considering that was Miami's tanking season.
Davon Godchaux, a fifth round pick from the 2017 draft class, was the rookie contributor on the defensive line before Wilkins' arrival.
Godchaux, who is entering his ninth NFL season with the New Orleans Saints projected as a starter, contributed 40 tackles and forced one fumble in the 500 snaps he played over 15 games. It should be pointed out that he only started five of those games in the final season where Ndamukong Suh was with the Dolphins.
There was also Raekwon Davis, a second round pick in 2020, who contributed 40 tackles in the 539 snaps he played over 16 games (12 starts). Davis started 48 games for the Dolphins over the next four seasons, but never contributed more than the 40 tackles he recorded as a rookie, and has produced just two career sacks.
As for offensive linemen drafted by the Dolphins this decade, they've had varying outcomes. But few of them thrived as rookies.
Laremy Tunsil is the one immediate success story. He served as the starting left guard on one of Miami's better offensive lines in 2016 before moving to left tackle the next season.
Tunsil, whom the Dolphins traded to Houston in 2019 for a treasure chest of draft picks and players, has been selected to five Pro Bowls, and is expected to serve as the Washington Commanders' starting left tackle.
Since then Isaac Asiata (a 2017 fifth-round pick), Michael Dieter (a 2019 third-round pick), Austin Jackson (a 2020 first-round pick), Robert Hunt (a second-round pick in 2020), Solomon Kindley (a fourth-rounder in 2020), Liam Eichenberg (a second rounder in 2021), Larnel Coleman (seventh-rounder in 2021), Ryan Hayes (seven-rounder in 2023), and Patrick Paul (second-rounder in 2024) have all struggled.
Jackson, who started at left tackle as a rookie and was eventually moved to left guard his second season because of his struggles, eventually settled in as a productive starting right tackle. But his blossoming took place in his third season. Hunt was the closest to an immediate success, and is having the most impressive career of the nine offensive linemen drafted since 2017.
Eichenberg has struggled in most of his 52 starts for the Dolphins the past four seasons. It explains why he's started games at all five positions on Miami's offensive line, but he seems to be settling in as a valued backup.
Paul was groomed all last season to replace Terron Armstead as Miami's starting left tackle, but the 337 offensive snaps he logged on the field as a rookie produced an uneven performance. Miami's hope is that Paul, who is 6-foot-7, 332 pounds, will blossom in his second NFL season as he begins to settle in at left tackle.