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Miami Dolphins wide receiver Malik Washington (83) during the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.© Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

3 recent late-round draft picks who are vital to the Miami Dolphins' success during the 2025 season

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Kyle Crabbs | Last updated Jun 28, 2025 1:33 PM ET

It's nice to see the Miami Dolphins going back to their roots. The Dolphins, who kickstarted a rebuild back in 2019 with a whopping five first-round picks in two years starting in 2020, had lost their way for a bit.

Miami made just eight total draft selections in the 2022 and 2023 NFL Drafts combined. The result for the Dolphins was a roster in 2024 that leaned too heavily on too many older veterans — a chemistry experiment that faltered and saw the Dolphins continue to battle durability issues and struggle with depth (and cost). Miami's 2024 NFL Draft brought seven draft choices, several of which showed promise of stepping into key roles long-term. 2025 was even better, as the Dolphins turned in the card eight times.

Of Miami's fifteen total draft choices in the last two drafts, eleven of them have come on Day 3. Which of these young late-round talents do the Dolphins most need to step up and seize a prominent role in 2025 if Miami is going to successfully bounce back? Here's my picks.

Malik Washington, Wide Receiver

2024 draft choice: 6th round, 184th overall

Washington emerged throughout the 2024 season as a nifty role player for the Dolphins. He made contributions as a third receiver and also as a returner, filling a void the Dolphins had struggled with for an extended period of time. He wasn't without his miscues, Washington muffed a punt versus Green Bay that put the Dolphins in a hole early in a game they never recovered from. But Washington redeemed himself with a big return to help force overtime in a win later in the year over the Jets.

He will have more competition in the wide receiver room this year after Miami signed Nick Westbrook-Ikhine in free agency, but Westbrook-Ikhine is a different body type with a skillset that should be different enough for both players to coexist. Washington is the slot-type who has shown early flashes of chemistry with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa — making him an important role player within the outlook of the offense.

Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Jordan Phillips, Defensive Tackle

2025 draft choice: 5th round, 143rd overall

A rookie making the cut here underscores a few things — including just how light the Dolphins have been on making draft picks in 2022 and 2023. But it also highlights a completely remodeled defensive tackle room that returns just one prominent player from 2024, veteran Zach Sieler . Benito Jones is also back on a new one-year deal, but his role is that of a rotational player.

Phillips is the second of three defensive tackles the Dolphins picked in April and his presence in the fifth-round was a bit of a surprise. It would not have surprised many draftniks if Phillips was a late-third or fourth-round draft choice. In Miami, Phillips is poised to potentially collect up to 500+ snaps as a part of the Dolphins' rotation. Given how intentional Miami was in rebuilding this group, you'd have to assume it was a point of emphasis. As such, the new faces need to perform.

Miami Dolphins safety Patrick McMorris (32) celebrates with teammates after recovering a fumble against the Washington Commanders during the fourth quarter of a preseason game at Hard Rock Stadium.© Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Patrick McMorris & Dante Trader, Safety

2024 draft choice: 6th round, 198th overall (McMorris)
2025 draft choice: 5th round, 155th overall (Trader)

Jevon Holland? Gone. Jordan Poyer? Gone. Miami's safety room was supposed to be one of the strengths of the defense last year and neither player's season went to plan. Holland never recaptured his early-career form and Poyer was a shell of himself. As such, the safeties got the reset button.

Elijah Campbell, a career special teamer, is back with a chance to claim some snaps. Ifeatu Melifonwu and Ashtyn Davis were brought in via free agency on one year deals. They are currently the presumed starters. But Campbell turns 30 years old this summer and has 280 career defensive snaps. Melifonwu has struggled with injuries during his NFL career and Davis has started six of his 46 games played the last three seasons.

McMorris and Trader are cut from the same cloth. They're intelligent, physical, but lack ideal long-speed to play as dynamic coverage players on the back end. Both are good run support players but play a non-premium position without elite traits, which is why they fell outside of the top-150 of their respective drafts. Odds are good one of these youngsters will be called upon at some point. The hope for Miami is that once they're tagged in, they don't give jobs back.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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