The Mimai Dolphins enter the offseason with tons of cap room and a bevy of draft capital. Will GM Chris Grier capitalize on those picks? History suggests he just might.
ESPN.com’s Cameron Wolfe took a trip down memory lane recently, and highlighted some of Grier’s biggest hits over the past three years.
Successful selections include offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil (2016 first-round pick), cornerback Xavien Howard (2016 second-round pick), cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick (2018 first-round pick) and linebacker Jerome Baker (2018 third-round pick).
Of course Grier wasn’t as fortunate in 2017 when he whiffed on first-round defensive end Charles Harris and third-round cornerback Cordrea Tankersley.
The Dolphins are currently set to pick at Nos. 5, 18 and 26 overall in the first round, but they’re also expected to move around as they kick their rebuild into high gear.
There is more to report from the AFC East:
- For what it’s worth, Grier says the Dolphins‘ plan “right now” is for Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen to both be on the offseason roster, as Wolfe writes. It remains to be seen whether Fitzpatrick, 37, will return for another season, but the quarterback has confessed that retirement would be difficult for him. As it stands, Fitzpatrick is under contract for $8M in 2020 with $4M guaranteed. Pairing Fitzpatrick with a rookie quarterback like Tua Tagovailoa — who will be ready to throw in April — would make a lot of sense. Meanwhile, it’s hard to see Rosen fitting into the picture.
- When asked about the power dynamic between head coach Adam Gase and general manager Joe Douglas, Manish Mehta of the Daily News pointed to the lengths of their respective contracts. Gase, who came along first, received a four-year deal. Douglas, who joined late in the 2019 offseason after Mike Maccagnan‘s ill-timed ouster, got a six-year deal with Gang Green. Gase helped push the Jets to hire Douglas, and has influence on personnel decisions, but Mehta writes that Douglas has the upper hand on 53-man roster matters. In other words, as Mehta writes, a tie goes to Douglas.
- The Bills could lose assistant GM Joe Schoen to the Browns.
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