Walking in my J’s: Dolphins Draft WR Jaylen Waddle, DE Jaelan Phillips -

It was no secret that the Miami Dolphins were looking to add an offensive playmaker with their No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Despite draft week smokescreens for the second year in a row, the Brian Flores led Dolphins stuck to their guns and delivered.

Waddle Down to South Beach, Mr. Waddle

The third-year head coach and General Manager Chris Grier selected University of Alabama wide receiver Jaylen Waddle to reunite him with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and further instill their word that Tagovailoa is Miami’s franchise signal caller.

New Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle smiles with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell at the NFL Draft in Cleveland. PC: AL.com

Waddle brings speed and electric playmaking abilities to a Dolphins team that has lacked it in its receiving corps for YEARS.

Waddle: Can Thrive in the Slot, and More, as No. 3 WR

Waddle will likely thrive in the slot and as a returner for Miami with the high likelihood to be even more.

The Dolphins will feature WR DeVante Parker as its No. 1 receiver and will use WR Will Fuller as its No. 2 as both a deep threat opposite Parker and a short-field weapon.

It will be intriguing to watch how Waddle will flourish in the short field especially when Miami pops Parker and Fuller out wide.

Waddle averaged 18.9 yards per catch for the Crimson Tide and had 1,999 career yards on 106 catches, while finding the end zone 17 times in three seasons.

Things to Watch

The addition of Waddle puts WR Jakeem Grant’s roster spot in jeopardy. Grant is entering the second year of a newly-signed four-year, $24 million dollar contract, but the receiver/returner has underwhelmed with untimely drops and poor returns. His contract does have an out in 2021 that would allow Miami to cut him and carry only a $1.8 million dead cap hit.

Additionally, WR Preston Williams will likely be Miami’s top reserve receiver. He should see the field again week one, but only because Fuller will be on the final game of his six-game suspension stemming from last season. Williams’ rookie and sophomore campaigns have ended with season-ending injuries, so if he wants to earn another Dolphins contract, he’ll need to stay on the field.

Furthermore, Waddle is now a cheaper Albert Wilson. After opting out due to COVID-19 for the 2020-21 season, Wilson may have been replaced and given the short end of the stick. Despite the NFL saying any player who chose an opt-out last season wouldn’t have their contract affected there was no guarantee their team had to keep them. Wilson will be fighting for a roster spot.

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Dolphins Add Edge Rusher at No. 18

With pick No. 18, Miami drafted it’s second “Jaelan” of the night after it snagged the top edge rusher off the board in University of Miami defensive end Jaelan Phillips.

University of Miami edge rusher Jaelan Phillips was drafted No. 18 overall to the Miami Dolphins.
Graphic Credit: Dolphins Wire – USA Today

There was a thought that the Dolphins could go running back or offensive line here, but pass rush is a bigger need for Miami and with the top one on the board, Flores and Grier’s pick came in quickly.

Miami’s Pass Rush Only Better Than Detroit in Previous Two Seasons

According to Next Gen Stats the Dolphins ranked 31st overall in pass rush win rate in the NFL during Flores’ time in Miami. They only defeated their blocks in under 2.5 seconds 35-percent of the time.

The hope here is that pairing Phillips with DE Emmanuel Ogba h changes that.

Miami blitzed 39-percent of the time during the 2020-21 season, and while flashy, it was risky. Adding Phillips would allow them to not blitz as much and would allow them to make plays in other ways while conserving defensive energy across longer periods of the game.

But don’t fear Dolphins fans, that won’t mean the big plays from last season and the aggressive secondary goes away.

Dolphins Look Past Phillips’ Concussion History

However, there is a bit of concern here with Phillips despite him being the No. 1 edge rusher.

His concussion history forced him to medically retire from the University of California at Los Angeles before he got a second chance with the Hurricanes. But the fact that Flores and Grier were comfortable in drafting him means his medical history and any conditions check out.

In his second chance he played a career-high 10 games and produced career-highs in total tackles (45), solo tackles (21), tackles for loss (15.5), sacks (3.0), passes defensed (3) and recorded his first career interception.

Miami Needs to Focus on Defense, Moving Up with Draft Capital on Day Two

On day two Miami will pick early in round two with No. 36 overall and again at No. 50, barring any trades. It also holds the No. 81 overall selection in round three.

With a run on offensive players in day one it gives the Dolphins plenty of defensive options on day two, while also the possibility to use their draft capital to move up on the draft board.

– Kayla Morton is the Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage Miami Dolphins. She also has a new podcast coming soon. Like and follow on Follow @northdakayla74 Follow @FPC_Dolphins and Facebook.