So we've analyzed Miami's Day 1 and Day 2 draft results for 2021, leaving only a rather anticlimactic Day 3 to review.
Unfortunately, a series of trades left the Dolphins without ammo in the vital middle portion of the draft, with no fourth- or fifth-round picks. Miami traded its fifth-round pick (No. 156 overall) to Pittsburgh for a fourth-rounder in the 2022 draft, and its fourth-rounder (No. 123 overall) was included in the trade with Philadelphia to go from the No. 12 overall pick to No. 6.
Using that context as a backdrop here's what the 'Fins ended up with.
The pluses: Miami added a pair of players at need positions at the back end of the draft. Offensive tackle Larnel Coleman of UMass was tabbed with the No. 231 overall pick in the seventh round, while running back Gerrid Doaks of Cincinnati was selected 13 picks later.
Coleman was considered the No. 19 overall offensive tackle in the draft by analyst Dane Brugler, who assigned him a sixth-round grade. The 6-6, 307-pounder boasted 29 career starts and served as team captain in his redshirt senior campaign. He's got plus attributes in arm length (35 1/2) and wing span (84 7/8), and after gaining 60 pounds in transitioning from the defensive line, he still possesses quick feet and is considered a solid athlete.
Standing 5-11, 228 pounds, Doaks is powerful through contact, with surprising athleticism -- 4.57 seconds in the 40-yard dash and a stellar 39.5-inch vertical leap (finishing in the top 92% of halfbacks at the combine). He emerged as a full-time starter as a redshirt senior, racking up three 100-yard games, highlighted by a 72-yard run against Houston and a 60-yard touchdown grab vs. Army. He's considered a good pass blocker, a solid receiver (zero drops in 2020), and -- with only 331 career carries -- a developing prospect.
The negatives: Coleman lacks refinement in fundamentals, tends to hug, and let defenders get too close to him -- offsetting his impressive wing span. Scouts questioned his ability in blocking for the run and reaching second-level defenders on plays that ask him to be mobile. With work to do in hand placement and punch as well, Coleman is very much a project player.
Doaks received a preferred-free agent designation from Brugler as the No. 29 overall back in the draft -- mostly due to issues surrounding his durability. He missed time in three straight seasons due to injury, only starting 13 games in his career and totaling just 2,119 all-purpose yards and 18 touchdowns. Doaks has limited straight-line speed and isn't considered a "creative" runner, limiting the specialty roles he could play in an offense initially.
The bottom line: All told, the 'Fins ended up with only two players from the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh rounds, which is where good franchises fill out the middle and back ends of their rosters. On the plus side, Miami has made a ton of picks in the last few years, and you have to wonder just how many open slots there are on the depth chart at this stage.
Coleman was identified as an "ideal developmental tackle for a patient NFL coaching staff," and that describes Miami to a tee. Doaks has a shot due to sheer lack of proven weapons in the backfield, but without much special teams experience, he will have a very difficult time making the active roster. Both players could land practice squad slots, but you are looking for more out of a third-day haul (rounds four and five, especially).
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