Ryan Hayes of Michigan was nabbed in the seventh round as the 238th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. While it's possible he was taken just to shut up failure owner Stephen Ross by taking a player from his alma mater, the hope is that Hayes can represent a development prospect who could pay dividends a couple of years down the road. Tabbed as the No. 19 offensive tackle in the draft and assigned a seventh-round grade by analyst Dane Brugler, Hayes was picked in an appropriate spot by the 'Fins.
The pluses: A good athlete who nearly played baseball as well in college, Hayes was a tight end and defensive end in high school, and that athleticism served him well in shifting to the offensive front. Light on his feet for his good size (6-6, 298 pounds), he is considered to be quick to his keys, exhibiting good technique and angle usage. Hayes has impressive discipline as well, committing a single penalty and not allowing a single sack in 357 pass-blocks snaps as a senior.
He boasts a wealth of experience as well, emerging as a three-year starter and four-year letterman for a program that went 25-3 in his final two campaigns. Along with his 30 career starts at the high-tension left tackle position, Hayes earned three Academic All-Big Ten selections and a pair of second-team all-league honors, and he was a key component of an offensive front that won back-to-back Joe Moore Awards as the outstanding offensive line unit in college football.
The negatives: Scouts dinged Hayes for having short arms and below-leverage strength for his height, which contributed to his poor leverage technique at times. He has difficulty maintaining blocks in the run game and (like many young tackles) struggles with speed rushers. While arm length can feel like nitpicking for non-draft gurus, the attribute can be a death sentence for aspiring NFL left tackles -- especially when paired with below-average play strength.
The bottom line: Seventh-round selections are basically lottery tickets in the NFL, and you'd like to have the most information possible in that context. Hayes participated in the Senior Bowl and spent his career in a highly competitive conference, so the Dolphins have a lot of indications of how he stacks up against elite talent.
Brugler characterizes him as a potential backup if he can find ways to adjust to a lack of core strength and length, which is certainly a lot to ask of a rookie. How do you get better at having short arms? While Terron Armstead is closer to the end of his career than the beginning as one of the league's top left tackles, there are (barely) stronger in-house options in reserve when Armstead battles the inevitable injury.
Instead, Hayes is a guy Miami is likely to try to stash on the practice squad and work with over time. However, development of young players on the offensive line has been a dramatic weak spot for the 'Fins for, I don't know, ever, so expectations should be pretty low from the outset. But hey, if you're going to buy a lottery ticket, it's best to do it on a core position like left tackle. Hope can be a strategy in such situations, right?
That wraps up the 2023 draft picks for the 'Fins. We'll try to take a look at some intriguing undrafted rookie free agents before training camp begins in earnest.
2nd round (51st overall): Cam Smith, CB, South Carolina
3rd round (84th overall): De'Von Achane, RB, Texas A&M
6th round (197th overall): Elijah Higgins, WR/TE, Stanford
7th round (238th overall): Ryan Hayes, OT, Michigan
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