Whenever NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah speaks on anything pertaining to the NFL Draft, you’d be wise to listen. And yesterday, Jeremiah spoken on just about the entire 1st-round of this year’s event — breaking out his latest 2021 mock draft scenario to explore what the Miami Dolphins and the rest of the league could do at the end of the month. Jeremiah’s mock draft featured four quarterbacks in the first four picks; a development that certainly helped the Dolphins’ cause of securing a top-flight pass catcher in this scenario.
But with options comes the opportunity to make a right (or wrong) decision. What move did Jeremiah make for the Dolphins? Here are both of his picks for Miami in the 1st-round of his latest 2021 mock:
No. 6 overall — WR Ja’Marr Chase, LSU Tigers
“Miami moved back up after trading down to No. 12, wisely figuring they would be able to land either Pitts or Chase with the sixth pick.” – Daniel Jeremiah, NFL.com
No. 18 overall — DE Gregory Rousseau, Miami Hurricanes
“Rousseau had some stiffness in his pro day workout, which concerned some teams. That said, look at his combination of size, length and production. Plus, his impressive 10-yard split time (1.57 seconds) will carry a lot of weight in evaluations.” – Daniel Jeremiah, NFL.com
With Florida TE Kyle Pitts coming off the board at No. 5 in front of the Dolphins, the decision with the Dolphins’ first pick came down to Chase or presumably tackle Penei Sewell. But given Miami’s investments in the offensive line in 2020 and the depth of this year’s offensive line class, Jeremiah felt inspired to offer the Dolphins Chase. The LSU product is the same player often projected to the Dolphins at No. 3 overall, too.
Rousseau is a bit of a surprise; as Jeremiah mentioned, Rousseau’s Pro Day numbers were a bit underwhelming after not playing in 2020. But there’s little doubt that this long-armed pass rusher fits the mold of a Dolphins pass rusher and would fit right in along the line.
