Miami Dolphins 2024 NFL Draft Offensive Line Prospect Rankings
'Touchdown, Miami!' grades the top 30 offensive line prospects eligible for the 2024 NFL Draft for the Miami Dolphins.
With the 2024 NFL Draft looming around the corner, you can feel the anxiety from Dolphins fans on social media — particularly around the trenches. Miami’s offensive line group has been one of the more maligned units the franchise has had for the better part of a decade. And this month’s draft is chock-full of talented trench players who could step into the mix and help Miami sort out their protection units for the foreseeable future. That is, of course, provided the Dolphins are willing to draft one early.
There’s been plenty of buzz around a Christian Wilkins replacement. Wide receiver lingers as a potential need for Miami, too. And lest we forget the tendencies of this front office to covet EDGE rushers and cornerbacks in the early portions of the draft, too. There are enough different directions that Miami can go that the fans are feeling the heat. They want an offensive lineman desperately.
And heck, they should. The Dolphins are set to pay Tua Tagovailoa a significant contract, and getting the line in front of him optimized is a piece of the puzzle this organization has yet to solve.
Which brings us to the end of the month: who are the best offensive linemen and how do they rank? Who should Dolphins fans be rooting to see on the board when Miami picks at No. 21 overall? Which ones are proper scheme fits? And who may be there when the Dolphins are scheduled to come back around on the clock when Miami picks again at No. 55?
We’ve got you covered.
So let’s start with this — who are the top prospects, and how many swings will Miami get at each?
Top Of The OL Board
'Touchdown, Miami!'s offensive line rankings are tailored to the Dolphins’ offensive scheme. Head coach Mike McDaniel, offensive coordinator Frank Smith, and offensive line coach Butch Barry have repeatedly driven home the point of emphasis of this unit: explosiveness off the ball. The Dolphins’ offense aspires for everything to look the same — until it doesn’t. And by painting the picture of an aggressive first step off the ball and creating horizontal stretch with the play pass, Miami tries to sell opposing defenses on a number of concepts on each and every play. Therefore, the first-step explosiveness, horizontal range, gravitational pull, and work in space & on the second level are all heavily weighted components of OL evaluations for the Dolphins.
This year’s class boasts a dozen players I would venture the Dolphins get one (and only one) crack at. And each would be a significant talent for the Dolphins to add to the mix.
Here are the 'Touchdown, Miami!' offensive line rankings for players I would expect to be gone by No. 55 overall — ranked in order of ability & fit with the Dolphins.
GRADING INDEX:
Navy blue: Top-10 Grade
Blue: 1st Round Grade
Dark Green: Late 1st/Early 2nd Round Grade
Green: 2nd Round Grade
These rankings don’t necessarily mirror the consensus order of rankings from draft analysts, but remember — these grades are tailored specifically to the Dolphins' offense. And there are two obvious talents above the rest. One, Joe Alt, is predicted to come off the board as OT1 within the first 10 picks on Thursday night. The other, Troy Fautanu, has an outside chance of making it to the Dolphins — he’d be an immediate option at guard before eventually taking over for Terron Armstead long-term.
A factor that may help Fautanu land in Miami despite being the No. 2 graded OL in this evaluation is that other schemes may prioritize and covet maulers like Taliese Fuaga and JC Latham more. While the well-rounded skill set of Olu Fashanu may grade well for Miami, he’s currently a better pass protector than a run blocker, which contradicts Miami’s core foundation up front. If that identity continues, he may be more sought after elsewhere, potentially pushing Fautanu down the board.
Interestingly, only three pure interior players crack this upper stratosphere of talent: Zach Frazier, Jackson Powers-Johnson, and Christian Haynes. All other talent has either played or can play offensive tackle. In a deep interior OL class, knowing that Miami will have ample talent available when they pick again in the second round may provide some peace of mind if the team opts for a different direction in the first round.
But talent alone, as we’ve mentioned, is only part of the discussion. The Dolphins' decisions with every pick must be weighed against the current talent on the roster. And that — along with the full offensive line rankings assembled here — is where things get interesting.
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