The New England Patriots were reportedly eyeing Jonah Savaiinaea as a possibility for their No. 38 overall selection in the 2025 NFL draft before the Miami Dolphins jumped ahead of them and snagged the offensive lineman at No. 37 overall.
“There was a little bit of a debate about who we were going to pick,” Patriots executive Eliot Wolf told reporters after Day 2 of the draft. “Ultimately, one of the players we were talking about got drafted, so it didn’t end up mattering.”
“According to multiple league sources, the player that they were discussing was Arizona guard/tackle Jonah Savaiinaea,” long time Patriots reporter Greg Bedard said on a podcast. “He was the guy. And the Dolphins happened to, all of a sudden, jump in front of the Patriots sending a third round pick to the Raiders. They jumped in front of the Patriots and took him.”
With Savaiinaea off the board, the Patriots instead picked running back TreVeyon Henderson. New England later finished its second day of the draft by picking center Jared Wilson at the tail-end of Round 3 with the No. 95 overall selection.
To acquire the No. 37 pick, the Dolphins gave up Nos. 48, 98, and 135 overall in Rounds 2, 3, and 4. Miami also received a fifth-round pick (No. 143 overall) as part of the deal.
While the deal left the Dolphins without another pick until Day 3, Savaiinaea was one of only two offensive linemen taken in the first 20 picks of Round 2 after that position group was thinned out in Round 1 where eight linemen were taken. Miami made a commitment to invest in its offensive line and — based on Bedard’s report — the team couldn’t have timed its move to land Savaiinaea much better.