The Miami Dolphins didn’t take huge swings in the 2025 NFL draft.
After adding 331-pound defensive tackle Kenneth Grant in Round 1 and 324-pound offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea in Round 2, the team didn’t pick again until Round 5.
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Prioritizing the trenches made sense, but several other areas on the roster were ignored altogether with the Dolphins’ eight draft selections.
Here are the veterans on the Dolphins roster who were affected most by the team’s picks:
Winners: Storm Duck, Cam Smith
Many expected cornerback to be the Dolphins’ top priority in the first few rounds. Instead, they waited until Round 5 to address the position and only picked cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. before again filling other areas on the roster with their last few picks.
While the Dolphins are likely to add at least one experienced veteran at cornerback, it seems the young cornerbacks already on the roster will have every opportunity to battle for a starting role — or at the very least, significant snaps.
Loser: Liam Eichenberg
Earlier in April, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel told reporters that Eichenberg would need to be the “best version of himself” to stay in the starting lineup. But with Jonah Savaiinaea added to the mix, it’d be a bit of a surprise if Eichenberg even has much of a shot. In all likelihood, he’ll be relegated to a role as a versatile backup.
Winner: Patrick Paul
The Dolphins had every opportunity to look for an offensive tackle to battle Paul for starting duties at left tackle. But the 2024 second-round pick looks unchallenged for the role and Miami didn’t even take a tackle to address depth at the position.
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For better or worse, the Dolphins showed they have a lot of faith in Paul making a sophomore leap.
Loser: Jalen Ramsey
The clean breakup Ramsey hoped to have with the Dolphins didn’t happen on draft weekend. Instead, the seven-time Pro Bowler is still on the roster and there are now fewer suitors to make a deal happen. The Commanders, Cardinals, and Raiders are among the teams that made more sense before they added cornerbacks on Day 2 of the draft.
Reconciliation with Miami may be the avenue that makes the most sense for all parties, but that would mean swallowing a lot of pride. The likelier outcome is that the divorce takes at least another month to come together.
Winner: Tyreek Hill
There’s been plenty of speculation about Hill’s future in Miami and whether or not the team was fed up with his continued drama. But the draft seemingly confirmed what Dolphins brass has been saying all along: they envision Hill being a part of the team in 2025.
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In eight picks, the Dolphins didn’t pick any receivers and didn’t even add a tight end to the mix. While the team found some intriguing pass catchers in undrafted free agency, Miami isn’t going to ditch an eight-time Pro Bowler because it’s excited about an undrafted rookie.
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: 2025 NFL draft: Dolphins winners and losers