{"id":199661,"date":"2025-07-11T20:31:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T20:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/199661\/"},"modified":"2025-07-11T20:31:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T20:31:12","slug":"what-should-we-expect-from-first-round-pick-kenneth-grant-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/199661\/","title":{"rendered":"What should we expect from first-round pick Kenneth Grant?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the 2025 NFL season fast approaching, the South Florida Sun Sentinel takes a look at 10 storylines to watch for in a 10-part series ahead of the Miami Dolphins\u2019 first day of training camp, which is set for July 22<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Miami Dolphins rookie defensive tackle Kenneth Grant<\/a> faces a world of pressure as a first-round pick. He\u2019s expected to be a Day One starter and a major contributor<\/a> on a defense that finished No. 4 in the league last season and No. 9 against the run.<\/p>\n

However, Grant, the No. 13 pick from Michigan who also plays nose tackle, can take comfort in one significant fact \u2014 general manager Chris Grier\u2019s first-round picks have done well in their careers, and many did well as rookies.<\/p>\n

Grier has been in charge of the Dolphins<\/a> drafts since 2016. In that span he\u2019s made 11 first-round picks, including Grant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019d be fair to say eight of the 10 first-rounders prior to Grant have been good selections.<\/p>\n

The list of good first-round picks starts with left tackle Laremy Tunsil (2016) and continues with safety Minkah Fitzpatrick<\/a> (2018), defensive tackle Christian Wilkins (2019), quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (2020), right tackle Austin Jackson (2020), wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (2021), edge rusher Jaelan Phillips (2021) and edge rusher Chop Robinson (2024).<\/p>\n

The two first-round picks in that span that didn\u2019t turn out well are edge rusher Charles Harris (2017) and cornerback Noah Igbinoghene (2020).<\/p>\n

Grant already knows what\u2019s expected from him as a Dolphins defensive lineman.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to set the standard,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to set the tone every day. Every day in practice, every game, whatever it is \u2014 we\u2019re the tone setters. We\u2019ve got to come out and show everybody what we\u2019re about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grant, a beefy 6-foot-3, 331-pound run stuffer, joins a run defense that ranked No. 9 in the league last year and No. 7 in 2023.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll join a defensive line that includes fellow tackle Zach Sieler, last year\u2019s team MVP<\/a>, and nose tackle Benito Jones. Grant joins a defensive front seven that\u2019s completed by edge rushers Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips (and Robinson) and inside linebacker Jordyn Brooks and Tyrel Dodson.<\/p>\n

Although the Dolphins offense gets the publicity, the defense has finished No. 4 and No. 10 in the league, respectively, in the past two years so the standard is high. Aside from that, the secondary is relatively inexperienced save for slot cornerback Kader Kohou and Minkah Fitzpatrick, the newly re-acquired Pro Bowl safety<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So the defensive front seven has to be the play-making crew, at least early in the season. The veterans have made that clear to Grant.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything we\u2019re going to do is the highest standard,\u201d he said. \u201cNothing we\u2019re going to do is you\u2019re half doing it. They\u2019re trying to get me to understand that there\u2019s a standard here and I\u2019ve got to live up to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grant totaled 32 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss last season at Michigan, the national champion in 2023. He played alongside defensive tackle Mason Graham, the unanimous All-America who was selected No. 5 by Cleveland, and at times might have been lost in his shadow.<\/p>\n

Dolphins Deep Dive: Can Miami win with youth? | VIDEO<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

But Grant was a beast in his own right. He showed he could handle double teams and use his heavy hands to create space.<\/p>\n

One of Grant\u2019s missives with the Dolphins is replacing defensive tackle Calais Campbell, the likely future Hall of Famer who departed for Arizona in free agency. Campbell, the runner-up to Sieler in last season\u2019s MVP voting, was a team leader.<\/p>\n

No one expects Grant to replace Campbell immediately, or replace him in every way. But many, including coach Mike McDaniel, are encouraged from what they saw during organized team activities and minicamp.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been ebbs and flows like for every rookie,\u201d McDaniel said, \u201cbut what I\u2019ve seen from him, I\u2019ve seen early-down production where he wins based on technique and fundamentals early in the snap, and I\u2019ve seen late-down wins where he\u2019s straining and utilizing grit and finish to make plays as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grant was the first interior defensive lineman the Dolphins drafted since defensive tackle Raekwon Davis (second round) in 2020. Prior to that it was Wilkins in 2019. And prior to that it was Davon Godchaux (fifth round) and Vincent Taylor (sixth round) in 2017.<\/p>\n

So, it turns out Grier hasn\u2019t just drafted well in the first round, he\u2019s also drafted well with interior defensive lineman. If you pay attention to trends, the future looks bright for Grant.<\/p>\n

Previously addressed<\/p>\n

With questionable Dolphins secondary, can better pass rush make up for the back end?<\/a><\/p>\n

Can Dolphins\u2019 Tua stay out of harm\u2019s way and remain healthy all season?<\/a><\/p>\n

Chris Grier, Mike McDaniel or both? Who\u2019s on Dolphins\u2019 hot seat entering 2025 season?<\/a><\/p>\n

Is this Tyreek Hill\u2019s final season with the Dolphins?<\/a><\/p>\n

Originally Published: July 11, 2025 at 6:35 AM EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the 2025 NFL season fast approaching, the South Florida Sun Sentinel takes a look at 10 storylines…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":199662,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2049],"tags":[217,7,1494,216,251,42608,2087,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-199661","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami-dolphins","8":"tag-dolphins","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-kenneth-grant","11":"tag-miami","12":"tag-miami-dolphins","13":"tag-miami-dolphns","14":"tag-miamidolphins","15":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114836503940433487","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}