Miami Dolphins 2023 Draft Picks

RD 2 – Pick #51 CB Cam Smith 6’1 180 – South Carolina

With the Dolphins first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Dolphins selected CB Cam Smith from South Carolina. With Smith, the Dolphins add another DB who has a penchant for being around the football. Besides running fast, just as importantly, Smith processes fast. He follows the QB’s eyes well and gets to the ball very quickly. Another very important quality for a DB in the NFL is loose hips, and Smith turns very well, sinking his hips to remain low to the ground and remain balanced. I wasn’t expecting us to grab a CB with our first pick, but we definitely got a competitive one. The Jets now have Aaron Rodgers, so we will need to be solid in our secondary. With safety Brandon Jones coming back from injury, along with versatile DB Nik Needham also coming back from injury, Smith gives the Dolphins flexibility and depth if needed. Smith can play multiple positions, outside CB, inside CB as well as safety, and Vic Fangio likes versatility, which is precisely why we acquired Jalen Ramsey.

RD 3 – Pick #81 RB Devon Achane 5’8 188 – Texas A&M

I think all of us were hoping the Dolphins would add a young RB to their veteran stable. There were other running backs that had my interest, but Achane fits the bill quite nicely. Achane is an explosive offensive force. The Dolphins have added yet another home run threat to their arsenal. Pronounced Duh-vaughn A-Chain, Devon Achane will see early reps at PR/KR, giving him some guaranteed action immediately as a return man. Achane has true breakaway speed, running a 4.32, but he’s a very shifty, slippery runner as well, and he runs harder than his smallish stature infers. Like most of our RB’s, none of them are the physical, wear you down type of RB, they are all fast, quick, solid receiving running backs that given space can break off big runs. I would expect Achane to see some plays early on and eventually work himself into the RB rotation. He runs hard in between the tackles despite his smallish stature, and is always a threat to take on all the way, with quick, sharp cuts and shifty moves.

RD 6 – Pick #197 TE Elijah Higgins 6’3 235 – Stanford

Elijah Higgins has been a big slot receiver who has the potential to add some weight and potentially make the transition to TE. He’s a willing blocker, but at 6’3 and just 235, he’s not quite the ideal size. Higgins is a pretty good route runner, which gives the Dolphins something to work with,in the passing game, but he was available in RD 6 for a reason, his hands. He has suspect hands, and that has to improve if he’s going to be any kind of version of George Kittle. Still, he has upside who as I mentioned, is a very willing blocker, so throw out any notion of a slot receiving TE in the mold of former Dolphins TE Mike Gesicki. We have Tanner Conner in the fold, we’ll see what type of player Higgins can potentially become. First he has to make the roster, which will be difficult this year as our depth is excellent throughout the roster.

RD 7 – Pick #238 OT Ryan Hayes 6’6 298 – Michigan

With the Dolphins final pick in this year’s draft, Hulk must have been thrilled that we finally addressed the O-line, selecting OT Ryan Hayes from Michigan. Sorry Hulk, that was dripping with sarcasm. Despite being 6’6, Hayes 32.5″ arms are not the prototypical length to play OT in the NFL. However, the Miami Dolphins do have a successful OT in their history who also had short arms, one Mark Dixon who was 6’4 290, so who knows? Odds are though, Hayes would have to make the transition inside to OG. Hayes, a former HS TE and DE, Hayes is not a nimble or fluid athlete as his position versatility would suggest. Hayes does possess the much needed mean streak to play O-line in the NFL, and he’s a very motivated player. He was a very strong run blocker at Michigan, but he did struggle against speed rushers. Another reason he may move to move to OG. We currently have 10 offensive linemen on the roster, Armstead, Eichenberg, Williams, Hunt and Jackson are the starters, with Christian, Cotton, Feeney, Jones and Lamm as backups. I also feel there’s a good chance we might sign another vet OT as a backup, and Brandon Shell, who played very well in that role, would be ideal.

Here is a list of Undrafted Free Agents the Dolphins have brought in:

Miami Dolphins Undrafted Free Agents

As always, there may be more players that have not been updated as of the creation of this list, apologies in advance for the accuracy of this list.

In summation, What I wanted to to get out of this draft was 2 players who have a legitimate chance to make an impact this season, and of course beyond. I believe we accomplished this, although I expected one of those players to be at the TE position, I obviously had different ideas than the triumvirate of Grier, McDaniel and Fangio. Regardless of my pre-draft feelings, Cam Smith will help our team this season, and hopefully he takes the sting out of the Iggy miss. A lot of different players saw action in our secondary due to injuries, so I would think Cam Smith will get plenty of opportunity to vie for playing time. There is no question in my mind that 3rd pick Devon Achane will contribute a lot to the special teams unit as a return man, and will quickly be incorporated into the run game as well. He’s a difference maker, and while we have veteran running backs on the roster that are capable, as I’ve said countless times, no RB on this roster is a bell cow back, and honestly, all of them fit better in a running back by committee effort, as durability is a concern for all of them, including our new draftee Devon Achane. The NFL is going in this direction anyway, there are fewer teams these day that rely heavily on one RB, those that do usually end up with injured RB’s and then are forced to change their philosophies, and thus their entire offense to adjust. We’re already there, so interchangeable parts are what we’re about right now.

GO DOLPHINS!!!

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1,014 Responses to Miami Dolphins 2023 Draft Picks

  1. The Flying Pig says:

  2. The Flying Pig says:

    Some one on Twitter told me that Eagles will be playing patriots in week 1

    So maybe we get another nfc East team week 1
    Cowboys or Commanders?

  3. The Flying Pig says:

    We will have a tough schedule

    So will everyone in afc East

    Probably why it’s tough

    • CavalierKong says:

      The AFC is loaded and we play the NFC East which is good top to bottom. Things changed and tough schedules often end up not being as tough as forecast, but it sure looks like there aren’t many bad teams on our schedule.

  4. Rockphin says:

    That tweet that Wyoming posted on the last page from Ryan Talbot is bullshit. It most certainly is not a win / win for both teams. It is a pure win for the Bills and a huge loss for the Dolphins. OUR team can play in the snow no problem. Their team is full of pussies who wilt in the heat. Of course Talbot is a Bills writer so he would think something stupid like that.

    • The Flying Pig says:

      Our team can play with the Bills in any weather
      I think the difference via weather road/home is negligible

      Even though we lost the 2 away games, I think you can make a good argument that we played better in those games than the early game at hard rock

      But one less cold weather game in December is a plus

  5. herdfan says:

    Geez, the NFL is really bad at keeping a secret. Half the schedule will be known before they release it.

  6. The Flying Pig says:

  7. Wyoming85 says:

    If you move to CA you can have a bigger apartment Pigster

  8. CavalierKong says:

    Week 7 at the Eagles

  9. CavalierKong says:

    I just read the Jets have never beaten the Eagles (0-12), which was surprising to learn. So I decided to look up what teams are winless against another team.

    This was great: The Bills have never beaten the team called the NFC champions – LOL

  10. Wyoming85 says:

  11. steveccnv says:

    Another way they’ll screw us is all of our national games being on the road. Vs KC check, vs jets check vs NE check

  12. CavalierKong says:

    Week 4 Dolphins @ Bills

  13. The Flying Pig says:

    Piggy early prediction based on rumors

    Week 1: nfc east team not the 🦅
    Week 2: @ cheats
    Week 3: jests 2 home
    Week 4 @ bills
    Week 5: giants
    Week 6:
    Week 7: @ eagles
    Week 8:
    Week 9: KC in 🇩🇪
    Week 10:
    Week 11:
    Week 12: @ ny jests
    Week 13:
    Week 14:
    Week 15:
    Week16:
    Week 17: Bills

    So I’m gonna guess weeks 6, 8 and 10 are opponents from nfc east or afc west

    Week 16 is probably pats at home

  14. The Flying Pig says:

    If this is right we are starting with two road games

    • The Flying Pig says:

      • The Flying Pig says:

        Looks like it might be true

    • CavalierKong says:

      I’d love to get our West coast game out of the way right away.

  15. The Flying Pig says:

  16. son of a son of a shula says:

    The last time we started out west Timmons became psychotic.

    • steveccnv says:

      The last time we opened at Chargers I went to the game, mid 80s my high school friends traveled from Miami to attend, we got crushed

      • son of a son of a shula says:

        They won’t be able to handle our speed and we’re going to be in Herberts face
        1-0
        Next

    • CavalierKong says:

      I completely forgot about the Timmons fiasco. If memory serves, that was with Gase as our HC.

  17. steveccnv says:

    Bills at jets week 1, who do you want to win?

    • CavalierKong says:

      We know the Bills are a good team and are going to win games. I’d rather see the Jest be a dumpster fire and us only have to contend with the Bills. I’m rooting for the Bills.

  18. CavalierKong says:

    Dallas has back to back Thursday night games at home

  19. The Flying Pig says:

    I’m hoping jests start off bad and they lose all the steam everyone blew up their ass by October

  20. The Flying Pig says:

    I forgot about Timmons

    Wtf was that

  21. steveccnv says:

    If Gmen are playing 7 of 10 on the road to start the jets are about the opposite, they’ll finish with heavy road games

    • CavalierKong says:

      That’s a good point.

      • CavalierKong says:

        The Jest will likely have 4 out of 7 games on the road from week 11 thru 18 (assuming they’ll also get a bye during that time or it’s 5 out of 8 weeks on the road).

  22. steveccnv says:

    Most likely Seattle is playing on Thanksgiving too and are

    NFL Thanksgiving Games and Schedule
    Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions
    Washington Commanders at Dallas Cowboys
    San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks

  23. CavalierKong says:

    Steelers have two Thursday night games on the road.

    What’s with so many teams having two thursday night games this year? Is this for teams that don’t go to Europe?

  24. son of a son of a shula says:

    Steve, it probably was Detroit last year I just remember one of the Thanksgiving teams playing on Thursday the following week.

    • CavalierKong says:

      Both the Lions and Cowboys played Sunday the week after Thanksgiving. Maybe one of them played another thursday game at some point in the year?

      • son of a son of a shula says:

        Oops ok
        So anyway I feel like some team at some point played two Thursday’s in a row last year lol
        Wtf do I know

      • CavalierKong says:

        I saw a couple of article headlines mentioning the Cowboys have gone back to back on thursdays at least a few times, so it does happen. You’re probably right that it happened last year.

      • CavalierKong says:

        For some team

  25. CavalierKong says:

  26. Rockphin says:

    Tyreek Hill is a freaking cheat code

  27. The Flying Pig says:

    My new wildly guessing prediction

    Week 1: @ chargers
    Week 2: @ cheats
    Week 3: jests
    Week 4 @ bills
    Week 5: giants
    Week 6: Raiders
    Week 7: @ eagles
    Week 8: Panthers
    Week 9: KC in 🇩🇪
    Week 10: BYE
    Week 11: Titans
    Week 12: @ ny jests
    Week 13: @ commanders
    Week 14: broncos
    Week 15: Cowboys
    Week16: @ Baltimore
    Week 17: patriots
    Week 18: Bills

  28. CavalierKong says:

    How many different ways can we fuck fans over?

  29. The Flying Pig says:

    Revised meaningless prediction

    Week 1: @ chargers
    Week 2: @ cheats
    Week 3: jests
    Week 4 @ bills
    Week 5: giants
    Week 6: Raiders
    Week 7: @ eagles
    Week 8: Patriots
    Week 9: KC in 🇩🇪
    Week 10: BYE
    Week 11: Titans
    Week 12: @ ny jests
    Week 13: Broncos
    Week 14: @commanders
    Week 15: Cowboys
    Week16: @ Baltimore
    Week 17: panthers
    Week 18: Bills

  30. Tim Knight says:

    The AFC is going to be war.

  31. naplesfan2010 says:

    LB David Long was the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and a second-team AP All-American as a redshirt junior, starting all 12 games and leading the WV Mountaineers with 111 tackles, 19 for loss, and eight sacks. He also broke up four passes and forced one fumble during the year.

  32. naplesfan2010 says:

    David Long
    Strengths (He ran a 4.45 40 as a LB.)

    Small but compact with good musculation
    Instant recognition of play direction
    Downhill charge is decisive, fast and disruptive
    26 percent of his solo tackles were for losses over last two years
    Plays with plus burst to close
    Doesn’t need to tap brakes to change direction downhill
    Unique talent to defeat wash down blocks with bend and agility
    Shows ability to squeeze through gaps once he’s there
    Above average base strength
    Hunts with success as blitzer
    Yanks and sheds blocks with explosive upper body
    Tracks and swallows quarterbacks once he’s in the pocket

    • son of a son of a shula says:

      “Good musculation “ made me laugh
      Only a nerd football evaluator would create the word lol

      The other day on the radio the girl giving the updated local news instead of saying as the rocket orbits the earth she said erbits orth. It was beautiful.

  33. naplesfan2010 says:

    David Long
    Overview
    Ultra-productive but undersized, teams will have to decipher how much of his production is translatable and how much came from his brazen, downhill approach. Long plays with a “scared money don’t make money” approach that hit jackpots but pulled him out of position more than NFL coaches will be comfortable with, but teams would rather dial back aggression than try and coach it up. He plays with some twitch, but his lack of size and strength could push him into a role as a backup 4-3 WILL with eventual starter potential in the right scheme.

  34. naplesfan2010 says:

    WOW
    “Personally, I would rather have David Long over Devin Bush for a round or two discount. They have about the same size but Long is more productive and maybe less prone to injury.” — NFC executive

  35. CavalierKong says:

    Here it is:

    • CavalierKong says:

      Week 1- @ L.A. Chargers
      Week 2- @ New England (SNF)
      Week 3- Denver
      Week 4- @ Buffalo
      Week 5- N.Y. Giants
      Week 6- Carolina
      Week 7- @ Philadelphia (SNF)
      Week 8- New England
      Week 9- @ Kansas City (Germany)
      Week 10- BYE
      Week 11- Las Vegas
      Week 12- @ N.Y. Jets (Black Friday)
      Week 13- @ Washington
      Week 14- Tennessee (MNF)
      Week 15- N.Y. Jets
      Week 16- Dallas
      Week 17- @ Baltimore
      Week 18- Buffalo

  36. son of a son of a shula says:

    NFLNetwork sucking stej dick
    We’ll see

  37. son of a son of a shula says:

    Week 15 they come in
    ☃️

  38. naplesfan2010 says:

    Very tough group of teams to play though.

  39. Ken says:

    October 15 Panthers and October 29 Patriots would be good fest games

  40. Brian in NY says:

    Travel wise, we couldn’t have asked for a better schedule. We travel to LA week 1, have to go to Germany but then have our bye, and the rest of the games are in the NE or Mid- Atlantic

  41. son of a son of a shula says:

    Black (and blue) Friday

  42. manitobafinfan says:

    Wow called us 9-8 getting swept by both Bills and Jets

  43. steveccnv says:

    Is the Black Friday game our Thursday game?

  44. steveccnv says:

    Counting Germany only 1 out of 4 special games at home, not too bad since we don’t have to play in KC

  45. steveccnv says:

    Chargers game, with no game the week before makes it easier travel

  46. steveccnv says:

    Will check for advantage/disadvantage games after ESPN posts all the schedules

    Nothing sticks out so far, except I’d rather be playing better teams coming off of bye/minnie bye

  47. Rhino says:

    1. Only one rough travel glitch I can see, and that’s week 2 at Pats after road trip to West Coast. Good news is that it’s the first two weeks of the season when team is fresh.

    2. Although start of season is “road heavy” it includes Pats and Bills (good chance we avoid snow during regular season.

    3. Countering the road heavy first month, 4 of last 5 games are at HOME.

    4. NO Thursday games!!!! woo hoo.

    First reaction is that this is the friendliest schedule we’ve had in many years.

  48. The Flying Pig says:

    Looking at the teams we play – it’s a tough schedule

    But it’s basically no cold weather games

    Baltimore might be chilly on New Year’s Eve but
    Germany actually might be the coldest game we play

  49. son of a son of a shula says:

    9-8 and full of shit
    Embarrassing for whoever, key word being who, the hell thst was. Poor take you made an absolute fool out of yourself

  50. CavalierKong says:

    Now it’s just fingers crossed we don’t have 4 or 5 teams coming off byes or long weeks.

  51. mf13ss says:

    Lots of travel for us this season…

    • mf13ss says:

      We’re very lucky on the time zones, though.

    • son of a son of a shula says:

      Wow it didn’t seem like so much but Germany is a huge chunk on its own with the bye after it.

    • CavalierKong says:

      The majority of that is because we’re traveling to Germany. Take that out of the equation and we really don’t travel far other than our opener on the west coast.

      • mf13ss says:

        Yup, like I said, look at our time zones… not too shabby!

      • CavalierKong says:

        Time zones is an interesting way to calculate it.

        It must suck to play in Seattle. They must be near the top in both distance and time zones every year.

    • steveccnv says:

      We travel under 12k miles, after taking out LA and Frankfurt, so no big deal

      We should have a no excuse team this year

  52. CavalierKong says:

    The Commanders get a long week against us after playing the Cowboys on Thanksgiving.

    AND THAT IS IT!

    We don’t play a single team coming off a bye, and only one team gets a long week after playing Thursday.

    Easily the best schedule we’ve had in a long time.

    • steveccnv says:

      The way it should be, when you play in Germany

      • CavalierKong says:

        Yep, and even that worked out in our favor.

        When I look at the teams we play this year, the game I’d have picked to be in Germany would have been the road game against the Chiefs.

  53. sb7mvp says:

    I’m tired of playing Baltimore every year.

  54. naplesfan2010 says:

    Who called 9-8?

  55. mf13ss says:

    CavalierKong says:
    May 11, 2023 at 9:24 pm
    Time zones is an interesting way to calculate it.

    It must suck to play in Seattle. They must be near the top in both distance and time zones every year.
    ————
    Indeed! Now imagine if Goodell gets his wish to have an NFL team based in London… LOL! 😀

    Time zones, travel time, jet lag, $$$ in travel expenses, etc…

    • mf13ss says:

      It’s just not fiscally responsible, the logistics are damn near impossible to get past, and the players may want NOTHING to do with playing in a foreign country.

    • CavalierKong says:

      Yeah, would be tough to make that work. The London team would have to play like 4 road games in a row twice a season to make that work.

  56. CavalierKong says:

    Wow, looking at ticket prices for games…they are as low as $70 for some games, $282 for SNF in NE, then there is Frankfurt…as low as $586, lol.

  57. The Flying Pig says:

    I have a feeling that week 18 game might be a prime time game too

    The nfl plans to schedule a double header on MNF in week 18

  58. CavalierKong says:

    I am so freaking excited for the season. The next few months are going to be rough, lol.

  59. The Flying Pig says:

    3-14

  60. CavalierKong says:

    Oh wow, Summer just pointed this out to me.

    I had said we only have one game where the team is coming off a Thursday game and gets a long week, the Commanders after they play Thanksgiving. But we play the Jest that Friday, so they only get one day more than us.

    So we really have no scheduling disadvantages at all.

  61. Brian in NY says:

    I could see us finishing with anywhere from 9-12 wins . We have a tough schedule.

  62. Tim Knight says:

    It’s hard not to have a tough schedule being in the AFC and playing the NFC East which is on the rise.

  63. randydolfan1947 says:

    The CAROLINA HURRICANES have just defeated the NEW JERSEY DEVILS 3-2 in overtime to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals where their likely opponent will be the Florida Panthers, who lead the Maple Leafs 3 games to 1 in their playoff match-up.

    Tonight’s game is the 7th consecutive Stanley Cup overtime victory for the Hurricanes ! –They’ll likely be favored over the Panthers when their upcoming series begins.

    Once, again, the Eastern Conference Finals figures to be an all southern contest.

  64. son of a son of a shula says:

    Every time they go through a teams schedule and they go game by game they go ha ha ha Miami that’s a win. We’ll see mother fuckers, all talking shit. We’ll see. Punks.

  65. Tim Knight says:

    I don’t see one AFC team having 13 wins or more this year. I think 12 and 11 wins will be at the top and 10 and 9 wins will be the last three.

  66. twicethethe says:

    I added the 2023 schedule to the sidebar and also added a new poll for the 2023 Fest – using the three most likely dates. If others feel more games to choose from should be added to the poll, let me know and I’ll add them.

  67. twicethethe says:

    Also – I agree with many that the schedule is about as friendly as one could hope for. Playing a game in Europe is always tough for a team, but at least it’s not a home game being given up which is what I was conditioned to expect after years of scheduling smack downs.

  68. Krishna says:

    I think I voted for the 8th but the results don’t show by date…hmmm….2 and 2 and 1 with no dates

  69. Krishna says:

    I “love” playing at home last 4 of 5 games with Ravens in same time zone.

  70. ukfinfan says:

    Atlanta Florida Dolphins vs the Titans in Prime Time.

    Funny

  71. Krishna says:

    Time zones have far greater impact on body than distance for football travel, imo. Up and down the coast is nothing like going east to west or vice versa

  72. ukfinfan says:

    So, for me personally, the schedule is only OK at best. Three night games = 3 matchsticks under the eyelids til between 4 and 5am. Black Friday and Germany are only good timing-wise. Wish the Germany game was London. The trip to Germany would be about $500 before food and ticket, not to mention beer, but it’s a lottery whether or not I even get a ticket, and as last year’s games were so popular and the Chiefs have a big following there, I’ve decided to give it a miss. It will be a 2:30pm k.o. for me so I’ll take that – quite the novelty (6:30am for WCers is rough though). Only 2 late games = 9:30 UK time kick off so far, but one falls on Xmas eve going into Xmas morning – that’s going to go down like a sh!t sandwich, since none of Bernie’s fam are at all interested in the NFL. And NY eve is 6-9pm, so I have to sell a “buffet experience” at home to Bern, with lots of tasty morsels and fine wines on offer. The schedule could have been kinder, but could have been worse too I spose.

  73. steveccnv says:

    Wk5 NYG plays Monday week before

    Wk11 LV off our bye

    Wk15 NYJ we’re coming off of Monday game, but game is at home

    Week 17 Bal they play @SF Monday week16

    Don’t see any FU games, like in years past, see several games where our opponent has a tough game the week before

    Hardest scheduling game might be at Phil Sunday Night

  74. steveccnv says:

    I don’t get the timing of this article

    https://www.foxnews.com/sports/2023-nfl-schedule-release-5-teams-easiest-docket

    It’s been known for months who everyone is playing, why not write an article about which teams got the most favorable schedules?

    I think we’d be in that article

    These 5 teams are from the South divisions, they both sucked last year and play each other this year AFC South vs NFC South, and why they have easiest schedules

  75. Mike E. says:

    NEW BLOG UP!!

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