The Miami Dolphins, who were scheduled to pick 11 times in the 2025 NFL Draft, have been docked a draft pick after the NFL revisited a compensatory pick awarded to the team earlier this month.
“The NFL giveth and the NFL taketh away,” SI’s Alain Poupart wrote on March 14. “That’s one way to look at the league announcement Friday that the Miami Dolphins indeed would get three compensatory picks in the 2025 NFL draft, not four as announced earlier in the week.”
The 2025 compensatory pick was awarded to the Phins upon news that receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. would be joining the New Orleans Saints. However, a mistake was made by the NFL in the contract examination of the receiver, who tallied 211 yards and one touchdown in the 2024-2025 season.
In the same article, Alain Poupart explains that Cedrick Wilson Jr. reworked his contract with Miami back in 2023 and was operating on a “void year” this past season. A void year is a contract tool that allows one year’s pay to be spread over two seasons and is reserved for players who are not guaranteed to play.
Due to NFL rules, this means that Cedrick Wilson was technically released by the Dolphins in 2024. This contradicted the previous belief that Wilson was an unrestricted free agent last offseason, making the team ineligible for draft compensation on his behalf.
What Does This Mean for Miami’s Upcoming Draft?
The pick that the NFL has now stripped from the Dolphins and awarded to the Saints was the 256th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.; landing one pick before the Chiefs are set to select “Mr. Irrelevant”.
The Dolphins previously held a league maximum four compensatory picks; one in the third round after losing Robert Hunt, an offensive guard who joined the Carolina Panthers, one at the end of the fourth round in response to star defensive tackle Christian Wilkins being acquired by the Las Vegas Raiders, and the first of what was two seventh round compensatory picks after the departure of DeShon Elliott, a safety who joined the Pittsburgh Steelers.
With the revisiting of the Cedrick Wilson Jr’s. contract finalized, the Dolphins will now control ten picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. This includes three picks in the top 100.
A Look Around the AFC East
The Buffalo Bills were the only other team in the division to be awarded any compensatory picks in the upcoming draft, of which they claimed two. Both Bills picks are slated at the end of the fifth round. The picks were awarded after the departure of wide receiver Gabe Davis and linebacker Leonard Floyd in the previous year.
The New York Jets and New England Patriots were among 16 NFL teams who received no draft compensation.
The rich get richer in the AFC East as the top two teams in the division from the 2024-2025 season pick up a total of five extra picks prior to the NFL Draft; set to start on Thursday, April 24th.
