The Miami Dolphins entered day two of the 2025 NFL Draft with two selections to make, however, they only left with one new prospect. The team made a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders that sent away the 48th, 98th, and 135th pick to move up 11 spots and select Arizona guard Jonah Savaiinaea.
Though the team heads into day three with a lot of needs to address, the player has received an overwhelming amount of praise following the selection.
“I loved the Dolphins’ move up for Savaiinaea; Miami needed to add a physical presence up front,” wrote NFL.com’s Chad Reuter who rated the pick an A-. “Although Savaiinaea started at both guard and tackle at various points during his three-year college career, expect him to play primarily inside at the next level.”
CBS Sports’ Chris Trepasso had an identical grade on the six-foot-four 320 pounder.
“Another pick in the trenches for the Dolphins,” wrote Trepasso. “New philosophy. Smart. Collegiate OT who’s probably a OG in the NFL. Just enough athleticism to hold up against athletic rushers. Wins with power and length. High floor. Love this pick for Dolphins and not an overpayment on draft pick trade chart.”
Dolphins GM Expects Savaiinaea To Start Immediately
Usually general managers are careful with their words, not using overly committing language. That was not the case Friday night when Miami’s GM Chris Grier was asked about his teams newest player.
“This was a player that we were convicted in that was going to be a starter for us,” Grier said on the teams official website. “He’ll play guard for us. He understands that. We’ve talked to him about it. We’re excited about it.”
With the expectation of being a starting guard in place, his experience at tackle is nothing but a bonus for the promising prospect.
“When we’ve had injuries, the ability for guys to go out and play tackle or move around in this league is paramount,” Grier said. “You see it all the time. And so to have someone as big as him and as athletic as he is, being able to play four spots for us is key. But he’s excited for the opportunity to come here at guard and compete for the starting job.”
Even head coach Mike McDaniel had to get in on the action after landing the ‘heavy-handed tough guy’.
“It was important to have a tonality set for the 2025 Dolphins and adding a real presence up front and just a player that is going to attack it and try to play to the tonality that we aspire to,” McDaniel said.
What Could’ve Been
If the Dolphins sat tight at 48, they could have potentially landed Minnesota tackle Aireontae Ersery. Ersery was selected by the Texans after trading for the pick that the Dolphins gave to the Raiders.
At 98, the team would’ve had a shot at either Billy Bowman Jr., or Malachi Moore. Two SEC safeties who were selected at 118 and 130 respectively.
Finally, at 135 the team would’ve been looking at Shedeur Sanders, Bradyn Swinson, or Marcus Mbow. A quarterback, edge rusher, and offensive guard that were all ranked inside ESPN’s top 100 and selected after the pick.
