The Miami Dolphins’ turned some heads on Thursday night when they kicked off the 2025 NFL Draft by selecting Michigan’s Kenneth Grant with the 13th overall pick. Grant was a consensus first rounder but may believed 13 might have been early for the big defensive lineman.
ESPN’s Steve Muench defended the pick alongside his co-host Todd McShay on The McShay Show.
“He was my fourth defensive tackle and the 27th best player on my board… and he ended up going 13,” Muench began. “But here’s why i think it could go well. The defensive coordinator there is Anthony Weaver.”
Muench then began highlighting the career of Anthony Weaver, who was a defensive end drafted to the NFL out of Notre Dame. He spent seven seasons playing in the NFL and will be entering his thirteenth season as a coach.
“If you’re looking for a coordinator who can develop a young talented defensive lineman, you’re going to be hard pressed to find a guy better at it than Anthony Weaver,” Muench boasted.
How Grant Might Be Utilized
Kenneth Grant’s selling point coming out of Michigan was his unusual combination of size and speed. Standing at six-foot-four weighing more than 330 pounds, Jim Harbaugh told a story about his ‘freakish’ athleticism claiming the lineman ran a sub five second forty while he was playing for him at Michigan.
It is because of his size that Muench believes the average person may be wrongfully penciling him into an interior defensive line position.
“People might look at Grant’s size and say he’s a nose tackle,” said Muench. “Well, they took two other guys later in this draft that I think are nose tackles. I think Kenneth Grant’s going to play outside.”
Muench highlights the versatility an multiplicity of Weaver’s defensive line, stating that he doubts Grant will play any one position, but that he ultimately believes the first rounder will adopt a defensive end role.
“I think he’s going to be a defensive end in their base three man fronts,” Muench predicted. “And then he’s going to be a defensive tackle in their four man fronts.”
He then goes on to explain that when he says ‘outside’ he does not mean an edge rusher.
“Tackle to tackle. When I’m saying outside defensive lineman… that’s a 4i technique. Which means that he lines up on the inside shoulder of an offensive tackle. He’s going to live in these two spots, he’s going to live on the outside shoulder of the guard and the inside shoulder of the tackle.”
Muench Predicts Productivity From Grant
Muench believes there’s a reason Grant was selected this high, and that is because he is going to produce at a high level in this specific role.
“You think 340 pounds, ‘this guys just going to play over the center and be that old school Vince Wifork nose tackle’. That’s not really his game,” Muench continued his rant. “I think he’s a little better at getting off blocks, being athletic, being quick, getting into the backfield.”
He acknowledges that there was other great defensive line talent on the board, but concludes by saying that Miami is a ‘great landing spot’ for Grant and that he trusts the Dolphins’ scheme and coordinator to get the most out of him.
