Dolphins Need to Start Nailing Their Drafts

The circumstances might not be ideal for it, but the Miami Dolphins really need to focus on a draft-and-develop philosophy moving forward because the “F them picks” approach clearly hasn’t provided the desired results.

And that already wasn’t clear, it only was reinforced by the NFC and AFC title games.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles are headed for a second Super Bowl matchup in three years, both teams built mostly around their homegrown talent rather than bringing in high-priced veterans from other teams.

Of course, this is where somebody would point out — and rightfully — that the Eagles’ best player right now probably is free agent acquisition Saquon Barkley with fellow free agent pick-up A.J. Brown not far behind.

But 14 of the Eagles starters for their 55-23 victory against the Washington Commanders on Sunday were homegrown products, most of them the result of some astute drafting.

That included the team’s top two picks in 2024, starting cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. It also included the team’s top two picks in 2023, the top pick in 2022 (with the next two also starters but injured) and the top two picks in 2021.

The Chiefs’ starting lineup for their 32-29 victory against the Buffalo Bills featured 15 homegrown players, though every discussion about Kansas City has to start and end with Patrick Mahomes, who continues to deliver on the big stage like no quarterback before him — and, yes, that might even include Tom Brady.

But Mahomes isn’t doing it by himself, with the Chiefs building depth on an annual basis by hitting on draft picks who allow them to overcome the loss of veterans who wind up leaving when they become too expensive, as happened with cornerback L’Jarius Sneed last offseason and three offseasons when they sent Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins to satisfy his desire for a new contract.

The Chiefs have hit on their fair share of draft picks and absolutely nailed their draft in 2022 when they had 10 selection after the Hill trade to Miami.

That draft for Kansas City produced five players who started Sunday — running back Isaiah Pacheco, defensive end George Karlaftis, and defensive backs Trent McDuffie, Bryan Cook and Nazeeh Johnson.