The Miami Dolphins mortgaged a future third-round pick to draft Jaylen Wright in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Miami Dolphins entered the 2024 NFL Draft without a pick in the third and fourth rounds but cashed in their 2025 third-round pick to draft Tennessee tailback Jaylen Wright. The fifth running back taken, Wright averaged 7.4 yards per carry while rushing for 1,013 yards last season.
“We had Jaylen in on a 30-visit here and enjoyed spending time with him here,” Grier said following the draft. “We spent a lot of time getting to know him and obviously his explosiveness on the field and what he does as a running back. His toughness again, he’s another guy that when Mike (McDaniel) started really watching him, he was excited for, as well as our scouts identifying him.”
Raheem Mostert led the NFL with 18 rushing touchdowns last season and rookie De’Von Achane finished his rookie season with 800 rushing yards on just 103 carries. Jeff Wilson Jr., Salvon Ahmed, and Chris Brooks are also under contract for 2024, making the addition of Wright somewhat of a surprise.
“Everything is about competition,” Grier said. “It’s a good group of guys and they understand that. So for us to add a good football player that we really liked and valued there on the board, it was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up.”
Miami traded next season’s third-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for pick No. 120. That said, the Dolphins are also projected to receive two picks at the end of the third round next year due to Christian Wilkins and Robert Hunt signing monster contracts elsewhere.
If all goes according to plan, Wright hits the ground running in his sophomore season with a year of experience under his belt — and Miami’s compensatory picks land just a few spots behind the pick sent to Philadelphia.
“You can’t use the compensatory picks until this time next year,” Grier explained. “So, the ones we anticipate were all protected. But it gave us some flexibility to move around.”
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