SB Nation NFL Mock Draft: Dolphins see top edge rusher fall into their lap

In a first round full of chaos, the Miami Dolphins sat still and waited to make the 21st overall pick. It proved to be a perfect strategy.

The annual SB Nation NFL team site 2024 NFL Mock Draft is well underway, with the first 20 picks completed and the Miami Dolphins now on the clock. The first round started exactly where we all expect the actual 2024 NFL Draft to begin, with Windy City Gridiron projecting the Chicago Bears to use the first pick on quarterback Caleb Williams.

The chaos of the first round began with the third pick, where Daily Norseman worked out a trade with Revenge of the Birds to have the Minnesota Vikings leap up to the Arizona Cardinals’ fourth-overall pick; Minnesota completed a run of four straight quarterbacks selected to open the selection process. The Cardinals were not content with adding the 11th and 23rd pick in this year’s draft, along with a 2025 first-round pick, instead immediately flipping the 11th overall pick and the 35th pick to the Los Angeles Chargers for the fifth-overall selection; Arizona selected the first non-quarterback in wide receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr.

Continuing through the first 20 picks, the Los Angeles Rams traded with the Atlanta Falcons for the eighth pick, and the Las Vegas Raiders moved up to the Chicago Bears’ ninth overall spot.

You can check out all the picks made below, leading to the Dolphins coming up on the clock with the 21st pick.

1. Chicago Bears (via CAR) – Caleb Williams, quarterback USC
2. Washington Commanders – Drake Maye, quarterback, North Carolina
3. New England Patriots – Jayden Daniels, quarterback, LSU
4. Minnesota Vikings (projected trade from Arizona Cardinals) – JJ McCarthy, quarterback, Michigan
5. Arizona Cardinals (projected trade from Los Angeles Chargers) – Marvin Harrison, Jr., wide receiver, Ohio State
6. New York Giants – Rome Odunze, wide receiver, Washington
7. Tennessee Titans – Malik Nabers, wide receiver, LSU
8. Los Angeles Rams (projected trade from Atlanta Falcons) – Joe Alt, tackle, Notre Dame
9. Las Vegas Raiders (projected trade from Chicago Bears) – Michael Penix, Jr., quarterback, Washington
10. New York Jets – Taliese Fuaga, tackle, Oregon State
11. Los Angeles Chargers (projected trade from Minnesota Vikings to Arizona Cardinals to Chargers) – J.C. Latham, tackle, Alabama
12. Denver Broncos – Bo Nix, quarterback, Oregon
13. Chicago Bears (projected trade from Las Vegas Raiders) – Dallas Turner, edge, Alabama
14. New Orleans Saints – Troy Fautanu, tackle, Washington
15. Indianapolis Colts – Brock Bowers, tight end, Georgia
16. Seattle Seahawks – Jer’Zhan Newton, defensive tackle, Illinois
17. Jacksonville Jaguars – Terrion Arnold, cornerback, Alabama
18. Cincinnati Bengals – Byron Murphy II, defensive tackle, Texas
19. Atlanta Falcons (projected trade from Los Angeles Rams) – Laiatu Latu, edge, UCLA
20. Pittsburgh Steelers – Olu Fashanu, tackle, Penn State

Acting as the Dolphins general manager, I was hoping either Newton or Murphy would fall to me, but both came off the board in the five picks before my clock started. However, I still had several options on the board following the Steelers’ selection of Fashanu, and could have gone multiple ways with the pick.

The Dolphins could use offensive line help, with plenty of options still on the board. Tackle Amarius Mims from Georgia, center Jackson Powers-Johnson from Oregon, tackle Tyler Guyton from Oklahoma, and center/guard Graham Barton from Duke all could make sense with this pick for Miami. As could secondary help where cornerbacks Cooper DeJean from Iowa, Quinyon Mitchell from Toledo, Nate Wiggins from Clemson, and Ennis Rakestraw from Missouri are all really strong candidates for the 21st pick.

Other considered players include LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas, Texas wide receiver Adonai Mitchell, Texas A&M linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, and Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy. A case could be made for the Dolphins adding any of them and they all could likely contribute immediately.

However, one name immediately jumped out as still being available. When your best player available happens to be at a position of need, you run to the stage with the draft card in hand, ready to turn it in immediately. That is exactly what happened in this mock draft.

With the 21st overall pick in the SB Nation 2024 Mock Draft, the Miami Dolphins selected Jared Verse, edge rusher, Florida State.

Miami enters the preseason training program with question marks at their outside linebacker positions. Starters Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb are both working their way back from major injuries sustained last season. Linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel left in free agency and the team released linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah. Even with the addition of Shaq Barrett in free agency, Miami has to find pass rushers who can start the season if Phillips or Chubb cannot and who can serve as rotational players once both starters are healthy. Verse immediately fills that role.

With Chop Robinson, edge rusher from Penn State, still available as well, the Dolphins seem to be in a perfect position to fill a need with a top prospect. In this case, best player available and need matched perfectly and the Dolphins land Verse to create a monster of a defense, especially once Chubb and Phillips are back to full speed.

DraftKings Sportsbook’s odds suggest there’s a better chance the Dolphins will snag an offensive lineman in the first round (-175), but edge rusher has the next-best odds (+200).

What do you think of my selection? Was Verse the right choice or would you have looked at Robinson – or even another player at this spot? Let us know in the comments.