Pro Football Focus released a 2025 NFL mock draft on Monday, projecting all seven rounds in this week’s NFL Draft. They brought together 32 of their analysts, each acting as one of the teams in the league, to make every pick and consider every trade proposal made. For the Miami Dolphins, Ryan Smith handled the front office moves.
And he was busy. He made a couple of trades, sending away a start player while moving up in the third round to acquire a quarterback. . He also started the projection with a surprise pick for the Dolphins. Could Miami go pure best player available in the first round, rather than trying to fill a roster need?
Here is a look at all of the picks made by Smith for the Dolphins, along with some analysis on his picks (posted in italics). What do you think of his selections? Check them out below and head to the comments to let us know your thoughts.
First Round (Pick 13)
Ashton Jeanty, running back, Boise State
Miami goes “best player available” and lands a top-five prospect. The team has more pressing needs, but it’s hard to argue against drafting one of the top running back prospects of the past decade. Jeanty broke an incredible 325 tackles in three years at Boise State. He will fuel a culture change and allow De’Von Achane to work more as a receiver.
For a Dolphins team with so many roster needs, this feels like a luxury pick but one they may have to make if the draft falls like this. Other options here could have been Texas tackle Kelvin Banks, Michigan defensive tackle Kenneth Grant, or Georgia safety Malaki Starks, but if the Dolphins were to stumble into Jeanty, they may have to go BPA with the selection. As Smith said, adding Jeanty to the backfield could allow the team to move Achane out as a receiver, allowing the team to create mismatches with multiple looks and alignments.
Second Round (Pick 48)
Donovan Jackson, tackle, Ohio State
Donovan Jackson finished 2024 at left tackle but would slot in as a Day 1 starter at left guard for the Dolphins. He’s a natural fit for Mike McDaniel’s outside-zone scheme and offers valuable versatility — with the ability to step in at tackle if second-year starter Patrick Paul falters. Over the past three seasons, Jackson allowed one or fewer pressures in a game 29 times.
After using the first pick on a luxury, Smith comes back to start working on the Dolphins’ needs. Adding a guard who could move outside to tackle if needed is a great move here for Miami. He was recruited as the top high school guard in the country coming into Ohio State and he primarily played guard throughout his college career. He moved out to left tackle this past season as an injury replacement and he was fine, but he is a guard who would immediately secure the interior of the line.
Round 3 (Pick 71 – via multiple trades)
Trades:
Jaxson Dart, quarterback, Ole Miss
The Dolphins land Dart – a potential franchise QB who could go early in the draft – here in the third round. He led all of FBS in deep passing yards (1,517) and was tied for sixth in big-time throw percentage (7.1%) last season at Ole Miss.
First, I would hope the Dolphins could get more out of a trade of wide receiver Tyreek Hill than just the 79th overall pick, but we will see if a deal does happen.
Second, for the team to trade away Hill, then use that pick and another to move up to grab a quarterback must mean they really like Dart in this scenario. The move would appear to give the team a developmental quarterback for behind Tua Tagovailoa, with the potential to push for the starting role in a couple of years. Dart was compared to Gardner Minshew by NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, who also says there are similarities between Dart and Brock Purdy, with Dart needing a ball-control passing attack that he can manage – which might be exactly why the Dolphins made this move in this projection. I do think Miami is in the market for a quarterback this year, but I do not know if all of the wheeling and dealing needed to land Dart here is the best use of assets for the Dolphins.
Round 3 (Pick 98 – Compensatory)
Joshua Farmer, defensive tackle, Florida State
Farmer adds some much-needed interior defensive line depth for a team that doesn’t have much behind Zach Sieler following Calais Campbell‘s departure. He was a productive player at Florida State, generating 46 pressures and 13 sacks over the past two seasons.
Miami’s biggest needs coming into this draft are offensive line, defensive tackle, cornerback, and safety. With this pick (and the earlier Jackson selection), Smith starts a run on filling those needs. Farmer is not a nose tackle, but he should be able to rotate into the lineup to play as a 3-4 defensive end, exactly where the Dolphins have a need. Not sure he can be counted on to be a starter right away, but Miami needs depth.
Round 4 (Pick 116)
Billy Bowman, Jr., safety, Oklahoma
Bowman is an interesting prospect. He has experience as a safety, cornerback, and even linebacker, despite being an undersized prospect. He has received comparisons to Tyrann Mathieu, and he is a ball-hawk when given the chance to roam. He can absolutely fly all over the field. The last time the Dolphins drafted a safety who they could move all over the field, it was Minkah Fitzpatrick, who is three inches taller and 15 pounds heavier. This might be a move Miami needs to make to shore up the back end of the defense – especially with the likelihood cornerback (and potential future safety) Jalen Ramsey is traded.
Round 4 (Pick 135)
Quincy Riley, cornerback, Louisville
Waiting this long into the draft to select a cornerback means Miami is likely not landing a day-one starter at this position, despite likely needing two day-one starters. Riley is likely a rotational player early in his career and will probably need deliberate coaching to become anything more than that. He will turn 24 before training camp, making him already an older prospect. He has good speed when making a break on a ball, but he can get beat by faster wide receivers, and he is not quick to recover. This is not a bad pick for the Dolphins for a depth cornerback, but they would have to add someone in free agency or hope Kader Kohou, Ashtyn Davis, Storm Duck, and Cam Smith are ready to step up into major roles (and/or they can reconcile with Jalen Ramsey) for their Week 1 starter role.
Round 5 (Pick 155 – from Denver Broncos)
Mitchell Evans, tight end, Notre Dame
Assuming Jonnu Smith continues as the starting tight end, providing the Dolphins with a pass catching option at the position, Evans could slot in as the second option in the position group, providing a solid all-around tight end who can block or serve as a possession/emergency option on routes. If Miami were to select a tight end here, it probably would be a bad sign for Julian Hill’s roster spot while free agent addition Pharaoh Brown can be the team’s primary blocking tight end. This would be a solid pick up for Miami.
Round 7 (Pick 224 – from Chicago Bears)
Cam Horsley, defensive tackle, Boston College
The Dolphins need depth on the defensive line, and that is what the addition of Horsley would bring them. Ideally, Miami would look for a nose tackle, but Horsley is probably more of a 3-4 defensive end or 4-3 defensive tackle than a true nose option. He is a depth option that could improve with coaching.
Round 7 (Pick 231)
Traeshon Holden, wide receiver, Oregon
A bigger target for Miami’s offense is always a good thing, and Holden would bring that. He is not a burner, but the Dolphins have plenty of those. Holden makes his money by being a zone-beater, which could be the perfect hit for Miami, with Waddle taking the top off the defense and Smith working underneath, leaving mid-level space for a bigger bodied receiver. He also would give the Dolphins a big target in the red zone.
Round 7 (Pick 253 – Compensatory)
Ethan Downs, edge, Oklahoma
Strong. Downs recorded the second-most repetitions on the bench press at the scouting combine this year, missing the top spot of 33 by one rep. He is probably destined to be a rotational pass rusher as an outside linebacker, making him a great fit for the Dolphins’ defensive scheme and needs. He uses his reaction time to gain an advantage in his rush, but needs to continue to develop additional moves to greater success.
