MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Miami Dolphins concluded their third and final day of the NFL Draft by picking up a pair of offensive players from Group of Five schools.
Miami didn't make a pick until the seventh round Saturday after trading away its fifth-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a fourth-round pick in next year's draft.
"So Pittsburgh called and they offered a fourth next year and, for us, with where we were at the point in the draft and our board, we thought the opportunity to acquire a fourth-round pick next year was too good to pass up," Dolphins general manager Chris Grier told reporters after the draft. "That was just really the genesis -- looking at our board and where we were in terms of our picks thus far and the roster. That's just kind of where we decided the fourth-round pick was really good value for us at that point."
Instead, the Dolphins waited until the seventh and final round to acquire Massachusetts offensive tackle Larnel Coleman and Cincinnati running back Gerrid Doaks.
Although the Minutemen only played four games during the 2020 season because of coronavirus, Coleman started all four of them, just as he started every game the two seasons prior.
The 6-foot-6, 315-pound Massachusetts native was also a high school basketball player who helped lead his team to a state championship.
"For me, I think defensive basketball is the same thing as playing offensive line or at least playing tackle, I would say," Coleman said. "I feel like a lot of that athleticism is definitely going to translate to the field, and it has been, I think."
Doaks was a first-team All-American Athletic Conference running back last season at Cincinnati.
He carried the ball 144 times for 673 yards and seven touchdowns, along with 14 receptions for 2020 yards and another two scores, in 2020.
Doaks, who missed the 2018 season with an injury, said he wasn't discouraged by the long wait to hear his name called.
"When it comes to this process, it's all about patience," he said. "You've just got to take it step-by-step and I'm very grateful that Miami is the place I'm at now."
The Dolphins ended up with a total of seven new players at the conclusion of the draft, including two first-round picks. Miami also added three players Friday night -- two in the second round and one in the third.
"I think we like the guys that we added this weekend, but I'll say this -- and hopefully the rookies get ahold of this and are listening -- these guys have a long way to go," Miami head coach Brian Flores said. "They've never played in an NFL game. They've never stepped foot in an NFL meeting or a walkthrough or anything. So to put – I wouldn't call it pressure, but to sit here and -- they've got a long way to go. So it's our jobs as coaches to help these guys get acclimated, learn the system, learn the terminology, learn how we practice, learn how we walkthrough, how to become a professional."
