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Explaining the Dolphins Pick in the On SI Mock Draft

The Miami Dolphins have the 13th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft

Alain Poupart

Jaylen Waddle (Alabama) walks on stage after being selected by Miami Dolphins as the number six overall pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft at First Energy Stadium.
Jaylen Waddle (Alabama) walks on stage after being selected by Miami Dolphins as the number six overall pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft at First Energy Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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In the first of what figures to be several mock drafts before the actual event kicks off on the night of April 24, On SI network publishers predicted the first-round pick for the team they cover.

The Miami Dolphins have the 13th overall selection in the mock, which did not allow for trades, and we ended up selecting University of Texas offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr. at that spot.

The first 12 picks in the mock draft — and therefore unavailable to be selected — were QB Shedeur Sanders to Tennessee, DT Mason Graham to Cleveland, QB Cam Ward to the New York Giants, CB/WR Travis Hunter to New England, OLB Abdul Carter to Jacksonville, RB Ashton Jeanty to Las Vegas, WR Tetairoa McMillan to the New York Jets, S Malaki Starks to Carolina, CB Will Johnson to New Orleans, T Will Campbell to Chicago, DE James Pearce Jr. to Tennessee, and WR Luther Burden III to Dallas.

Starks, Burden and Johnson have been projected to the Dolphins in other national mock drafts, but it's Johnson who stands out as the one player we see at the best fit given the team's needs — should he be available at 13.

But because he wasn't, we went with Banks to help with the mission of fortifying the offensive line, a group that has come under a ton of scrutiny since the end of last season, a group that GM Chris Grier said needed to be addressed in the offseason.

This was our analysis of the Dolphins pick at 13: "The Dolphins have several directions they could go with this pick because there are needs at almost every position, and trading down also would make sense. Banks’s ability to play guard adds to his value, and addressing the offensive line might be at the absolute top of the priority list."

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Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of Miami Dolphins On SI and host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press and the Dolphins team website. In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books, such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.

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