The Dolphins' Drafts of the Last 10 Years: 2013

The Dion Jordan fiasco was the biggest story of the Miami Dolphins draft of 10 years ago

Leading up to the 2023 NFL draft, we're taking a look at each of the Miami Dolphins' past 10 drafts with an analysis of how each pick panned out, a grade for all those picks, players the team missed, and an overall grade for the draft class.

The grades will be determined on the basis of how the player's NFL career turned out, not how each did with the Dolphins. Picks also are curved on a grade, where more was expected of a first-round pick than, say, a fourth-round pick.

We start with the 2013 draft.

THE 2013 DOLPHINS DRAFT PICKS

Round 1 — DE Dion Jordan, Oregon (3rd overall)

Round 2 — CB Jamar Taylor, Boise State (54th)

Round 3 — T Dallas Thomas, Tennessee (77th)

Round 3 — CB Will Davis, Utah State (93)

Round 4 — LB Jelani Jenkins, Florida (104)

Round 4 — TE Dion Sims, Michigan State (106)

Round 5 — RB Mike Gillislee, Florida (164)

Round 5 — K Caleb Sturgis, Florida (166)

Round 7 — DB Don Jones, Arkansas State (250)

BREAKING DOWN EACH PICK

-- Dion Jordan: We don't really need to spend a lot of time on this one, do we? We can start by pointing out the Dolphins got tremendous value when they were able to move from 12th to third in the first round by merely giving the Raiders a second-round pick. But Jordan was a bad fit in terms of scheme, which was nothing compared to all the off-the-field issues that got him suspended three times while he was with the Dolphins. Who the Dolphins could have had: What hurts here is that the Eagles took tackle Lane Johnson with the very next pick after the Dolphins and he remains 10 years later one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL. Two other first-round picks from that year who stand out are DeAndre Hopkins at No. 27 and Cordarrelle Patterson at No. 29. Grade: F

-- Jamar Taylor: Taylor's career never really got going because of injuries, and he ended up playing for seven teams in eight NFL seasons. The only measure of success he enjoyed came with Cleveland in 2016-17 after starting only nine games in three years with Miami. Who the Dolphins could have had: There were nine second-round picks after Taylor in the second round, but it was the first pick of the third round that's painful to remember. It was Travis Kelce, taken by the Chiefs. Three other really good players taken before the Dolphins' next pick in the third round were DB Tyrann Mathieu, T Terron Armstead and WR Keenan Allen. Grade: D

-- Dallas Thomas: The offensive lineman's NFL career consisted only of his time in Miami, which featured 37 games and 26 starts. But his performance didn't inspire a lot of confidence and he was released after his first game of 2016. He signed with the Eagles in 2017, but was released before the start of the regular season. Who the Dolphins could have had: There's nobody as egregious as Kelce or Armstead here, but still on the board when the Dolphins took Thomas were DT John Jenkins, DB Logan Ryan, TE Jordan Reed and DB Duron Harmon. Grade: D+

-- Will Davis: Unfortunately for the Dolphins, Davis didn't have much more success than Taylor. He played in the NFL for four seasons, the first two in Miami before he was traded to Baltimore for a late-round pick. His career consisted of only 20 games. Who the Dolphins could have had: There were 10 players selected between Davis and Miami's next pick and the best of the group easily was DT Brandon Williams, followed by one-time Dolphins DT Akeem Spence. Grade: D

-- Jelani Jenkins: Jenkins worked his way into the starting lineup in his second season in Miami and ended up starting 34 games from 2014-16 before leaving for Houston. He was a serviceable starter at linebacker, though hardly a difference-maker, but still fairly productive for a fourth-round pick. Who the Dolphins could have had: The two players who really stand out from the 2013 fourth round were tackle David Bakhtiari and fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who the Dolphins each had two shots to get. To a lesser extent, the Dolphins also could have picked J.C. Tretter. Grade: C

-- Dion Sims: Sims was a solid No. 2 tight end for the Dolphins for four years before he played two seasons with Chicago. He started 22 games for Miami, including 11 in 2016, and his first touchdown catch was a game-winner early in his rookie season against Atlanta. Sims was more of a blocker as a tight end, finishing with 74 catches in his four Dolphins seasons. Who the Dolphins could have had: See Jenkins. Grade: C+

-- Mike Gillislee: Gillislee played five seasons in the NFL, but never made much of an impact while starting four of 36 games. His most productive season came with Buffalo in 2016 when he rushed for 577 yards. He played only three games for the Dolphins, all as a rookie. Who the Dolphins could have had: There was only one pick between that of Gillislee and the Dolphins' next pick, and that player became punter Sam Martin, who was still in the NFL last season. Grade: C-

-- Caleb Sturgis: It's always tricky to draft a kicker in the fifth round, and the Dolphins didn't really get rewarded by taking Sturgis. Sturgis did have a big leg but wasn't consistent enough, so the Dolphins moved on after he went 55-for-71 on field goals in his first two NFL seasons. Sturgis actually performed better with the Eagles in 2015-16, but still never justified his draft status. Who the Dolphins could have had: In hindsight, the Dolphins would have been much better served by taking tackle Ricky Wagner, a seven-year starter for the Ravens and Lions, or running back Latavius Murray. If kicker had to be the pick, then Dustin Hopkins would have been a better pick. Grade: D+

-- Don Jones: Jones has some special teams ability, but never was able to get a role on defense. He played 20 games in one-plus seasons with Miami and ended up playing four seasons in the NFL, which is not terrible for a seventh-round pick. Only four players were drafted after Jones in 2013, and the only one who had a more productive NFL career was cornerback Marcus Cooper. Grade: B

2013 DOLPHINS DRAFT GRADE

We're running this series in chronological order, but it just so happens we also started with the worst draft of the past 10 years for the Dolphins. While this wasn't a good draft overall in terms of talent pool, the Dolphins still botched this pretty badly. The Jordan pick was bad on a lot of levels and it also hurt that the Dolphins couldn't hit on either of the cornerbacks they took in Rounds 2-3. This draft became the first for Miami to not produce one player who would earn a Pro Bowl invitation during his NFL career, regardless of team.

Grade: D-