Head Coach Mike McDaniel explained the team's vision for improving upon the 2024 results after taking the 340-pound Kenneth Grant in the first round. The Dolphins weren't done adding size, strength and attitude to the team. After a trade up the board, Miami selected Arizona offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea with the 37th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
"It was important to have a tonality set for the 2025 Dolphins and adding a real presence up front and just a player that is going to attack it and try to play to the tonality that we aspire to," McDaniel said.
Plug-and-play option
The Dolphins moved from the 48th pick in Friday's second round up to the 37th slot. The swap cost Miami the 98th pick and a switch of picks that drops Miami from the 135th pick down to 143 – a rather inconsequential move from the back of round four to the top of the fifth round.
In doing so, Miami landed one of the most polished linemen in the class – a player that General Manager Chris Grier thinks can start right away.
"This was a player that we were convicted in that was going to be a starter for us," Grier said. "He'll play guard for us. He understands that. We've talked to him about it. We're excited about it."
Flip the program
The Dolphins brass, on top of the desire to fortify the trenches, has made it a point to target high-character players who love the game of football.
If you're interested in watching Kenneth Grant light up as he discusses the finer points of defensive line play, check him out on the Drive Time Podcast with Travis Wingfield.
"One thing that's common is just finding those guys that love football," Grier said. "They're tough kids that are competitive and love ball."
In an era where the transfer portal fills up quicker than Savaiinaea fires off the football, it's rare to find players that spent their entire college career on the same campus. Savaiinaea was a highly-recruited high school prospect, but he chose Arizona because he wanted to be part of "flipping the program."
Per Dane Bruglar's 'The Beast' Draft Guide, one NFL scout said that Savaiinaea was a big part of sustaining the team's culture following the exit of Head Coach Jed Fisch. Savaiinaea accomplished his goal. The year prior to his arrival the Wildcats finished 1-11. Just two years in they were a double-digit win program.
LINK TO THE BEAST - https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/the-beast/2025/
Position flexibility
Grier said the team envisions Savaiinaea as a guard, but the versatility of having an emergency tackle in a pinch certainly doesn't hurt.
"When we've had injuries, the ability for guys to go out and play tackle or move around in this league is paramount," Grier said. "You see it all the time. And so to have someone as big as him and as athletic as he is, being able to play four spots for us is key. But he's excited for the opportunity to come here at guard and compete for the starting job."
Savaiinaea played nearly 1,000 snaps as a left tackle, over 600 snaps at right tackle, and just a hair under 1,000 snaps at right guard in college. Almost all his guard snaps came during his first year at Arizona where he was named to the freshman All-American team.
He also slid inside to play guard in a game against USC last year when the team was struggling with the Trojan's interior pressure. There aren't a lot of tackles that openly volunteer to change positions in-game – but that's the type of make-up Savaiinaea offers.
Size and speed
Everything Savaiinaea does is explosive. He fires off the snap – in fact, his 1.72 10-split was the fastest by any player at this year's NFL Scouting Combine who weighed more than 315 pounds. That time is also the fastest by any offensive lineman ever drafted to a team that runs the Mike Shanahan system.
Savaiinaea ranked in the 90th percentile in speed testing among guards, the 80th percentile in agility and explosiveness, and did so in the 85th percentile for weight.
He plays with a mean streak off the snap. If you need to create downhill displacement and convert a third-and-2, he's your guy. If you're looking to pull him out into space to bury an unsuspecting defensive back on the perimeter, call up Savaiinaea. He's tailor-made to play offensive line for the Miami Dolphins, and it's easy to see why McDaniel and Grier are fired up.
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Uce, meet Uce
Savaiinaea attended Saint Louis School in Honolulu, Hawaii. It's the same high school that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa once led to a state championship.
For more on Jonah Savaiinaea, and the rest of the Dolphins 2025 draft class, download the Drive Time Podcast with Travis Wingfield.
