Miami Dolphins GM Chris Grier Pre-Draft Press Conference Takeaways

There were some draft questions involved as well, those centering mostly on the team’s many needs and how the Dolphins can go about filling those.

A lot of ground was covered during the media session, but these were the five items that stood out from this vantage point.

The press conference actually began with Grier making a statement related to the Jalen Ramsey report that surfaced Tuesday morning.

Grier confirmed that the team and Ramsey have agreed to look at trade options, but said that Ramsey did not request a trade and the decision was not related to the player wanting to redo his contract for the third time since he was acquired via trade.

But Grier didn’t want to go into what led to what he called a mutual decision after multiple discussions so far in the offseason. Grier said there was no timetable for trying to work out a trade.

As one would expect, particularly considering the Dolphins already released a statement about it, Grier declined to comment about the off-the-field incident involving Tyreek Hill last week. But he did say he had no desire to trade the wide receiver.

With one exception.

That’s if a team is willing to give the Dolphins two first-round picks, which obviously never would happen in this universe.

Grier added that no team has called him inquiring about trading for Hill.

This is consistent with earlier reports indicating the Dolphins were looking to move ahead with the five-time Pro Bowl selection.

The Dolphins’ many needs heading into the draft more often than not include the safety position and that’s because of the lack of slam-dunk starting candidates.

The Dolphins signed Ashtyn Davis and Ifeatu Melifonwu in free agency, but they have been part-time starters and neither should be considered a sure thing. The rest of the roster includes 2024 sixth-round pick Patrick McMorris along with veteran Elijah Campbell, whose career has been spent mostly contributing on special teams.

But Grier said he believes the two starters currently are in the building.

If that’s the way Grier is thinking, then it would seem to eliminate the idea of taking either Malaki Starks or Nick Emmanwori in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft.

As Mike McDaniel indicated as the owners meetings, the decision to sign Zach Wilson to serve as Tua Tagovailoa’s backup, Grier said it was a matter of taking a shot with a more talented quarterback as opposed to going the safer route with a veteran with a lower ceiling.

And since it was suggested by national media members, including Adam Schefter, I asked Grier about the idea of taking a quarterback in the first round, more specifically whether he was willing to rule it out because of Tua’s presence on the roster.

Grier said he never would rule anything out, but came as close to it as possible by saying the Dolphins already have their starter.

Again, the question was asked solely because the Dolphins were thrown out as a wild-card possibility in the event that Shedeur Sanders somehow still was on the board at number 13.

This is something we normally don’t get from Grier at this time of year, and it’s the idea that the Dolphins need players who will contribute heavily right from the start.

This is what happens when the Dolphins find themselves with as many holes as they have, which Grier almost made sound like was part of the plan all along.

Grier said he definitely would consider the possibility of moving down in the draft to accumulate more picks, at the same time he wouldn’t dismiss the idea of moving up if they could land a player they coveted. It says here, though, that moving down is way more likely than moving up given all the team’s needs.

As for what kind of prospects he’d be looking for and the approach, Grier said that it would be a marriage of need versus best player available — as it always has been, contrary to media perception (at least to some) that Grier always has gone with the best player available.

More Miami Dolphins Coverage: