Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier was not joking when he said he was immediately bolting upon conclusion of his draft wrap-up news conference to get to work on undrafted free agent additions Saturday night.
After the Dolphins’ four-pick draft haul between Friday and Saturday, the work immediately began within minutes of Mr. Irrelevant being announced as the final pick of the 2023 draft. At least 20 agreements have been reached.
Miami’s undrafted additions, according to league sources: Arkansas State quarterback James Blackman, Jackson State linebacker Aubrey Miller, San Diego State offensive lineman Alama Uluave, USC defensive lineman Brandon Pili, Michigan State offensive tackle Jarrett Horst, Oregon safety Bennett Williams, Campbell tight end Julian Hill, Illinois State linebacker Zeke Vandenburgh, Western Kentucky wide receiver Daewood Davis, BYU running back Chris Brooks, Mississippi State defensive lineman Randy Charlton, UCF defensive tackle Anthony Montalvo, Stanford cornerback Ethan Bonner, Nebraska linebacker Garrett Nelson, Miami Hurricanes edge rusher Mitchell Agude, UM offensive lineman DJ Scaife, Cal-Poly wide receiver Chris Coleman, South Dakota offensive tackle Alex Jensen, Oklahoma punter Michael Turk and Kentucky defensive back Keidron Smith.
“There’s still work to be done,” Grier said after the Dolphins completed their draft. “We’ll be trying to add the best players we can, and hopefully, we’ll find a couple undrafted gems or hidden gems for us to help the roster.”
In Pili, the Dolphins could find a backup nose tackle for Raekwon Davis, the 2020 second-round pick who enters the final year of his rookie contract in 2023. Miami is giving $100,000 guaranteed, according to agent David Canter, to the massive defensive lineman who was listed at 6 foot 3, 345 pounds by USC.
Pili recorded 49 tackles, including 7 1/2 for losses and 2 1/2 sacks, three pass deflections, a forced fumble and a blocked field goal in 38 games, five starts, in his Trojans career. He bounced back from a torn Achilles that cut his 2021 season short to be a key member of the Trojans defense in 2022.
The Dolphins have just four defensive linemen on the roster with defensive tackles Christian Wilkins and Zach Sieler, who are also on the last years of their deals, and defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah joining Davis. Miami let veteran nose tackle John Jenkins walk in free agency this offseason.
Also receiving significant guaranteed money of $80,000, according to Houston’s KPRC 2, is Bonner, who ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash at his pro day. Miami invested in the undrafted cornerback after using its top 2023 draft pick on another, South Carolina’s Cam Smith in the second round.
Agude, in his lone season at UM after transferring from UCLA (the same trajectory Dolphins’ 2021 first-round draft pick Jaelan Phillips experienced), had 39 tackles, seven for loss, and four sacks in 2022. Although he did not get a combine invite, Agude trained locally in South Florida ahead of UM’s pro day.
Scaife, a UM and Miami Southridge High standout, started 51 games over five seasons with the Hurricanes, Scaife possesses versatility to play guard or tackle, as well as scheme versatility from a number of different offenses.
Also from Miami Southridge is Charlton, who played his last two seasons at Mississippi State after starting his college career at UCF. He had four sacks in each of his past two seasons in the SEC.
Blackman is a former Glades Central High standout and Florida State Seminole who stands at 6 foot 6. In 2022, his sixth college season, he completed 64.3 percent of passes for 2,471 yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions. He played his final two seasons at Arkansas State after spending four years at FSU.
Davis is also a local product from Broward County, who spent time at Deerfield Beach, Stranahan and Somerset Academy among his local high schools. Starting his college career at Oregon, the speedster combined for 1,635 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns over two seasons at WKU.
Smith is a former West Palm Beach high school standout at Oxbridge Academy before splitting time in college between two SEC programs, Ole Miss and Kentucky. He had seven interceptions, six forced fumbles and 26 pass breakups in college.
Turk is the nephew of former Dolphins punter Matt Turk, who spent four (2000-01, 2003-04) of his 16 NFL seasons in Miami and was a three-time Pro Bowler in Washington.
In the draft, the Dolphins started by selecting Smith and Texas A&M running back Devon Achane on Friday night, in Rounds 2 and 3, respectively. Saturday, Miami added Stanford wide receiver-turned-tight end Elijah Higgins and Michigan offensive lineman Ryan Hayes.
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