While the Miami Dolphins had a lot of needs to address in the 2025 draft and could have used every one of their early selections to address as many as possible, GM Chris Grier says there was no hesitation in sacrificing some picks to land Jonah Savaiinaea.
“It didn’t weigh it at all,” Grier said Friday night. “For us, just candid, this was a player that we had targeted. We spent a lot of time with. We had him on a 30 visit and spent a lot of time at all-star games. (Offensive line coach Butch Barry) went out and spent a day with him and had a private workout with him. So this is a player we’re very convicted on for what he can add with his size, his power.
“He’s got versatility, he’s played tackle, guard. He’s an athletic kid. And as we spent time getting to know him, he was the right kind of guy for us. And he loves ball. He’s very competitive. And so for us, it was important that as we were going through the board, he was the highest-rated guy we had. And so the opportunity arose and we took it.”
Grier added that draft picks indeed are valuable, but the organization had a conviction they were getting a starter in Savaiinaea.
Head coach Mike McDaniel then described how Savaiinaea fits in the team’s outside zone scheme.
“Well, I think first and foremost, beyond the scheme fit, we had an objective going into the draft of how the types of people we wanted to add and the types of impact we’d hoped they’d have, and I think first and foremost, setting the pocket in protection is something that he is very, very skilled at,” McDaniel said. “The idea of adding not only a fierce competitor but someone that plays with the tonality of violence and aggression, that was something that Chris and I had talked at length about how many people could fit that bill.
“Every round is important to us, but you’re also weighing that with, do you have an opportunity to get someone that fits the bill in multiple ways for something that we’ve identified for a long time? So really pumped.”
The full trade had the Dolphins acquiring that 37th overall pick, the fifth of the second round, along with a fifth-round pick (143rd overall) for the Dolphins’ second- (48th), third-round (98th) and one of their two fourth-round picks (135th).
Savaiiinaea is projected as a guard in the NFL and it certainly would stand to reason he would be a starter as a rookie in 2025.
That would complete a starting offensive line of, from left, tackle Patrick Paul, guard James Daniels, center Aaron Brewer, Savaiinaea and tackle Austin Jackson.
This is the second time in five drafts the Dolphins moved up in the second round to select an offensive lineman, the previous trade involving the move up to select Liam Eichenberg with the 42nd overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft.
Savaiinaea was projected as a second- or third-round pick by NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein.
This is what Zierlein wrote about Savaiinaea: “Durable three-year starter who is built like a right guard but has valuable protection experience as a collegiate tackle. Savaiinaea doesn’t have the athleticism to stick at right tackle in the NFL, but can play there in a pinch with some help. He’s very wide and can engulf smaller opponents as a base blocker while sealing off double teams and down blocks. His feet often deaden on contact, creating opportunities for defenders to leak through his edges in both the run and pass games. Savaiinaea’s size works to his advantage and he could become a serviceable starting guard in time.”
Savaiinaea started 36 games at Arizona, playing at right guard in 2022, right guard and right tackle in 2023 and left tackle and right tackle last season.
He was a team captain.
Savaiinaea became the fifth offensive lineman the Dolphins have selected in one of the first two rounds in the past six drafts, following Austin Jackson and Robert Hunt in 2020, Eichenberg in 2021 and Patrick Paul in 2024.
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