The Miami Dolphins’ first-round selection was spent on Michigan defensive tackle Kenneth Grant, considered by many to be one of the most exciting defensive line prospects in the 2025 NFL draft.
The interior defensive line being among their biggest needs (and there were a lot), the Dolphins looked to the former Wolverines standout. While it is far too early to tell whether the pick was a hit or miss, the organization seems to be content with the early results entering the summer dead period.
That might just be a testament to what head coach Mike McDaniel said about looking for upside in the draft when he addressed reporters at the 2025 NFL scouting combine. The fourth-year Dolphins coach highlighted the lack of a safety net to develop NFL rookies, as opposed to sports that utilize a developmental farm system; weighing a prospect’s ceiling versus floor is all the more daunting.
“You value upside because you want growth, but it’s a happy balance of, like, we don’t have a farm system — you’re playing live bullets if you are on the [53-man roster], and genuinely when you’re drafting someone you don’t have the luxury of redshirting them in the National Football League,” McDaniel said. “So, there has to be you know, for me, I’m looking at the college game and extrapolating it to the professional game. So, taking what’s happening in college football with the players on any given play, and extrapolating that to what that would look like in the NFL level. If there’s a ceiling for, ‘Oh that’s good enough and’—that’s extremely attractive, that’s probably what you want the most. You want the NFL ability with room to grow into greatness.”
Grant arrived to South Florida with blue-chip pedigree, fresh off an All-American season in which he notched 32 tackles, three sacks, and five passes defended.
While his chance at matching that kind of production as an NFL rookie is months away, the work Grant put in throughout OTAs and minicamp did not go unnoticed by McDaniel. Grant’s mentality was a point of emphasis for the coach.
“I could tell he had the respect and regard of his of veteran teammates by the little things that he does understanding the importance of his role on the team,” McDaniel said on June 11. “He came in with a veteran-like understanding of needing to be 100 percent on what he’s asked to do – his technique and fundamentals – and he works endlessly. So you’re hitting a home run with the team when a first-round draft pick comes in with that mindset so we can work with that and veterans know you can count on that.
“There’s been ebbs and flows like for every rookie, but what I’ve seen from him, I’ve seen early-down production where he wins based on technique and fundamentals early in the snap, and I’ve seen late-down wins where he’s straining and utilizing grit and finish to make plays as well. He’s got a lot of work to do. Every day is important; however, super happy that he’s on our team and not somebody else’s, and I know a lot of players that share the locker room with him would agree with that, too.”
