The Dolphins are under a lot of pressure to perform in 2023.
Miami took some by surprise in 2022, riding strong showings from Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Tua Tagovailoa to a playoff berth — the franchise's first in six seasons. Competing in one of the most competitive divisions in football, it was a good start to life under first-year coach Mike McDaniel.
But that division is improving. The Bills still fancy themselves Super Bowl contenders and will hope to push themselves closer to that prize in the new year. The Jets have upgraded across the board and are still seeking an answer to their quarterback woes. And the Patriots still possess one of the best defenses in the league to go along with a bruising run game and a coach no one wants to see in January.
Simply, this is a period of great intrigue for the Dolphins. With one of the best wide receiver pairings in the league in Hill and Waddle, Miami will be looking to upgrade where it can as it attempts to thrust itself to the upper echelons of playoff contenders.
It will have some difficulties doing so through the draft, however: the Fins lost their first round pick in the 2023 draft, a consequence of owner Stephen Ross' incessant meddling.
With that, The Sporting News looks at what happened to Miami's first rounder.
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Dolphins draft picks 2023
Miami will be hoping to find some unheralded talent further down the draft board, having given up all of its Day 1 picks.
The Dolphins' first pick will be in the second round, at selection No. 51.
| Round | Pick (Overall) |
|---|---|
| 2 | 51 |
| 3 | 77 (from New England) |
| 3 | 84 |
| 6 | 197 |
| 7 | 238 |
Why don't the Dolphins have a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft?
The Dolphins would have had their first round pick, if not for the whims of their overactive owner. Ross and the Fins were docked their first rounder after being found to have violated league policies “pertaining to the integrity of the game.”
That finding came after a six-month investigation into the franchise. The impetus for the investigation appeared to be a federal court lawsuit filed by former coach Brian Flores, who alleged the organization and the NFL used a series of racist and discriminatory hiring practices. In addition to Flores' claims, the league looked into allegations that Miami had made impermissible contact with Tom Brady and Sean Payton from 2019-2022.
The league ruled that Ross and company made contact with Brady while in 2019 and 2020, when he was a Patriot, and once again in 2021, this time as a Buccaneer. In Jan. 2022, Ross is alleged to have looked into offering Payton — then the Saints head coach — a job. The NFL found that he had not received New Orleans to do so.
MORE: Complete list of all 259 picks in 2023 NFL Draft
The league doled out additional punishments to Ross, removing him from all NFL committees, suspending him until October 2022 and barring him from any league meeting prior to the NFL's annual one in 2023. He was also fined $1.5 million for his transgressions.
Despite the severe penalties, Miami still entered into the 2022 season with a first rounder, having acquired said pick in the trade that gave San Francisco the pick to select Trey Lance. However, the Fins sent that selection to Denver when it acquired star linebacker Bradley Chubb at the trade deadline.
Who is picking in the Dolphins' position?
The Dolphins' pick vanished into the ether, meaning there will only be 31 picks in the first round of the NFL draft, not 32.
