Connect with us

Miami, FL

Miami Dolphins draft focus: No more Mr. Nice Guys | Schad

Published

on

Miami Dolphins draft focus: No more Mr. Nice Guys | Schad


play

Advertisement
  • The Miami Dolphins prioritized drafting tough, physical players in the NFL draft.
  • The Dolphins’ first three draft picks, Kenneth Grant, Jonah Saviinaea, and Jordan Phillips, are known for their aggressive playing styles.
  • Coach Mike McDaniel emphasized a “tonality of violence and aggression” as a key focus for the team.

MIAMI GARDENS — The moment that foreshadowed this Miami Dolphins NFL Draft came in the final days of a cold November, in a locker room in Green Bay Wisconsin.

“Soft,” Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks said of his team’s performance.

It’s a coincidence that five months later the 2025 NFL Draft was held in Green Bay.

It’s no coincidence that the Dolphins drafted a handful of tough, physical, mean bruisers maulers and street-fighters.

“A tonality of violence and aggression,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said during this draft, adding that he and general manager Chris Grier spoke “at length” about addressing the issue.

No more soft guys.

Advertisement

The Dolphins have attacked the soft perception head-on over the past few days.

Miami’s first three picks weigh a collective 975 pounds.

Yes, first-round defensive tackle Kenneth Grant is a monster.

“On the field, it’s no friends, to be honest,” Grant said in Miami Gardens.

Advertisement

Yes, second-round guard Jonah Savaiinaea is a beast.

“Punch guys,” Saviinaea said from Hawaii.

Yes, fifth-defensive tackler Jordan Phillips is a scrapper.

“Grit and willingness,” said Phillips, who is from the Orlando area.

Advertisement

Massive men headed to Miami Gardens to play for Dolphins

There are plenty of problems the Dolphins have to work through before the 2025 season kicks off.

What will they get for Jalen Ramsey when they trade him, presumably as early as June 2? Perhaps Miami can secure a young cornerback; perhaps even a rookie.

Who exactly are Miami’s starting cornerbacks?

At the moment it would appear to be Cam Smith, Storm Duck and Kader Kohou, though clearly Grier will sign at least one veteran capable of starting.

This team seems stuck between trying-to-contend-in-the-AFC and a soft-reset and a hard-rebuild. I’m not entirely sure what it is.

Advertisement

It seems Grier and the Dolphins are trying to thread a needle.

The average age of their roster will be younger.

Miami’s projected offensive line (in some order) is currently aged 23-21-27-27-25.

This is a young man’s game. At times last season, Miami looked old.

Miami Dolphins wants to get younger, tweak culture in 2025

McDaniel is highly focused on delivering messages about positive culture change.

Advertisement

He’s got Ramsey on the move and Tyreek Hill causing off-field headaches again.

He’s going to try to establish some discipline and commitment early in the offseason.

“Non-negotiably we’re going to be one team moving in one direction,” McDaniel said, during the draft, “and we’re going to earn everything we get.”

Print the T-Shirts now. “One Team, One Direction.”

Or don’t. What matters more than the shirts is that the message sinks in.

Advertisement

Miami’s overall roster figures to be on-par or close to on-par in talent to the 2024 version. But last year’s team finished 8-9 and missed the playoffs.

Some things have had to change. And one is this issue about size, strength, toughness, aggression and violence.

What has to change is the on-field “tonality” as McDaniel said.

There is a perception that McDaniel operates a creative offense based in speed and misdirection. There are elements of truth in that.

Advertisement

Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel wants more on-field aggression and violence

But what McDaniel really wants is an offense primed by physicality and power run.

Miami added a running back, Ollie Gordon, in the sixth round.

We can’t say how good Gordon will be, but he fits the theme. And thus it is very, very easy to understand why he’s a player McDaniel and Grier specifically targeted.

“I’m a bruiser,” Gordon told reporters. “I’m going to run through you. I’m going to make you not want to tackle me.”

Yes. More of that. Change perceptions. Change the tone.

Advertisement

It’s a clear goal for the Dolphins in 2025.

Joe Schad is a journalist covering the Miami Dolphins and the NFL at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jschad@pbpost.com and follow him on Instagram and on X @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe’s free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing today.





Source link

Miami, FL

Who is Rueben Bain Jr\ufeff? Miami Hurricanes draft prospect visits Bengals

Published

on

Who is Rueben Bain Jr\ufeff? Miami Hurricanes draft prospect visits Bengals


play

2026 NFL draft prospects Jacob Rodriguez of Texas Tech and Rueben Bain Jr. of University of Miami visited the Cincinnati Bengals on April 10, according to NFL Network, along with fellow Miami Hurricanes edge Akheem Mesidor.

Nicknamed “Hurricane,” Bain is expected to be selected in the first round of the upcoming draft, and could be gone when the Bengals are scheduled to select at 10th overall.

Advertisement

Todd McShay has said he expects the Bengals to strongly consider Bain with the 10th pick. Yahoo! Sports’ Nate Tice has the Bengals taking Bain at No. 10.

“The Bengals go with the antithesis of their first-round selection from a year ago, trading the high-end tools and low-end production of Shemar Stewart with the top-end production and effort but lack of ideal length of Bain,” Tice wrote. “If Stewart taps into even a small portion of his talent and with Boye Mafe joining in free agency, the Bengals’ edge spots could be more impactful in a hurry and feel a lot different soon.”

What to know about Bain, who was a college teammate of Bengals offensive lineman Jalen Rivers for two seasons:

Bain played three seasons for the Hurricanes.

As a junior in 2025, Bain was named second-team Associated Press All-American, ACC defensive player of the year and first-team All-ACC.

Advertisement

Bain started all 16 games in his final season at Miami, recording 54 tackles and 15.5 tackles for loss with 9.5 sacks, an interception, a pass breakup and a forced fumble).

Bain earned the Ted Hendricks Award, given annually to college football’s top defensive end. He was a finalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, given to the nation’s top defender with Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, Tenacity.

As a sophomore in 2024, Bain was named honorable mention all-ACC. He started nine games, and missed four games because of an injury.

A freshman All-American, Bain was named third-team all-ACC and ACC defensive rookie of the year in his first season with the ‘Canes. He led the team that season with three forced fumbles, and tied for the team lead with 7.5 sacks.

Lance Zierlein’s NFL comparison for Bain is the Philadelphia Eagles’ Brandon Graham.

“Note taker, grudge holder and block destructor with a compact frame and defensive tackle play strength,” Zierlein wrote in Bain’s NFL.com draft profile. “Bain is ill-tempered with his take-ons, hitting blockers with heavy hand strikes. … Bain’s explosive power and toughness should translate, giving him a high floor as an NFL starter.”

Advertisement

Daniel Jeremiah compares Bain to former NFL linebacker Melvin Ingram.

A USA Today mock draft had Bain going ninth overall, to the Chiefs.

Interestingly, Bain visited Kansas City one day before his reported Cincinnati visit.

Bain has dismissed post-combine discussion of his arm length. At 30 7/8 inches, Bain’s arms are among the shortest in the class.

“I didn’t hear it until later in the year, but it kind of surprised me because I never heard it all my life,” Bain said at the combine. “I don’t give it the time of day, honestly.”

“Mike Tyson, he wasn’t the tallest guy, wasn’t the longest-limbed guy, but when you felt him, you felt him,” Bain told NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe. “You kept your distance.”

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Miami, FL

Police investigate 2 Miami scenes after a shooting that left a man hospitalized

Published

on

Police investigate 2 Miami scenes after a shooting that left a man hospitalized



A man is in the hospital after being shot in Liberty City on Wednesday evening, prompting a police investigation that spans two scenes, according to the Miami Police Department (MPD).

The victim, a man in his late 40s, was located at a second scene after the initial gunfire and was rushed to Ryder Trauma Center via ground transport under a “trauma alert”.

The shooting investigation began after MPD received a ShotSpotter alert around 7:21 p.m.. The first scene, where crime scene investigators were seen taking photos outside an apartment building, is along Northwest 58th Street and 13th Avenue. When officers arrived, they found shell casings but no victim.

Advertisement

A short time later, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office contacted Miami police regarding a second location—Northwest 69th Street and 21st Avenue—tied to the same alert. The victim was found at this second location before being taken to the hospital.

It remains unclear how the victim ended up at the second location. No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting.



Source link

Continue Reading

Miami, FL

American Airlines Eyes April 30 Return to Venezuela With Miami–Caracas Flights

Published

on

American Airlines Eyes April 30 Return to Venezuela With Miami–Caracas Flights


DALLAS — American Airlines (AA) announced today plans to resume daily nonstop service between Miami (MIA) and Caracas (CCS) as early as April 30. The restart depends on final government approval, security checks, and operational readiness. Envoy Air, American’s regional subsidiary, will operate the route with Embraer 175 aircraft.

The Fort Worth-based carrier continues to coordinate with authorities in both the United States and Venezuela to restore the route. In January, AA announced its intention to be the first airline to reconnect Venezuela with the United States, emphasizing that service would begin only after regulatory approval and security assessments.

American began serving Venezuela in 1987 and was the largest U.S. airline in the country before suspending operations in 2019. Chief Commercial Officer Nat Pieper described the return to Caracas as both a restoration of a long-standing market and a strategic extension of Miami’s role as AA’s primary Latin America gateway.

This announcement follows the U.S. Department of State’s March 19, 2026 update, which lowered Venezuela’s travel advisory to Level 3, “Reconsider Travel,” but continues to warn of risks such as crime, kidnapping, terrorism, and inadequate health infrastructure. Routine consular services in Venezuela remain suspended, with most services provided through the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá as the United States begins a phased resumption of embassy operations.

Advertisement





Source link

Continue Reading

Trending