Dolphins hoping small undrafted rookie class yields another surprise. Here’s the best hope

The Dolphins have had decent success finding gems in the undrafted rookie class over the years, with receivers Davone Bess and Preston Williams and kicker Dan Carpenter among their best finds.

This year’s four-person class of Dolphins undrafted rookies is their smallest in memory, but the Dolphins believe they have at least one prospect worth a significant financial investment.

Former Middle Tennessee State guard/tackle Robert Jones stands out among the Dolphins’ free agent rookie class, according to a longtime NFL scout. The Dolphins are so bullish about Jones that they gave him $130,000 guaranteed - much higher than normal for an undrafted rookie.

“It was a blessing,” Jones said sheepishly when asked Saturday about that $130,000 guarantee. “They [the offers] started coming in .. I couldn’t believe it. If they gave me $15,000 guaranteed, I was going to take it and run with it to a place I can compete.”

Jones - who impressed the Dolphins coaching staff at Senior Bowl practices - began his collegiate career at Highland Community College, where he started 13 games at guard in two years. At Middle Tennessee, he started 19 games at right tackle over the past two seasons.

He said he “wasn’t disappointed” about going undrafted.

“I just wanted an opportunity to play at this level,” he said after day two of the Dolphins’ rookie minicamp, which was not open to fans or media.

“I chose the Dolphins because of the coaching staff. I worked with them at the Senior Bowl. They want the best out of every player. I think they have my best interests at heart.

“They never singled anyone out and always pushed everyone to their expectations [at the Senior Bowl]. I knew coach Lem [new offensive line coach Lemuel Jeanpierre] would push me to my best.”

Jones’ ability to play both guard and tackle made him even more appealing to Miami. “The more I can do, the better chance I have to get on the field,” he said.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein said the 6-5, 330-pound Jones’ “wide frame can be a challenge to navigate” for defensive linemen.

Among the Dolphins’ other undrafted rookies, former Indiana defensive tackle Jerome Johnson has a good chance to stick on the practice squad if he impresses this summer, with an outside chance of cracking the 53-man roster.

The 6-3, 304-pounder was second-team all Big 10 in 2020 and had 18 tackles, including 4.5 for loss, with four sacks, one interception, one fumble recovery and one blocked punt in eight games.

Johnson isn’t sweating not being drafted and said Miami “was a good choice” for him, “a great opportunity to learn.”

The most fascinating Dolphins undrafted free agent isn’t a rookie. Former North Carolina Central basketball player Jibri Blount, the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback Mel Blount, was part of the 2020 draft class and wasn’t made available to the media this weekend.

He never played college football, but the Dolphins will allow him to try his hand at tight end.

Blount, who’s 6-7 and 230 pounds, played only basketball in college, averaging 15.2 points and 7.3 rebounds in 55 games and 31 starts. He was the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s Player of the Year and was named the conference’s player of the week five times.

While Blount is a long shot for the 53-man roster at one of Miami’s deepest positions, an impressive summer could land him a spot on the practice squad.

This marks the second consecutive offseason that the Dolphins are trying an outside-the-box experiment at tight end.

Last offseason, they signed Bryce Sterk, who ranked among the FCS sack leaders at Montana State, and tried to convert him into a tight end, a position he hadn’t played since high school. But that experiment ended when he was released in August.

The Dolphins’ other two undrafted rookies in this class -- ex-Alabama fullback Carl Tucker and ex-Georgia Tech cornerback/special teams standout Jaytlin Askew - face long odds to stick.

The Dolphins’ best undrafted rookie success story last season was a player initially signed by San Francisco: running back Salvon Ahmed. The 49ers waived him Aug. 25, and the Dolphins claimed him the next day. After the Chargers tried to poach him from Miami’s practice squad in October, the Dolphins promoted him to the 53-man roster and he averaged 4.3 yards on 75 carries.

The Dolphins this season are hoping to further develop last season’s group of undrafted rookies, including defensive tackle Benito Jones (who played 47 defensive snaps as a rookie) and several who spent most or all of the 2020 season on the practice squad, a group including defensive end Tyshun Render, cornerback Javaris Davis and quarterback Reid Sinnett, among others.

THIS AND THAT

▪ Though safety Jevon Holland had nine interceptions in his last two college seasons (2018 and 2019), the 36th overall pick noted on Saturday that “college is a completely different beast than the NFL. These are high caliber quarterbacks. I have no knowledge of how to get an interception in the NFL. When Xavien [Howard] gets here, I hope to pick his brain.”

Howard led the league with 10 interceptions last season.

Until the past two days, Holland - who opted out of playing last season - hadn’t participated in a practice in 17 months, since before Oregon’s Rose Bowl win on Jan. 1, 2020, against Wisconsin.

“It’s very fun,” he said of practicing again. “I’m having a great time. Miami is abnormally hot. Never been to Florida. It’s a different type of heat. It’s adapt or die. You have to adapt.”

Holland was born in British Columbia and played high school football in Oakland.

▪ Jaelan Phillips, who played primarily defensive end at the University of Miami, confirmed that the Dolphins have him working at linebacker.

▪ According to ESPN analytics writer Seth Walder, the Jaguars hired Dolphins director of personnel analytics Eugene Shen as vice president of football analytics.