DAVIE, Fla. _ The Miami Dolphins selected defensive end/outside linebacker Charles Harris of Missouri with the No. 22 pick of the first round in Thursday's NFL draft, boosting their struggling defense with a pass rusher.
Harris, who had nine sacks and 12 tackles for loss, is regarded as a good athlete with a good first step and excellent quickness.
"I'm going to cause friction, without a doubt," he said.
Harris, a second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection in 2016, didn't play high school football until his junior year, preferring instead to play basketball. He said he only played because he didn't want people to think he was "weak or soft."
We loved the pass rush that he gives us," Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said, adding, "This guy loves football. It's very important to him."
The Dolphins had their choice among a number of highly-regarded draftees on both sides of the ball including tight end David Njoku (University of Miami), defensive end Taco Charlton (Michigan), guard Forrest Lamp (Western Kentucky), linebackers Reuben Foster (Alabama), Tak McKinley (UCLA), T.J. Watt (Wisconsin), and safety/linebacker Jabrill Peppers (Michigan) among others.
Many speculated the Dolphins might draft a defensive player in the first round because they finished 29th in total defense last season and 30th against the run (140.4 yards allowed per game).
During the NFL owners meetings coach Adam Gase mentioned defensive tackle as a primary need. And at the NFL scouting combine general manager Chris Grier said the Dolphins would get help at defensive end in free agency and the draft.
Grier softened that stance about 10 days ago while strongly embracing the "Best Player Available" philosophy, which says a team should draft the highest-rated player on its draft board regardless of position. To do otherwise, the theory goes, gets a team in trouble because it drafts according to need instead of drafting according to talent.
"If the guy's a good player, and he's there, and we're comfortable with everything in terms of the football intelligence, the toughness, the passion for the game," Grier said last week, "we'll take him."
The Dolphins return nine offensive starters on a unit that finished 24th in total offense and 17th in scoring offense at 22.7 points per game.
The Dolphins hoped they'd made enough offseason moves so that they had starting-caliber players at every position heading into the draft.
The Dolphins took a similar approach last year, albeit on a smaller scale, trading down in the first round as part of the deal with Philadelphia to acquire cornerback Byron Maxwell and linebacker Kiko Alonso. The Dolphins swapped first-round picks with the Eagles, giving Philadelphia their No. 8 selection in exchange for the Eagles' No. 13 selection.
The Dolphins used that pick to select Laremy Tunsil, the guard/tackle who was being considered as the No. 1 pick until a draft night video surfaced of him smoking from a bong. Tunsil made 14 starts last season and by most accounts was a success.
The Dolphins have cited that example a few times as the reason they wanted to stay loose in the first round and not necessarily commit to a specific player or position.
The Dolphins' 2016 draft class was fairly productive in terms of playing time. It included Tunsil, cornerback Xavien Howard (second round), running back Kenyan Drake (third round), wide receiver Leonte Carroo (third round), wide receiver Jakeem Grant (sixth round), safety Jordan Lucas (sixth round), quarterback Brandon Doughty (seventh round) and tight end Thomas Duarte (seventh round). Tunsil, Howard, Drake and Grant were regular contributors either from scrimmage or on special teams.
The Dolphins have seven picks in this year's draft, including Thursday's first-round selection. The Dolphins have one second-round pick (No. 22 in the round and No. 54 overall) and one third-round pick (No. 33 selection in the round, No. 97 overall) on Friday.
In Saturday's fourth through seventh rounds the Dolphins have three fifth-round picks (the 22nd selection in round and 166th overall; the 35th selection in the round and 178th overall; and the 41st selection in the round and 184th overall) as well as one seventh-round pick (fifth selection in the round and 233rd overall).
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