Potential Dolphins target Ed Oliver wows at Houston pro day

There’s little question that Houston defensive lineman Ed Oliver is one of the best talents in the 2019 NFL Draft. Oliver, who announced last spring that 2018 would be his final season in college football, has endured the type of close scrutiny that is going to come with any top prospect.

And like most top prospects, Oliver is being overthought by a lot of pundits. Why? Because he’s not the tallest defensive tackle of the bunch? Miami has shown interest in Oliver, they were one of his toughest interviews at the 2019 NFL Combine, according to Oliver himself.

Ed Oliver on #NFL team meetings at combine:

"Miami was a little hard on me, but it was alright. That was one of my harder meetings." [said #Dolphins made him break down a lot of film]

"Met with the #Titans, that was one of the teams that wanted me to play outside linebacker."

— Ric Serritella (@RicSerritella) March 27, 2019

It’s impossible for anyone to deny his physical talent. Oliver tore the field apart for his pro day yesterday, blazing his 40-yard dash in 4.73 seconds as a 281 pound defensive lineman. Even more impressive, Oliver ran the pro shuttle in 4.19 seconds. How fast is that?

Antonio Brown ran the short shuttle in 4.18 seconds. Desean Jackson ran it in 4.19 seconds. Saquon Barkley ran it in 4.24 seconds.

Oliver, at his size, illustrating that level of change of direction skills? Unbelievable. It reaffirms he is the kind of special talent the Dolphins would be wise to reconsider trading away from, if it came down to it in next year’s NFL Draft.

While the Dolphins do have likable pieces in Vincent Taylor and Davon Godchaux, Oliver brings a different dynamic to the table. One the Dolphins haven’t possessed in quite some time. And if he’s on the board at 13, it should be extremely hard to say no.