NFL Draft 2022: History of 102nd pick

The Miami Dolphins head into the 2022 NFL Draft with just four scheduled picks following movement around the draft order last year and trades completed this offseason. The Dolphins can hold up players liked wide receivers Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill, along with multiple early picks in 2023, as the rewards for all of those moves, but it also means the Dolphins will be waiting until the third round to even start their 2022 draft selections.

Miami has the 102nd overall pick, a third-round selection, this year, along with a fourth-round pick (125th overall), and two seventh-round selections (224th and 227th overall). The 102nd-overall pick was received from the San Francisco 49ers as part of their initial trade back during the 2021 NFL Draft. The Dolphins held the third-overall pick heading into the selection process but traded it to the 49ers for the 12th pick. Miami then turned around and traded that pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for the sixth selection, but they still have other picks from the 49ers, including a first-round pick next year and the 102nd pick this year.

Last 10 Years

Taking a look back at the 102nd overall pick over the past several seasons, the pick was used in 2021 by the 49ers to add Michigan cornerback Ambry Thomas. He appeared in 12 games as a rookie, starting five times, with 23 tackles, five passes defensed, and one interception.

In 2020, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Charlotte linebacker Alex Highsmith with the 102nd pick. Highsmith played in all 16 games as a rookie, starting five times, then started 16 games last season. He has 122 career tackles, along with one interception, one forced fumble, and eight sacks.

The Minnesota Vikings used the 102nd pick in 2019 after receiving it from the Baltimore Ravens as Baltimore moved up to the 93rd position to select wide receiver Miles Boykin. The Vikings used the 102nd pick to add Boise State running back Alexander Mattison. He appeared in 13 games as a rookie, 13 more with two starts in 2020, then 16 with four starts last season. He has carried the able 330 times, including 134 last year, for 1,387 career rushing yards with six touchdowns. He also has caught 55 passes for 435 yards with two touchdowns.

In 2018, the 102nd pick was a fourth-round selection, with the Vikings also holding that pick following a trade. In this case, the New York Giants originally held the pick, sending it and defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for the 69th and 108th picks. The Buccaneers then sent the pick, along with the 180th pick, to the Vikings for pick 94. With the 102nd pick, the Vikings added Ohio State defensive end Jalyn Holmes. Holmes appeared in five games as a rookie, recording three tackles and a sack. He appeared in six games in 2019, then played in 14 games with nine starts in 2020. He was waived by the Vikings in the final round of roster cuts last year, with the New Orleans Saints signing him to their practice squad a week later. He moved up to the active roster a month after joining the Saints, appearing in eight games with one start. For his career, Holmes has 57 tackles, three passes defensed, and one sack in 33 games played including 10 starts. He is currently a free agent.

The 2017 102nd pick, a third-round selection, was exercised by the Seatte Seahawks, who selected North Carolina defensive tackle Nazair Jones. He began his career as a depth option on the defensive line for the Seahawks, a position he held through his first two seasons. In 2019, he sustained a knee injury and was placed on injured reserve for the year. The Seahawks released Jones in 2020. He was invited by the Chicago Bears for a tryout during the 2020 training camp but no contract was signed. He then joined the Buffalo Bills in June 2021, but was waived a month later. He then announced his retirement. He appeared in 20 games during his career including two starts, with 26 tackles, three passes defensed, an interception, a fumble recovery, and two sacks.

The San Diego Chargers held the 102nd pick, a fourth-round selection, in 2016. They used the pick for add Ohio State linebacker Joshua Perry who began his career as a depth option in the linebacker rotation. He appeared in 15 games with a start as a rookie, recording 22 tackles and a forced fumble. He was placed on injured reserve, then released, by the Chargers at the start of the 2017 season. He signed with the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad a couple of weeks later, then moved up to the active roster mid-season. After two appearances with no recorded defensive stats, he was waived and re-signed to the practice squad. After initially re-signing with the Colts, he was released in May 2018. He signed with the Seahawks in June 2018, then announced his retirement in July 2018.

The 102nd pick in 2015, again a fourth-round pick, began with the Oakland Raiders before being traded to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for the 124th, 161st and 242nd picks. With the 102nd pick, the Raiders added Oklahoma tackle Daryl Williams. Primarily working as a right tackle, Williams appeared in 56 games with 41 starts with the Panthers between 2015 and 2019. His 2018 season was limited to just the season opener when a knee injury ended his season. During his 2019 season, Williams worked at left tackle and both guard positions. In 2020, he signed as a free agent with the Buffalo Bills, playing right tackle in 2020, then working as both the team’s right tackle and right guard in starting all 17 games. He was released by the Bills in March and is currently a free agent.

The 2014 102nd pick was a fourth-round selection by the Washington Commanders, adding Clemson cornerback Bashaud Breeland to the roster. Breeland was initially slated to be a depth cornerback for Washington, but was moved to safety to begin the season due to a suspension to Brandon Meriweather. He then moved back to cornerback, starting for most of the remainder of the season. He continued to start at cornerback for Washington throughout the next three seasons before a brief signing with the Carolina Panthers as a free agent. His contract was voided, however, when an offseason injury caused him to fail his physical. He then signed with the Green Bay Packers after the start of the 2018 season, playing in seven games with five starts. He signed with the Kansas City Chiefs the next year, playing the 2019 and 2020 seasons before spending much of the 2021 season with the Minnesota Vikings. He was waived by the Vikings in December after a fight at practice, spending the final two weeks of the year on the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad. In eight NFL seasons, Breeland has 439 tackles, 86 passes defensed, 16 interceptions with two touchdowns, 10 forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries with a touchdown, and one sack. He is currently a free agent.

The Detroit Lions held the 102nd pick in 2013, trading it to the Minnesota Vikings as part of a 2021 trade, with the Vikings also receiving a 2012 seventh-round pick in exchange for linebacker Tahir Whitehead, a 2021 fifth-round pick, and a 2021 seventh-round pick. The Vikings then traded the pick, along with the 52nd, 83rd, and 229th picks to the New England Patriots for the 29th selection. The Patriots used the 102nd pick to add TCU wide receiver Josh Boyce. As a rookie, Boyce appeared in nine games, with three starts, before landing on injured reserve. He began the 2014 season on the New England practice squad before being activated late in the year. He was on injured reserve for the 2015 season, then signed by the Indianapolis Colts in 2016 but was released after the first preseason game, signing a few days later with the Cleveland Browns. He was waived by the Browns during camp, then signed to their practice squad during the season. He returned to Cleveland the following year, but was released as a part of the final roster cuts. He played in 10 games in his career, starting three times, with nine receptions for 121 yards.

The 2012 102nd overall pick was a fourth-round selection by Washington. Washington had used the second-overall pick on Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III, then doubled down on the quarterback position using their fourth-round pick, the 102nd selection, on Michigan State’s Kirk Cousins. Cousins began his career backing up Griffin, appearing in three games with one start as a rookie, in five games with three starts in 2013, and in six games with five starts in 2014. In 2015, Cousins surpassed Griffin on the depth chart, establishing himself as the starting quarterback for Washington. He started all 16 games that season, leading in the league with a 69.8 percent completion rater. He returned as the starter for Washington in 2016 and 2017, earning a Pro Bowl selection during the former. He signed the league’s first fully-guaranteed contract when he hit free agency in 2018, joining the Minnesota Vikings. In four seasons with the Vikings, he has earned two more Pro Bowl selections, including last year, and he signed a $35 million one-year contract extension in March keeping him with the Vikings through the 2023 season. He has thrown for 32,593 yards in his 10 seasons in the league, completing 66.9 percent of his passes with 223 touchdowns and 91 interceptions. He has a career passer rating of 98.6.

All-Time Greats

Two players have been selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame after being selected with the 102nd pick in their respective draft. Linebacker Nick Buoniconti was selected out of Notre Dame by the Boston Patriots in the 1962 AFL Draft. Buoniconti split his career with seven years in Boston, then eight years with the Dolphins (playing in eight due to missing the 1975 season with an injury). He was an eight-time AFL All-Star/Pro Bowl selection and a five-time First-Team All-Pro selection and is a member of the AFL All-Time Team, the New England Patriots Hall of Fame, and the Miami Dolphins Honor Roll. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001. Buoniconti passed away in 2019.

Johnny Unitas was the 102nd overall pick in 1955 by the Pittsburgh Steelers but was released prior to the season after receiving no practice repetitions. After spending a year as a construction worker, Unitas participated in a tryout for the Baltimore Colts and signed with the club. Over his 18-year career, Unitas led the Colts to three NFL Championships and a Super Bowl victory. He was named the league MVP three times, the NFL Man of the Year once, a 10-time Pro Bowl selection, a five-time First-Team All-Pro selection, and a three-time Second-Team All-Pro selection. He led the league in passing four times, in passing touchdowns four times, in completion percentage once, and in passer rating twice. He was named to the league’s All-Decades Team for the 1960s and has been a member of the league’s 50th, 75th, and 100th Anniversary teams. His number 19 has been retired by the Colts. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. Unitas passed away in 2002.

Dolphins 102nd Picks

Miami has made the 102nd pick in a draft twice. The most recent was in 2004, when they selected USC defensive back Will Poole. Poole appeared in 15 games with one start as a rookie, recording 31 tackles, five passes defensed, and a sack. He missed the 2005 and 2006 seasons with injury before being waived by the Dolphins in December 2006. He had a tryout with the New Orleans Saints in May 2007 before joining the Kansas City Chiefs for training camp that year. After he was released by the Chiefs in the final roster cuts, he joined the practice squad of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, but was released a week later. He re-joined the Chiefs for training camp in 2008, but again did not make the team and returned to the Argonauts, where he played in 2008 and 2009. He had a brief stint with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the CFL in 2010, but did not make an appearance. He moved to the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League in 2011, then the San Antonio Talons of the Arena Football League in 2012.

In 1998, the Dolphins added Clemson defensive tackle Lorenzo Bromell with the 102nd overall pick. He spent four years with the Dolphins, appearing in 53 games with two starts over that span, with 92 takes, two passes defensed, four forced fumbles, one fumble recoveries, and 21.5 career sacks. He played for the Minnesota VIkings in 2002, the Oakland Raiders in 2003, and the New York Giants in 2004.