NFL Draft 2022: History of 125th pick

Yesterday launched our pick-by-pick review of the history of the four selections the Miami Dolphins hold in the 2022 NFL Draft. With the breakdown of the 102nd overall pick, we found a Dolphins Pro Football Hall of Fame player (though not selected by the Dolphins), a history-making quarterback, and a couple of times Miami has used the pick. What will we find with the other three selections the Dolphins have this year?

Miami’s second pick in the 2022 NFL Draft will be the 125th selection, a pick in the fourth round (assuming no more trades, but that may not be a safe assumption with how this offseason has gone). After this pick, they will have to wait until late in the seventh round to come back on the clock, holding the 224th and 227th picks.

Last 10 Years

In 2021, the 125th pick was supposed to be a Chicago Bears pick, but it had been sent to the Minnesota Vikings during the 2022 Draft in exchange for a fifth-round pick that year. Minnesota used the selection to add California defensive back Camryn Bynum to their roster. After playing cornerback in college, the Vikings moved Bynum to safety. He appeared in 14 games for the Vikings as a rookie, including three starts, and recorded 28 tackles, a sack, three passes defensed, and an interception.

Pick 125 in 2020 was also originally a Bears pick, but again they traded it the preceding year. This time, they sent it, along with 2019 third- and fifth-round picks to the New England Patriots for 2019 third- and sixth-round picks. The Patriots then included the 125th pick in a trade with the New York Jets, where the Jets received picks 125, 129, and a 2021 sixth-round selection and the Patriots moved up to the 101st pick. New York used the pick to add Florida International quarterback James Morgan. Morgan spent the 2020 season on the Jets’ roster, but inactive on game days, then was waived at the end of training camp in 2021. He spent the first half of 2021 on the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad before being released. The Pittsburgh Steelers then picked him up for a couple of weeks before releasing him. He returned to the Jets, signing on their practice squad, but was only there for six days before being released again. He ended the 2021 season on the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad and is signed with the team for the 2022 season.

In 2019, the 125th pick was also involved in multiple trades. Originally a Houston Texans pick, the selection was sent to the Denver Broncos as part of the trade sending Demaryius Thomas to Houston during the 2018 season. The Broncos moved up in the second round of the Draft, moving from 52 to 42, in a move that also included them sending the Cincinnati Bengals the 125th and 182nd picks. With the 125th pick, Cincinnati added Arizona State defensive tackle Renell Wren. Wren appeared in 11 games with two starts as a rookie, but ended the season on injured reserve. He recorded nine tackles during his rookie season. He missed the 2020 season on injured reserve as well, then was on the Bengals’ practice squad for the 2021 season. Wren signed with the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason.

The Tennessee Titans initially held the 125th pick in 2018, but it was used along with the 25th overall pick to trade with the Baltimore Ravens in a move up to the 22nd overall selection, with the 215th pick also moving to Baltimore. The pick was then packaged with the 52nd pick and a 2019 second-round pick for the Ravens to move up to the 32nd overall pick, sending the package to the Philadelphia Eagles, with Baltimore also receiving the 132nd pick in the deal. The Eagles then used the pick to select Pittsburgh cornerback Avonte Maddox. In four seasons with Philadelphia, Maddox has appeared in 51 games with 28 starts, recording 195 tackles, two sacks, 26 passes defensed, three interception, and four forced fumbles. He signed a three-year contract extension with the Eagles during the 2021 season, keeping him with the team through the 2024 season.

Pick 125 was traded twice in 2017 as well, starting with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before being moved to the New York Jets as Tampa Bay moved up to the 107th pick and the Jets received the 125th and 204th picks. The Jets then traded the pick to the Los Angeles Rams for the 141st and 197th picks. The Rams used the pick to add Eastern Washington linebacker Samson Ebukam. In four seasons with Los Angeles, Ebukam appeared in all 64 possible games, starting 35 of them, and playing both inside and outside linebacker positions. He recorded 150 tackles, six passes defensed, one interception with a touchdown, six forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries with a touchdown, and 14 sacks. He signed a two-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers ahead of the 2021 season, playing defensive end last year and recording 38 tackles, one pass defensed, one forced fumble, and 4.5 sacks in 17 games played with 11 starts.

The 2016 125th was traded once, moving from the Green Bay Packers, along with picks 57 and 248 to the Indianapolis Colts for pick 48. The Colts used the pick on Florida linebacker Antonio Morrison. Morrison played in 16 games with four starts as a rookie before moving into the starting lineup full time for 15 games, missing one contest on the year with an injury. He was traded to the Packers during the 2018 training camp, appearing in all 16 games with eight starts that season. He was waived in March 2019. For his career, he appeared in 47 games with 27 starts, recording 208 tackles, one pass defensed, and one sack.

The 125th pick in 2015 was boring, not changing teams at all. The Baltimore Ravens used the pick to select USC running back Javorius Allen, who served primarily as a rotational runner for the team for four seasons. In 54 games with Baltimore, Allen started six times, running the ball 340 times for 1,249 yards with eight touchdowns; he also caught 129 passes for 814 yards with six scores. He signed a free agent deal with the New Orleans Saints in 2019, but was placed on injured reserve, then released, during training camp. He joined the New York Giants mid-season in 2019, appearing in 10 games with 10 carries for 36 yards and a touchdown along with one receptions for nine yards - eight of those carries, 28 of the yards, and the touchdown came against the Dolphins in Week 15.

The 2014 125th pick was used by the Dolphins after making a trade with the San Diego Chargers earlier in the Draft. That trade featured the Dolphins moving back from the 50th pick to the 57th selection and adding pick 125. That pick was then used on Liberty cornerback Walt Aikens, who spent six years with Miami. While he appeared in nearly every game, 93 of the 96 possible, over that time, he only made four starts on defense and was primarily a special teams player. He was selected as the special teams captain for the team in 2019 and he had good success in that role. On defense, he recorded 93 career tackles, three passes defensed, two interceptions, and a forced fumble.

The Denver Broncos held the 125th pick in the 2013 Draft, but traded back with the Green Bay Packers, picking up the 146th and 173rd picks in the deal. The Packers then used the selection to add UCLA running back Johnathan Franklin. He appeared in 11 games as a rookie, picking up 107 yards on 19 carries with a touchdown and 30 yards on four receptions. A neck injury in Week 12 landed him on injured reserve, then ended his career when doctors worried another hit could lead to paralysis.

In 2012, the Detroit Lions sent the 117th pick to the San Francisco 49ers for the 125th and 196th picks. The Lions then selected Oklahoma linebacker Ronnell Lewis with the 125th pick. Lewis appeared in eight games for the Lions as a rookie, recording two tackles, but was released during training camp in 2013. He spent time in the Canadian Football League, the Champions Professional Indoor Football League, the Fall Experimental League, the Arena Football League, and the Indoor Football League between 2013 and 215.

All-Time Greats

There is one Pro Football Hall of Fame player selected with the 125th overall pick. The Pittsburgh Steelers in 1974 picked Wisconsin center Mike Webster with the selection. He would go on to play in 245 career games, with 217 starts, spending 15 years in Pittsburgh and his final two seasons, 1989 and 1990, with the Kansas City Chiefs. He was a four-time Super Bowl champion and was selected to nine Pro Bowls. He was a First-Team All-Pro selection seven times and was a member of the NFL’s 1970s and 1980s All-Decade Teams as well as a member of the 75th and 100th Anniversary Teams. He is in the Steelers’ Hall of Honor and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997. He passed away in 2002 and was the first NFL player to be diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) following his passing.

Dolphins 125th Picks

The Dolphins most recent pick in the 125th position is the selection of Aikens in 2014. They also had the 125th selection in 1996, when they picked Baylor linebacker LaCurtis Jones after receiving the pick as part of a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs earlier in the selection process. In that deal, Miami sent picks 98 and 214 to the Chiefs for picks 113 and 125. Jones was released from the Dolphins in roster cuts at the end of training camp. He then signed on with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad, then was promoted to the active roster. He played in 10 games as a rookie, primarily on special teams, then was cut by the Buccaneers during the 1997 training camp. He had a series of incidents during his time with the Buccaneers, culminating in increased security at the team facilities the day after he was cut following alleged threats made toward team officials and NFL security alleged he had attempted to purchase a weapon. The situation resolved itself after the team bought Jones a plane ticket to fly back to Texas following his release.