New Miami Dolphins youngsters send scary warnings to rest of NFL

Recent draft picks of the Miami Dolphins — running back Jaylen Wright and pass rusher Mohamed Kamara — conveyed warnings to the NFL on Saturday.

Wright didn’t quite emerge as a major difference-maker for the University of Tennessee until the 2022 season, his second season playing for the program. He totaled 875 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns as a sophomore while averaging 6.0 yards per carry.

Fast forward to the 2023 season, and the running back — who was the first of him and Kamara to be selected by the Dolphins — ran for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns across 12 appearances with the Volunteers.

The 21-year-old’s performance in the NFL Scouting Combine suggests that he’s one of the more explosive athletes in his class at his position. He ended up with a 40-yard dash time of 4.38 seconds, 10-yard split time of 1.55 seconds and his vertical jump was measured in at 38 inches.

Perhaps most importantly, NFL’s Next Gen Stats rewarded Wright with an athleticism score of 93, the second-highest of any running back in his draft class.

Shifting gears to Kamara, he played five seasons of college football at Colorado State University prior to being chosen by Miami with the No. 158 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Kamara dominated the defensive side of the ball in 12 games played with the Rams during the 2023 campaign. He totaled 29 solo tackles, 27 assisted tackles, 56 total tackles and forced a pair of fumbles.

In addition, he ended up with 17 tackles for loss and a whopping 13 sacks on the season.

Kamara logged at least one sack in eight of the 12 contests he played in — including two or more on three separate occasions — during his fifth and final season as a Ram.

His gaudy numbers with the Rams earned Kamara the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year award for the Mountain West Conference.

Dolphins fans should be satisfied with the team’s draft selections of Kamara and Wright, considering both players seemingly have the potential to contribute as soon as the 2024 season.