Dolphins

New Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan explained the team’s decision to pick Alabama OT Kadyn Proctor after the first round concluded, and also commented on the choice not to go after Ohio State S Caleb Downs or Miami DE Ruben Bain Jr.

“He’s unique. He’s rare,” Sullivan said, via DolphinsWire.com. “He’s a 350-pound man with unique athletic traits that can play four spots across the line of scrimmage, the left tackle, right tackle, both guards. The athletic traits, for a man, his size are through the roof. I know there have been some questions about his weight. It’s well-documented, and obviously, we’re very aware. We did our due diligence with our resources. We feel really good about where he is at with that, and we brought him in on a 30 visit. I could feel his conviction and his desire to be a good football player and do the things that he needs to do to be the best pro that he can be. All I can tell you is that there wasn’t another one in the draft like him, period.”

“Downs and Bain are marvelous players, and I understand the question. And I think those guys are going to be very successful in this league, no doubt about it,” Sullivan continued. “Again, we thought Proctor was rare. His height, weight, speed, production, the things that he can do on the football field for a man his size. He’s an outlier. There’s not many like him. That’s no shot at Caleb Downs, a phenomenal football player, and he’ll have a great career, and we would have loved to have him here. But we had a lot of conviction on Proctor being a very unique player in this draft, and one that we can build around for years. We invested in Malik, and it was important for us to protect him, to make sure that he has time to do the things that he needs to do, and keep him healthy. So that was part of the conversation as well. So yeah, we’re thrilled with the pick. We’re happy to add him. We have a lot of faith in the person, and we think he’s gonna be a really good player here, no apologies.”

Jets

Jets HC Aaron Glenn said that the team had eyes on their top draft targets all along, including second overall pick David Bailey, who admitted he was unsure he would be chosen by New York after they canceled his top 30 visit.

“When you have targets, you identify guys you like, you love — you go get them,” Glenn said, via the team’s website. “And that’s exactly what we did today. And any time you can bring guys with a winning background on your team, that only helps the morale of your team. So, there’s a lot of things that goes into that, but to get three first-round picks and the caliber guys that we got, the personality, the mentality, the football character, all those things are huge, bringing those guys on our team.”

“Initially, I probably thought they’re not going to pick me,” Bailey said. “But I was thinking back to the interactions prior to the meeting getting canceled and I was thinking back to the interaction I had with them at the Combine and at the steakhouse and the FaceTimes with Mougey. I had a good relationship with them. I felt good talking to them. I feel like they had a good attitude towards me and vice versa.”

Patriots

Patriots EVP Eliot Wolf was asked about last year’s first-round pick, LT Will Campbell, after the team moved up and drafted OT Caleb Lomu in the first round, with Wolf assuring reporters that Campbell would remain at left tackle.

“Yeah, I mean, Will [Campbell]’s the left tackle,” Wolf said, via PatriotsWire.com. “And like I said, Caleb has some versatility. So, we feel like some of the pro day workouts that he did were on the right side and we were comfortable with that. But again, he’s very athletic, so I don’t think either side will be a problem for him. Again, there’s still some good players at the tackle and guard as well, but we felt like there was a drop off, and we felt like, again, just the best player available type situation for us at that point. He’s young, he’s experienced, he’s athletic, he’s a great kid. Frankly, I was a little surprised that he was still available, and that’s why we decided to move up a little bit. We’re excited to add him.”