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The Miami Dolphins shocked the football world, or at least the New England Patriots, when they leapfrogged their big brother from the North to land Arizona offensive lineman, Jonah Savaiineaa. Greg Rosenthal first reported New England’s interest in Savaiinaea on his NFL Daily podcast. (42 minute mark, roughly)
To move up for Savaiinaea, Miami gave up their 2025 second-round pick (48th overall), a third-round pick (98th overall), and one of their fourth-round picks (135th overall) to trade up with the Las Vegas Raiders to get their guy.
Savaiinaea spoke with reporters after the draft to discuss how excited he was to join the Dolphins and what type of relationship they forged pre-draft.
“I did not expect them to do that”, Savaiinaea said on April 25th. “My agent just said, ‘Don’t expect to wait too long,’ and I kept my phone by me. Then they called me and that conversation was just excitement all over, my family were cheering me on. They weren’t on the clock so I was kind of confused, and then they told me they were going to trade up. It meant a lot to me, the things they did for me.”
He’d then talk about his relationship with Dolphins’ offensive line coach, Butch Barry.
“I’m excited to get into this scheme because me and Coach Butch Barry sat down together and we watched how they kind of sell outside zone even if they’re not running outside zone, so that’s good for me. I love running, I love just getting off the ball and run. So just to use my speed in space and just hearing that they run a lot of outside zone, that’s just me. I love running outside.”
Savaiinaea continued:
“When I go to Miami, I trust Coach Butch Barry, he’s going to get me better and just leaning onto him and the rest of the guys getting me right. Just tightening up my stance, maybe give myself a little bit of space from the line of scrimmage and then just work off of that. Obviously, we love running outside zone duos here for Miami, so I’m going to be able to show my quick first step, just getting bodies on bodies.”
But before his life changed forever, with just one phone call from a Florida number, there was a lifetime’s worth of work that had to be done for Savaiinaea to hone his craft. Whether it be his upbringing in American Samoa, his high school career in Hawaii, starting 35 out of 36 games all over Arizona’s offensive line, or his exciting draft night party with friends and family… G.O.A.T Farm Media gives you an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at your newest Miami Dolphin.
What were your initial thoughts when the Miami Dolphins traded up with the Las Vegas Raiders to select offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea? Do you think he’ll be Miami’s starting guard heading into week one? Where would you prefer Savaiinaea to line up if you had a choice? Let us know in the comments section below!
