Linebacker Raekwon McMillan is set to start his fourth season in the NFL, but it won’t be with the Miami Dolphins.
The Dolphins traded the 2017 second-round pick from Ohio state to the Las Vegas Raiders, a league source confirmed. ESPN reporter Adam Schefter reported that the trade saw the Raiders give Miami a 2021 fourth-round pick at McMillan and a 2021 fifth-round pick.
It’s a woefully weak comeback for a fourth-year second-round pick, but it was clear McMillan no longer fit in with the Dolphins’ plans. McMillan is just not an ideal choice for the Dolphins’ defensive program due to his lack of pass defense.
Head coach Brian Flores praised McMillan after the Dolphins’ scrum at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday.
“Obviously Raekwon is someone I have a lot of respect for,” said Flores. “He’s a talented player. People are going to say what they want to say. He’s someone I respect a lot. He’s a good football player. I think he’s going to have a long career, but there is a lot of depth in that room. There is, again, like a lot of decisions that we make as an organization, there are a lot of things that come into play that you are not going to know, and we’re not going to tell you. But in every decision we make, it’s in the best interests of the Miami Dolphins. I have a lot of respect for him. I wish him the best. He’s a good kid. “
McMillan actually had a very solid 2019 season after spending a good chunk of 2018 recovering from the knee injury that cost him his rookie season, as he finished with 72 tackles, three tackles for loss and one pass defended. .
But the statistics put forward have caused the opposing quarterbacks to compile a passer rating of 100.8 against him, which is obviously not ideal. And it was still better than his figure of 146.2 in 2018.
Anyone who’s watched the Dolphins doesn’t need advanced stats to understand that McMillan isn’t very covered.
The Dolphins also have a lot more depth in linebacker this year with the off-season additions of super-looking Elandon Roberts, Kyle Van Noy and Kamu Grugier-Hill.
McMillan is heading into the final year of his rookie contract and is set to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason, so the Dolphins probably want to see if they can get something for him.
The move is another success for the Dolphins’ 2017 draft class, which isn’t in the top three picks left with the team.
First-round pick Charles Harris was traded in the offseason to the Atlanta Falcons for a seventh-round pick, and third-round pick Cordrea Tankersley was canceled in early August after being activated from the Reserve / COVID-19.
In all, only two of the seven members of the 2017 draft class are still with the Dolphins: fifth-round pick Davon Godchaux and seventh-round pick Isaiah Ford.
