Some seven weeks after the draft, I've recovered enough to dissect what Miami has come up with in the Annual Bust Invitational ...
I’m
about as cynical a ‘Fins fan as you’ll find (as has been well-documented in
just about all of my Dolphins posts). However, I have to admit: I loved the move to trade up and snare
Jordan.
Sure,
there are concerns about his relatively small body of work and how he was used
at Oregon, but Miami has been tracking this dude for two years, they got great
value in the trade up (giving up only a single second-rounder) and landed
arguably the draft’s top defensive playmaker.
A
move like this makes the ‘Fins better at multiple positions. Cam Wake is
considered by some to be the best pure pass rusher in the NFL, but he’s been in
desperate need of another legitimate threat for a while. The hope is that
Jordan’s emergence will give Wake more one-on-one looks, while also opening up
some room for Randy Starks to operate on the interior.
The
bottom line is that Ireland gauged the top portion of the draft, identified a
possibility for an advantageous deal and pulled the trigger when everything was
on the line. Who or what Jordan turns out to be obviously remains to be seen,
but in terms of strategy and execution, this was a tremendous move for Ireland
and the ‘Fins.
Miami
had a neon-lit need at cornerback after jettisoning Vontae Davis a year ago and
allowing Sean Smith to walk via free agency (and with vets Brent Grimes and
Richard Marshall coming off serious injuries), and Taylor was a first-rounder
on many boards.
He’s
got solid corner size (5,11, 192 pounds) and speed (4.39 second in the 40), and
he’s considered a tactician best suited to zone coverage. Taylor will have
every opportunity to secure a starting spot very early in his Dolphins career,
and this would appear to be a situation where a good player at a need position
fell fortuitously to Miami.
Lest
I get too comfy with the approach after two dead-on picks to start the draft,
Miami couldn’t help itself in making its first reach of the draft. He has
experience playing both guard and tackle as a three-year starter in the
SEC—never a bad thing—but there are concerns about his footwork and strength.
Opinions
did seem to vary on Thomas, but the fear here is that he’s a bit of a ‘tweener
between guard and tackle. The good news is that he likely won’t be counted on
to start right away, giving him a chance to get his feet wet while the
franchise determines where he fits best along the offensive front.
After
nailing the first two selections of the draft by most accounts, the Dolphins
made their second straight “iffy” pick, trading back into the third round to
grab Davis. The braintrust felt that cornerbacks were going off the board a bit
too quickly for their liking, so they jumped back into the late third to ensure
they weren’t left wanting.
Davis
has a similar built to Taylor, but has less experience, recovery speed and
discipline. He could certainly develop into a starting-caliber player, but you
never like to hear about your general manager making moves out of perceived
desperation. In fact, I have to admit that I was secretly hoping that this trade-up
may have been to land one of the two free-falling quarterbacks, USC’s Matt
Barkley or Syracuse’s Ryan Nassib, as I’m not as sold on Ryan Tannehill as
many.
Though
Jenkins is a bit undersized (6-0, 243 pounds), I liked this get for Miami. He’s
an athletic player who can maneuver out in space and is battle-tested in the
SEC. He was dinged up quite a bit in college and there are some concerns about
his ability to pick his way through the wash of blockers to find the ball, but
his myriad of skills should allow him to at least impact on special teams as he
gets acclimated to the pro game.
Two
picks after snaring Jenkins, the Dolphins tabbed this enormous tight end out of
the Big 10. He’s seen as a wide-body receiver who is dangerous after the grab,
though he has a ways to go in the blocking category.
I
think Sims represents a perfect example of how a blown draft pick can have a
ripple effect on subsequent selections. After striking out on third-rounder
Michael Egnew a year ago and then losing Anthony Fasano in free agency, Miami
likely felt some pressure to find a seam threat tight end, turning to a raw
prospect with significant off-the-field issues in Sims. The ‘Fins have to hope
Sims is a developmental prospect who “gets it” faster than Egnew has shown to
date.
Having
said goodbye to Reggie Bush in free agency and being lukewarm on 2011
second-rounder Daniel Thomas, the ‘Fins chose the intriguing Gillislee at an
attractive spot. At 5-11, 208 pounds, he has a deceptive blend of power and
speed, and he put together a solid final campaign in the SEC.
Gillislee
has been criticized for not following his blocks and trusting the development
of the play—a trait that ushered Bush out of town—and will need some work in
pass pro. However, with only Thomas and unproven second-year man Lamar Miller
at tailback, he’ll get a chance to show his stuff relatively early in Miami.
And as a bonus, his “NFL comparison” in his scouting report was Andre Brown,
the former Wolfpack standout.
That
“ugh” you heard came from thisaway. Not only is it usually inadvisable to pick
a kicker in the fifth round, but Miami’s incumbent, Dan Carpenter, is widely
regarded as a top-10-ish kicker. Sure, he’s coming off an uneven campaign, but
to me, if you grab a kicker in the fifth, you are pretty much expecting him to be,
well, your kicker. And that’s no sure thing with Carpenter standing in the way.
And to the argument that this puts “pressure” on Carpenter, the Dolphins could
have done the same thing by retaining Nate Kaeding (or another vet) and saved a
fifth-rounder.
All
that being said, it’s certainly possible Sturgis beats out Carpenter, Miami
saves a ton of money at the position, and Sturgis goes on to win a couple of
games for the ‘Fins with clutch kicks. But right now, I think this was a luxury
pick for a team with a few more needs out there.
Jones
was widely linked to Miami throughout the draft process, so if such a thing as
a “predictable” seventh-round draft pick exists, this was it. The ‘Fins have
had some success with late-round safeties over the years, thought it has been a
position of weakness for too long in Miami. Reshad Jones went a long way toward
righting that wrong last year, but let’s see it for a second season before we anoint
him at the back end of the Dolphins secondary.
As to
Jones, he’s an undersized (5-11, 191 pounds) safety with some potential to
shift to corner or perhaps dime back. However, he has conditioning measurables,
leading one to believe that he could make his name on special teams if he can
stick early on.
SUMMARY
Miami
stuck to its guns on a potential trade for Kansas City offensive tackle Branden
Albert, refusing to part with a respectable pick on draft day(s). Instead, the
Dolphins had a veteran carousel of tackle workouts before deciding on free
agent Tyson Clabo, most recently of the Falcons. Will the gamble on an older
vet over an expensive (and still relatively unproven) youngster pay off? That
will be one storyline to watch as 2013 unfolds.
The
Dolphins took no wide receivers or defensive tackles, and while the decision on
wideouts was understandable after signing Mike Wallace and Brandon Gibson,
Miami is headed for salary-cap heartache sooner rather than later with the duo
of Randy Starks and Paul Soliai. Though there is some position versatility with
Jared Odrick, it was surprising that the ‘Fins didn’t target a DT at some point
during the draft.
As
noted, I fight a bit of a dry heave when it comes to a kicker in the fifth
round, and the run on Florida Gators was a bit perplexing. However, the first
two picks—Jordan and Taylor—cemented this as a strong draft for Miami, with
some high-potential, low-risk selections peppered throughout the rest of the
list.
The
sense I get is that the Dolphins felt good enough about what they did in free
agency that it afforded them some freedom to target playmakers in the draft. And
while any type of contributions from the later-day guys would be icing on the
cake, this draft’s success or failure will hinge on the development of Jordan—a
fact that Ireland himself likely wouldn’t debate.
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