10 Targets in Round 1 (Plus a Wildcard) | Page 5 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

10 Targets in Round 1 (Plus a Wildcard)

It's really tough to pick out of those groups but my feeling is I'd probably go with Charles Harris, Ryan Anderson, Davis Webb, Jeremy Sprinkle, Ejuan Price, Johnny Caspers, Amba Etta-Tawo, and Forrest Lamp. Picking between Josh Reynolds and Amba Etta-Tawo would be pretty damn hard actually. It may come down to Combine/Pro Day results.
 
I keep forgetting about Eddie Jackson! Really like his game. N. Gerry, too.
 
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I've talked up Ejuan Price but I will say this. The reason I like Ejuan Price, but I can't love him, aside from the obvious size issues, is because of his lack of stamina/motor. Those things stand firmly in the way of him learning to play a linebacker position. He looks disinterested when he's asked to do anything in space. And even as a pass rusher he tends to look visibly worn down to a nub at the end of halves. There's a very real danger with him that the only thing he is at the next level is a guy you sub in for obvious pass situations, and even those snaps will be dicey if the tackle seems able to get his hands on Ejuan.

When I pick out the guys from the list I gave that I would take, the toughest part for me is Ryan Anderson versus Haason Reddick versus Ejuan Price versus Tyus Bowser. I think of Price as the purely best pass rusher but the weakest linebacker. I think of Bowser as the strongest linebacker especially in coverage, with iffy pass rush skills. I think of Reddick and Anderson as somewhere between there, with Anderson the best overall player of the four.

And I guess now that I look, I ended up listing both Anderson and Price as guys I'd take. That's a mistake. I should probably have stuck in Marlon Mack or Damontae Kazee.
 
ckparrothead said:
I don't want to downplay our need at linebacker but Kiko Alonso has played to a level where you can say that he's going to be the guy that stays in 100% of the time, and some defenses don't even have two of those.

There are just all kinds of ways to structure your defense. I mean look at the Lions as an example here, since their defense is so structurally similar to our own. They have Tahir Whitehead who is "the man" there, nearly 100% of the snaps. But their second guy, whether it's Josh Bynes or (before they traded him) Kyle Van Noy, maybe takes about 50-60% of the snaps. A situation that is similar, in a defense that is also related to our own, you see in Cincinnati they've got Vontaze Burfict as that 100% player when healthy and when he is healthy then Karlos Dansby becomes more like a 60-70% player while Vincent Rey becomes a 30-40% guy. There are different ways to structure it and that's without even getting into hybrid LB/DE players and hybrid S/LB players.

So yes, you can be opportunistic about a complete linebacker in this draft, a guy that is just so good you've got to have him. But you don't need to force anything. You don't need to worry about a run on linebackers, when you have Kiko Alonso about to get a contract extension to be that Tahir Whitehead 100% player whereas the other guys are going to naturally sub in and out.

I like Reuben Foster but I don't know that I'm forcing anything there. And if I "lose out" so to speak on the complete linebackers (Zach Cunningham, Anthony Walker, Reuben Foster, maybe Jarrad David though I haven't looked at him yet)...that's fine. I mean I'd like to have ALL good players on my roster but you've still got plenty of really interesting guys you could take.

Look at Tak McKinley, Ryan Anderson, Haason Reddick, Tyus Bowser and Ejuan Price as examples of guys you could take that could play Sam and may actually be able to rush the passer 6 to 10 times a game or more, depending on which guy. You'd probably for example be a lot more comfortable with a Tyus Bowser in coverage than an Ejuan Price, whom you'd like to see put his hand down some more because he's such a blazing fast pass rusher.

I also look at guys like Kendall Beckwith and Matt Milano and I think they're just so good at what they do that I can find roles for them as well. They would probably fit pretty well into a situation where Kiko Alonso is "the man". And to be quite honest, so may Mike Hull. We need to see on him a little bit.

Summarizing, we need bodies at linebacker. I agree there. But we may not need to reach for stars. It would be tough for the Dolphins to continue as a team though if they weren't able to keep things rolling with its defensive line. And right now (outside of the hybrids mentioned) the only guys I see that seem like they could legitimately help us there would be Myles Garrett (pipe dream), Derek Barnett, Charles Harris, Tim Williams, or Carl Lawson, and then maybe guys like Taco Charlton, DeMarkus Walker, Daeshon Hall, or Jordan Willis. If you miss on that crowd you've probably not done anything meaningful at DE. I don't know that there's a place at DE for guys like Jonathan Allen or Chris Wormley in this defense. Good players, both of them, particularly Wormley reminds me of Richard Seymour which is a player you'd always love to have. But right now the attention may need to be on the ends considering Branch is a free agent and may have designs on getting paid, Wake is really old, and it's become clear we're having an issue with lack of rotation and inability to keep guys fresh.
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True. Miami could look to add a quality safety, a hybrid type and go with a 4-2-5. That could help with a team like New England that is so efficient in the passing game.

Looking at the safeties beyond the round 1 guys, who would best fit this mold in your opinion? Miami would still need one more quality linebacker IMO to play alongside Alonso. For the last few years it seems like the Dolphins linebackers are backup types on other teams.
 
From CK's list I'd go:

#019: DE Tim Williams or DE Carl Lawson
#050: OLB Ryan Anderson
#095: DE Jordan Willis
#117: TE Jeremy Sprinkle
#157: CB Damontae Kazee
#194: OG Johnny Caspers
#216: WR Amba Etta-Tawo
#240: OT Forresst Lamp
UDFA: WR Austin Carr, WR Jalen Robinette, RB Jordan Chunn
 
This thread has my NFL Draft juices flowing.......i have LOTS of game tape to watch so i can jump in more here!
 
PSU Cane said:
This thread has my NFL Draft juices flowing.......i have LOTS of game tape to watch so i can jump in more here!
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Welcome. Would love to hear your opinions. I really want to see Cunningham because I hear really good things about him.
 
Here's where I think where we are set:
CB1- Maxwell
CB2- Howard
FS- Quddus
SS- Jones
DT1- Suh
DT2- Phillips
LE- Wake
ILB- Alonso

honorable mention- Branch (if we resign him) and Rambo (same)


so with that, I would target a DE, another LB, and a better nickel corner. Right now I would probably go with Reuben Foster as the first round pick. Him and Kiko would play in nickel and we wouldn't lose ability to stop the run with those two in together in passing downs. Plus with his addition, in our standard 4-3 we can shift Alonso out to Will and have Foster at Mike. He would be our Burfict for sure. Haven't seen a whole lot of anyone to say more, but I like how you guys are on it.

Runner up: Dawuane Smoot
 
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NoblePhin said:
Here's where I think where we are set:
CB1- Maxwell
CB2- Howard
FS- Quddus
SS- Jones
DT1- Suh
DT2- Phillips
LE- Wake
ILB- Alonso

honorable mention- Branch (if we resign him) and Rambo (same)


so with that, I would target a DE, another LB, and a better nickel corner. Right now I would probably go with Reuben Foster as the first round pick. Him and Kiko would play in nickel and we wouldn't lose ability to stop the run with those two in together in passing downs. Plus with his addition, in our standard 4-3 we can shift Alonso out to Will and have Foster at Mike. He would be our Burfict for sure. Haven't seen a whole lot of anyone to say more, but I like how you guys are on it.

Runner up: Dawuane Smoot
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I think you are spot on NoblePhin.

I love Reuben Foster and that would be my player as well. Seen him mocked in the top 10 quite a bit so I don't know how realistic that may be at Miami's spot. Some other good linebackers should be there as well in round 1.

I am concerned about the offensive line, though. Love what Pouncey means to the running game. It took off big time when he was healthy and fell back down to earth when he was out of the lineup. I think the team may have to address C, or a G who can do both sooner rather than later. I'd move that up the list as a priority, especially considering Albert is also injury prone.
 
Below the CBS rankings for the time being. These always change quite a bit, but I find them pretty good for this far out from the draft. When the draft order is known and needs start becoming part of the shape of round 1, there are going to be some big changes.

Only 2 interior linemen? Never happen. Someone good will fall to allow for more DTs in round 1. 3 RBs? EveN given the talent, one or two will fall. 1 DE in first 18 picks? Only two first round tackles? Unlikely.

It tells me there will be a really good choice of LB, DE, S or CB where we pick in round 1.

Some quality player/s will drop into round 2, as they always do. Using picks to move up in Round 2 (as we did for Howard) isn't necessarily the worst use of resources, depending on the need.

I'm still looking at players, so I can't say for sure who I'd take in round one yet, but so far Foster, Cunningham, Quincy Wilson, Desmond King, Jamar Adams, Budda Baker, Duwuane Smoot, Tim Williams, Ramczyk are all of interest to me

1 Jonathan Allen,DE
Alabama, Sr
6'3"/291

2 Myles Garrett,DE
Texas A&M, Jr
6'4"/268

3 Jabrill Peppers,OLB
Michigan, rSo
6'0"/205

4 Mitch Trubisky,QB
North Carolina, rJr
6'3"/220

5 Marlon Humphrey,CB
Alabama, rSo
6'1"/196

6 Teez Tabor,CB
Florida, Jr
6'0"/201

7 Leonard Fournette,RB
LSU, Jr
6'1"/230

8 Cam Robinson,OT
Alabama, Jr
6'6"/310

9 DeShone Kizer,QB
Notre Dame, rSo
6'4"/230

10 Mike Williams,WR
Clemson, rJr
6'3"/225

11 Reuben Foster,ILB
Alabama, Sr
6'1"/236

12 Dalvin Cook,RB
Florida State, Jr
5'11"/206

13 Deshaun Watson,QB
Clemson, Jr
6'2"/215

14 Jamal Adams,SS
LSU, Jr
6'0"/211

15 Malik McDowell,DT
Michigan State, Jr
6'5"/276

16 John Ross,WR
Washington, rJr
5'11"/190

17 Zach Cunningham,ILB
Vanderbilt, rJr
6'3"/230

18 Tim Williams,OLB
Alabama, Sr
6'3"/252

19 JuJu Smith-Schuster,WR
Southern California, Jr
6'2"/220

20 Derek Barnett,DE
Tennessee, Jr
6'3"/265

21 Sidney Jones,CB
Washington, Jr
6'0"/181

22 Christian McCaffrey,RB
Stanford, Jr
6'0"/202

23
Corey Davis,WR
Western Michigan, Sr
6'3"/213

24 Desmond King,CB
Iowa, Sr
5'10"/203

25 O.J. Howard,TE
Alabama, Sr
6'6"/251

26 Dan Feeney,OG
Indiana, rSr
6'4"/305

27 Carl Lawson,DE
Auburn, rJr
6'2"/253

28 Adoree' Jackson,CB
Southern California, Jr
5'11"/185

29 Charles Harris,DE
Missouri, rJr
6'3"/255

30 Ryan Ramczyk,OT
Wisconsin, rJr
6'5"/314

31 Taco Charlton,DE
Michigan, Sr
6'5"/272

32 Takkarist McKinley,OLB
UCLA, Sr
6'2"/258
 
Lamp is be a top 50 pick maybe even sneak into the top 30-40.

Alabama threw everything at him. 1 on 1's , stunts etc and he gave a one pressure I believe. He's be great l year no matter the competition.
 
ckparrothead said:
Let's play a little game here. Based on current draft order let's say Miami has the #19 pick in each round. They gave up their natural 3rd and compensatory 4th for Carroo. They should be getting a compensatory 3rd and another compensatory 6th according to their internal calculations (who knows if it works out that way but they shouldn't be that far off, for example I know they're getting that 3rd).

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/prospectrankings

I give rankings like these a 10% wiggle room so if a player is ranked 5 spots above your pick #50, let's just pretend he'll be available. I focused purely on the players that I've actually watched play football. I hate the idea of plugging in a pick because people seem to like him and I read good things about him and maybe have seen him once but didn't really study him. The list of guys to consider, listed in order of CBS's rankings.

#019: DE Tim Williams, DE Derek Barnett, CB Desmond King, DE Carl Lawson, DE Charles Harris, OLB Takk McKinley, OL Pat Elflein
#050: OLB Haason Reddick, OLB Ryan Anderson, CB Jourdan Lewis, DL Chris Wormley, TE Jordan Leggett, RB Samaje Perine, CB Cameron Sutton, OL Taylor Moton, RB D'Onta Foreman
#095: CB Chidobe Awuzie, DE Jordan Willis, QB Davis Webb, DE Daeshon Hall
#117: CB Kevin King, S Eddie Jackson, DT Montravious Adams, TE Jeremy Sprinkle, QB Cooper Rush, RB Corey Clement, LB Matt Milano
#157: RB Marlon Mack, OLB Ejuan Price, CB Damontae Kazee, WR Taywan Taylor
#194: OG Johnny Caspers, S Xavier Woods, RB James Conner
#216: WR Amba Etta-Tawo, OLB Tyus Bowser
#240: WR Josh Reynolds, WR Quincy Adeboyejo, S Weston Steelhammer, CB Jack Tocho, TE Phazahn Odom, OT Forrest Lamp
UDFA: WR Austin Carr, WR Jalen Robinette, RB Jordan Chunn
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Hard to lock-in defenders at this point, but from that list:

1. T. Williams
2. H. Reddick
3. C. Awuzie
4. E. Jackson
5. T. Taylor
6. J. Conner
7. T. Bowser
8. F. Lamp
 
ckparrothead said:
Tim Williams, Haason Reddick AND Tyus Bowser?

Might be a bit of overkill, lol.
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I don't think so. Williams and Reddick can both rush the passer, but otherwise, they have completely different roles in a 4-3 - Williams a DE and Reddick a LB. Bowser vs Etta-Tawo is a toss-up for me, and in those situations, I favor defensive help - especially after grabbing T. Taylor. That late in the draft, though, need (outside of ST's) isn't a consideration for me.
 
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