Here's a question for you CK. What offensive lineman do you think will drop to R2 that will interest Miami? Honestly, with all the injuries on the offensive line the team may go earlier there than we might expect. I still fully think the 1st round pick will go to the defensive side at either linebacker, defensive end or possibly even a corner with so much talent there.
First off I can't say who they'll take a shine toward. I don't think Gase is dogmatic in chasing any particular type of offensive lineman and that's bleeding into the staff. The priorities are first and foremost the guy has to be very smart, and then after that they'd like him to be impressive in terms of strength and athleticism tangibles. Gase is big on strength and athleticism benchmarks. They're less concerned with technique because they think they can teach it.
It's hard for us to know how smart an OL will come off to them. They have sophisticated intelligence measures they use, including ones that measure football knowledge/recognition in timed responses. That's what Adam Gase wants. He wants guys that understand the play and can adapt on the fly based on what they know they need to get accomplished on the play and what the defenders are doing in response.
So it's really hard to figure who they will like. I love Forrest Lamp and would be tickled about getting him, don't know that I particularly care where they happen to do it.
I also like Taylor Moton of Western Michigan. He's a big, hulking sort that could really maul people. He doesn't have the killer instinct I'd love to see on a guy like him (who has the frame to be another Larry Allen), but these prospects are never perfect. Moton's got a nice kick slide though, and if he's a bit short on the killer mentality yet has a nice frame and kick step you kind of end up wondering why you're pricing him high to move to a guard spot for you rather than a tackle spot. So that's a little bit of a dilemma.
On the other end of that is another great big hulk that people like to talk about but who looks like crap to me whenever I watch him, and that's Zach Banner of USC. I would say he's closer to a J'Marcus Webb, in my view. Maybe it's just a thing where he needs to be coached better and my vision on him for the future and what he could end up is just to cloudy. But I have a tough time liking him.
Utah actually has THREE players that are worth paying attention to for the Dolphins or really whichever team you're a fan of. They are the guard Isaac Asiata, the left tackle Garrett Bolles and the right tackle J.J. Dielman. It's kind of unique. One thing that turned me off about Asiata was his performance against UCLA's Eddie Vanderdoes who is massive for a college defensive tackle and a prospect to be reckoned with in his own right. I noticed as an example that Johnny Caspers had no trouble with Vanderdoes. He's very sound as a blocker and he's always stood out for me for a number of years in terms of his versatility and his being stout. Another guy J.J. Dielman, tough for me to evaluate because I didn't like him at center and I haven't really done enough on him to feel confident about him elsewhere.
The thing that strikes me about Bolles (who is a junior and probably won't come out anyway) is that guy can flat out MOVE. He's got some crafty hands too, you see a lot of guys mysteriously fall to the ground when being blocked by him. But he's stuck in a tough spot where you're not sure he has the frame or power to protect the blind side and you also have no idea if he can exert the kind of power he'd need to if he moved inside.
Caspers by the way is one of my favorite guard prospects. He actually stood out to me whenever I tried to watch tape of Josh Garnett a year ago. Not a heavy build (about 300 lbs at 6'3") but a stout frame with good bone structure and natural set. No problems anchoring against UCLA's big ugly DT Eddie Vanderdoes (6'3" & 325 lbs). Good hand placement, active in setting and resetting. Savvy player that knows how to get a shoulder turned, create spacing, occupy the defender's hands, etc. Really shows a great feel for how to use leverage and a player's center of gravity against him. Really good bend. Overall just a very savvy player with a stout build that could put on bit more weight. Probably a good fit for anyone that uses zone. Maybe a little bit better prospect than Christian Westerman was coming out, and actually shares some traits with David DeCastro.
I think Dan Feeney is a very sound player. I think Tyler Orlosky is as well. They're both attractive players that I look at as guys you can use to keep the cupboard stocked. It's hard for me to look at either of them though and say that you're drafting a difference maker. Maybe that shouldn't be your goal. Maybe that's how you end up getting Billy Turners instead of Kraig Urbiks.
Nico Siragusa is an interesting player. He's big but not in the way that usually attracts me. I usually don't like this type of player. Big barrel of a torso, 330 pounder, kind of totters around on the move. But his first back step off the line when he's pulling stands out as explosive for his size, and the man is a true road grader. When he lays into you, he'll drive you into the tunnel. Pretty good hand use and he shows an understanding of what needs to happen on plays. That's something that keeps showing up over and over again, the guy just knows what needs to be done and sometimes finds...unique...ways of doing it.
That pulling ability probably is what separates Siragusa from another guy like Jake Eldrenkamp of Washington, who pulls a ton but looks totally uninteresting doing it. He's a well built player in his own right, very stout. But I don't know if he's ever doing anything to get me excited.
There are a couple of centers in Jon Toth and Jay Guillermo that can play. Toth might be a little more desirable because of his frame. Guillermo is just a really stout guy, doesn't do well on the hoof though. We all know about Elflein at this point. And Pocic has some medical issues.
Kyle Fuller may be my favorite center, aside from Elflein. I think Fuller can really play. Solid frame, good hands, smart and communicative player. Moves around, executes, everything you could really want in a guy that maybe doesn't have the unique mobility you saw out of a Mike Pouncey coming out of school (mobility which even his twin brother didn't have, that's how unique it was). Between he or Tyler Orlosky you'd probably be doing well at the position.
