Help me Understand why DE Is such a big need. | Page 2 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Help me Understand why DE Is such a big need.

Any DE we draft will start. Branch will be depth and rotated in, because having fresh pass rushers is vital. Further, you don't just draft for the immediate year. You are drafting for the future. This is one of the best DE drafts I've ever seen. OG and OLB? Not so much.

It's weird that these basic things need to be explained repeatedly.

Branch is getting starter money, he is either 1 starting or 2.we screwed up big time giving him that $$.
 
Branch is getting starter money, he is either 1 starting or 2.we screwed up big time giving him that $$.

The contract doesn't mean **** and it has no impact on anything.
 
I dont get it.. We are paying alot of money to Branch and Wake to be our starters... why is everyone wanting to waste a first round pic on a DE who will not be starting? If the plan is to draft Wakes eventual replacement then groom a 3-4th rounder. We need to hit hard in this draft this year if we want to compete and need G & OLB to fill 2 huge holes right now that we have no quality starters at.

I like your question because i was wondering the same thing at first, but with wake being as old as he is and no one besides Branch showing pass rushing talent (Hayes is supposed to be run stuffer), I started to see the light. I'd still rather see LB or even G addressed first, but if they take a DE at 22 OK I get it.
 
It's a big need because it's the second most important position in the game, you need three good pass rushers, and the draft is all about the roster makeup over the next four years, not just the makeup of the roster over the next 9 months.
 
My read is that every team wants to have good DE's but they are very hard to identify (cough, Dion Jordan) and very expensive to keep (cough, Olivier Vernon). Cam Wake, William Hayes and Andre Branch are a decent trio but Cam is 35. He has an incredible body and really looks after himself but he's defying Father Time. Every team needs to consider drafting a pass rusher every year, because great ones are so valuable and so hard to find.
 
If Dion Jordan panned out and Olivier Vernon was extended when they had the chance, then DE wouldn't be a need right now. They need as many edge guys as they can get their hands on.
 
I dont get it.. We are paying alot of money to Branch and Wake to be our starters... why is everyone wanting to waste a first round pic on a DE who will not be starting? If the plan is to draft Wakes eventual replacement then groom a 3-4th rounder. We need to hit hard in this draft this year if we want to compete and need G & OLB to fill 2 huge holes right now that we have no quality starters at.

The fact we gave Branch more money than he should have gotten doesn't mean that all of a sudden he's a great player. He'll get you ONE sack every 3 games. Wake is 35 and we were lucky he didn't get hurt last year after he had gotten hurt two years in a row. When Wake is not out there we have no pass rush at all. Hayes's on a one year deal and he's not a pass rusher. Two things you need to have a good defense. Pass rushers and corners that can cover. We have one single real pass rusher and he's at the end of his career. Yes we need a guard and a LB and a FS but we need a pass rushing End too

Ozzy rules!!
 
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Its a premium paid position for a reason, and you don't usually get a lot out of later round picks at that position, use the draft to draft premium positions on cheap rookie deals. If Wake gets hurt can you imagine where we would be?


How about we pick a Guard a little later and make that work for once like most of the league.
 
It isn't a need this year and might not be next. But DE is a premium position you need to address in the top 3 rounds and this year there are some very good rushers.

Still, you are right and we should just as easily be targeting CB, S or TE with 22 as DE, not to mention the need positions of SCB, LB and OG
 
Ya it's all about our future.

I was against it until I got some good feedback from you guys.

I still would love Foster or Reddick but who knows..
 
BARRY JACKSON
bjackson@miamiherald.com

It would be very surprising if the Dolphins don’t take a defensive lineman with either of their first two picks of the NFL Draft, which begins Thursday and continues through Saturday. And there are a combined 10 or so projected to go between the late teens (Miami picks 22nd) and the Dolphins’ second-round pick at 54.

Examining the Dolphins’ high-round options at a position that’s a high priority:

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/s...y-jackson/article147080824.html#storylink=cpy
 
The argument that a first rounder at a need position will come in and be a plug and play starter from Day 1 does not necessarily hold water. The jump to the NFL is tremendous, mentally and physically, and, often, even successful players deal with a learning curve which means they dont get significant reps until later in their rookie year or even year 2. It happens fairly regularly. So even if we grab a player at a need position, it may not give the results you want out of the gate.

Regardless, we're building a winning program....which means that we're looking at a 5 year, and hopefully 7-10 year return on the player drafted. Picking for a one or two year need is not the way to go.

As for the cap commitment, we have "starter" money or young talent at every position other than one OLB, G, slot corner and maybe DT (depending on your view of Phillips or emphasis on 3rd DT). If we get a premier player at those positions, great! But would you limit your selection to one of them only due to contracts...poor call from my view

I'd not reach for a DE, but if you have a group of players in the same tier at 22 and one is a DE...grab the DE. As for getting one later in the draft to groom, I'd have no issue at all with doubling up on a DE if the talent is there in 1 and 3rd or later rounds.
 
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