Lance Zierlein Ranks Miami's Draft Class 31st out of 32 Teams | Page 2 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Lance Zierlein Ranks Miami's Draft Class 31st out of 32 Teams

I am taking the wait and see approach before I decide if this was a bad draft or not. I am hopeful some of our guys will contribute this year in some way, even if it's on special teams. I am happy that a lot of our guys will provide depth, and I believe we will eventually see some growth. Next year, after they have been in our system a year, is when I really hope to see some major improvement and solid contributions. Of course, I would like to see Harris, McMillan, etc. come out of the gate like a thoroughbred, but if they get off to a slow start because they are trying to absorb everything, then I am cool with that as long as they are working their butts off trying to get better.
 
Lance is suffering from a case of Kiperism which basically manifests itself as an arrogant vacuum-visioned belief that his opinions are the only ones that matter and that if he hasn't mocked the players as being worthy of taken near where other draftniks and teams evaluated them to be taken, then everyone else is wrong but him. And there will be hell to pay for making him look so out of touch. I'd take his reactionary butthurt grading with a grain of salt.
 
It's too early to truly evaluate the draft, although we all enjoy doing it. I don't get too worried if the "experts" don't like it ... I have my own evaluations, and I'm usually more accurate than those guys, so I get worried when we draft guys I don't like, such as Dallas Thomas or pass on guys I really like such as Earl Thomas or Rob Gronkowski. These last couple of years we may not have gotten my absolute preferred pick at every draft spot, but we've gotten talented guys, such as Laremy Tunsil and Xavien Howard that have made our drafts good. I like the guys we got.

If you want a feel-good moment, the CBS crew, whom I do like, provided their winners and losers of the draft ... Brady Quinn listed the Browns, Dolphins and Bengals (two Ohio teams and us) as his top 3 draft winners. I've now heard him speak on our draft 3 times, and each time he clearly knows these players well and has a solid analysis.

It was a defensive draft and we grabbed two super-talented defenders (McMillan and Harris), both at positions of need (MLB and pass rushing DE), then added at least 2 talented value picks at positions of need (CB Tankersley and OG Asiata) that fit our schemes perfectly. I may have chosen differently in the later rounds, but those are all very good picks. Looking at who I might have taken .. guys like Jordan Willis went in the 3rd to the Bengals ... who I agree had a very good draft.

We added talent with value picks and filled our needs. We added players who are hard workers, with proven production, good health histories and very high ceilings. It's hard to look at this draft as anything but a success.

Personally, I think we did very well overall, as did the Bengals and the Redskins. The best move of the draft was John Lynch's fleecing of the Bears for the 2nd overall pick, but after that, I wasn't too impressed with the players they chose. Just about everybody got good talent in rounds 1 and 2, but not everybody got guys who have solid injury histories, clean off-field histories, coachable personalities, or high work ethics. Some teams bet on workout warriors with high ceilings but low productivity. That wasn't us. Some teams bet on guys with bad attitudes, like Cleveland with Deshone Kiser who already thinks he's better than Brady. That wasn't us.

There will be teams that bust this draft. It happens every year. But this was a draft stocked full of high quality talent, so this is exactly the worst year to bust. I'm very confident that this draft class is not a bust overall. We added talent, made value picks, and gave the coaching staff guys that fit what they want to do. I may not be the biggest Tannenbaum fan, and I'm not sure how much of the final call was Grier's ... but whatever the dynamics were, I think this draft worked. Well done Miami Dolphins Front Office .... we are now officially past the "dysfunctional" label, IMHO.
 
SF Dolphin Fan said:
Miami doesn't need an immediate starter so Harris has time to develop his run game. If he never comes along in that phase, but wrecks havoc on the quarterback that is still extremely valuable in the pass happy NFL.
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Thanks for describing exactly why most who don't like the Harris pick... don't like the Harris pick.

This reeks of a luxury pick. We have needs at LB, G, CB, DT and S... and we are picking a developmental DE who won't see the field most snaps. Run D was our primary Defensive area of need. So, we once again reach for a developmental prospect that doesn't even fill a need in the 1st round. Welcome aboard Dion Jordan 2.0.

1st Picks should be your best attempt to fill your team's needs with young talent. They should be starter ready; plug and play. Now we are going to have to hear about "when" and "if" for the next 3 - 4 years describe his "potential".

Give me Forrest Lamp at 22 and stop making the GM job so difficult. And when other teams are running all over us this year, take note how clean Mr. Harris' jersey is on the sidelines. Because that is a pick that isn't helping you this year.
 
Based on his first step and his great attitude alone, there's no way Harris is another Dion Jordan. His get off is stunning. Now, whether he could ever play the run is an entirely different question.

You could say he padded his stats on certain players (think Georgia), but it's not like he was playing in Alabama's defense. He was the guy teams needed to stop and focused on for their attention. That's different than being one of 4-5 high draft picks in another front seven.
 
Meh....dont really care what he thinks....I like Mayock & DJ isn't too bad either.

Harris will get snaps & McMillian will be a starter.
 
Didn't just about every team grade out a B or higher in this draft? Supposedly, it was that deep....
 
phinfan40353 said:
Thanks for describing exactly why most who don't like the Harris pick... don't like the Harris pick.

This reeks of a luxury pick. We have needs at LB, G, CB, DT and S... and we are picking a developmental DE who won't see the field most snaps. Run D was our primary Defensive area of need. So, we once again reach for a developmental prospect that doesn't even fill a need in the 1st round. Welcome aboard Dion Jordan 2.0.

1st Picks should be your best attempt to fill your team's needs with young talent. They should be starter ready; plug and play. Now we are going to have to hear about "when" and "if" for the next 3 - 4 years describe his "potential".

Give me Forrest Lamp at 22 and stop making the GM job so difficult. And when other teams are running all over us this year, take note how clean Mr. Harris' jersey is on the sidelines. Because that is a pick that isn't helping you this year.
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That's all fine and dandy as long as you're willing to step up and admit you might've been wrong if the rookie has a great first year.
 
Goin` Deep said:
Didn't just about every team grade out a B or higher in this draft? Supposedly, it was that deep....
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Honestly, I can't recall ever seeing so much talent in the fifth round and later. I think this was a historic draft in terms of overall talent available.
 
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