Big Red 1972
Long Lasting Freshness
With the Dolphins having one pick in the Top 75 I thought I'd start a thread focusing on the later round prospects that haven't been getting much hype.
Forget Mark Ingram, the running backs I really like are Roy Helu, Alex Green, and Bilal Powell in the 4th or 5th round. The best thing about all three? Their YPC last year:
Green 8.21
Helu 6.62
Powell 6.14
That's impressive!
Green and Powell are the bruisers. Either one would be a great addition. Helu has more explosion and big play ability, and he blew up the Combine.
Looking for a speedster in the 7th round? How about Noel Devine or Mario Fannin? Don't like the potential bust factor with those guys? How about Chad Spann from Northern Illinois? All he did was rush for 22 touchdowns last season. That lead the nation by the way. Spann is a 3rd down type of back who is a threat to take it to the house every time he touches the ball.
How about Center?
Stefen Wisniewski is a stud. But if we miss on him there's always Tim Barnes in the 4th or 5th round. Great at both run-blocking and pass pro. If he's off the board then there's Jake Kirkpatrick in the 6th or 7th. Maybe a better run-blocker than Wisniewski.
Looking for a sleeper? How about Brandon Fusco from Slippery Rock who was mentioned by the Universal Draft crew in their Sun-Sentinel blog? He's "raw" as they say but in couple years he could end up being a steal in the 6th.
We need a wideout to stretch the field. That means speed. Here are the candidates:
Round 3 - Edmond Gates 4.37
Round 4 - Denarius Moore 4.45
Round 7 - Aldrick Robinson 4.45
Round 7 - Ricardo Lockette 4.37
Round 7 - Kris Adams 4.31
My favorite is Kris Adams. His YPC of 22.77 led the nation in 2010. He's not a blocker, and he can't play special teams, but he will stretch the field and catch touchdowns.
I wouldn't cry if we drafted Denarius Moore either.
Want to improve the running game?
Then why not draft the best blocking tight end in this year's draft? Andre Smith from Virginia Tech. At 6-5 269 he's almost an extra offensive lineman. Should be there in the 5th or 6th round.
Or how about fullback Owen Marecic in the 6th round? He would also add depth to the linebacker corps and be a great special teams addition. If we miss on Marecic, then fullback Anthony Sherman in the 7th round might be an even better lead blocker.
Still think we need help on the offensive line?
How about the best run-blocking guard in this year's draft? Lee Ziemba from Auburn in the 5th round. His pass pro needs work, but the Dolphins shouldn't have problems creating lanes with this guy inside.
What about defense?
We should not spend more than a pick a two on the defensive side of the ball if you ask me. That said I would love to capture some that Matthews magic and draft Casey in the 5th round. I also like Ross Homan in the 5th and Colin McCarthy in the 4th but Matthews would be my main target.
At OLB there are some boom or bust type of players if you want to roll the dice: Greg Romeus in the 4th, Mark Herzlich in the 6th, and Markus White in the 7th. White had the best production of any late round prospect with 8 sacks and 12.5 TFL.
At CB I really like Ras-I Dowling in the 3rd but we can't afford to pick a DB that high especially with Will Allen coming back. Rashad Carmichael in the 4th would be great but I don't see that happening either. To me that leaves Andrew McGee from Oklahoma State in the 7th. He ran way too slow at the Combine (4.67) but he may have been hampered by an injury. Didn't stop him from snagging 5 interceptions last year. Question is can he play special teams?
At Safety I love DeAndre McDaniel in the 3rd but how can we pass on a running back or some other position of need in that round? I will say this. We may look back three years from now and wonder why we didn't draft McDaniel in the 3rd round.
In the 7th round you've got Tejay Johnson and Mana Silva. Loved the way Tejay Johnson played safety for TCU last year. Wouldn't surprise me if he turned out to be a special teams demon. Mana Silva had 8 interceptions last year at Hawaii.
Don't think I've forgotten about quarterback. Are there any late round guys worth a shot? Well I'm running up to the podium if Colin Kaepernick is still there when we pick in the 3rd but that's probably unlikely. Ricky Stanzi is worth a 7th round pick if you're looking for a backup. And then there's ckparrothead's guy: T.J. Yates. Definitely worth a 7th round pick. Let him carry a clipboard for a few years and he might shine given the opportunity.
Finally, I've got my eye on a handful of kickers.
Dan Carpenter is great and all but that's no reason to be complacent. I mean I'm still pissed off he missed four kicks in that Buffalo game. Plus we have three 7th round picks! Alex Henery from Nebraska can punt as well as kick field goals. Kai Forbath won the Lou Groza Award in 2009 and Dan Bailey won it in 2010. At least one of them should be available in the 7th.
Forget Mark Ingram, the running backs I really like are Roy Helu, Alex Green, and Bilal Powell in the 4th or 5th round. The best thing about all three? Their YPC last year:
Green 8.21
Helu 6.62
Powell 6.14
That's impressive!
Green and Powell are the bruisers. Either one would be a great addition. Helu has more explosion and big play ability, and he blew up the Combine.
Looking for a speedster in the 7th round? How about Noel Devine or Mario Fannin? Don't like the potential bust factor with those guys? How about Chad Spann from Northern Illinois? All he did was rush for 22 touchdowns last season. That lead the nation by the way. Spann is a 3rd down type of back who is a threat to take it to the house every time he touches the ball.
How about Center?
Stefen Wisniewski is a stud. But if we miss on him there's always Tim Barnes in the 4th or 5th round. Great at both run-blocking and pass pro. If he's off the board then there's Jake Kirkpatrick in the 6th or 7th. Maybe a better run-blocker than Wisniewski.
Looking for a sleeper? How about Brandon Fusco from Slippery Rock who was mentioned by the Universal Draft crew in their Sun-Sentinel blog? He's "raw" as they say but in couple years he could end up being a steal in the 6th.
We need a wideout to stretch the field. That means speed. Here are the candidates:
Round 3 - Edmond Gates 4.37
Round 4 - Denarius Moore 4.45
Round 7 - Aldrick Robinson 4.45
Round 7 - Ricardo Lockette 4.37
Round 7 - Kris Adams 4.31
My favorite is Kris Adams. His YPC of 22.77 led the nation in 2010. He's not a blocker, and he can't play special teams, but he will stretch the field and catch touchdowns.
I wouldn't cry if we drafted Denarius Moore either.
Want to improve the running game?
Then why not draft the best blocking tight end in this year's draft? Andre Smith from Virginia Tech. At 6-5 269 he's almost an extra offensive lineman. Should be there in the 5th or 6th round.
Or how about fullback Owen Marecic in the 6th round? He would also add depth to the linebacker corps and be a great special teams addition. If we miss on Marecic, then fullback Anthony Sherman in the 7th round might be an even better lead blocker.
Still think we need help on the offensive line?
How about the best run-blocking guard in this year's draft? Lee Ziemba from Auburn in the 5th round. His pass pro needs work, but the Dolphins shouldn't have problems creating lanes with this guy inside.
What about defense?
We should not spend more than a pick a two on the defensive side of the ball if you ask me. That said I would love to capture some that Matthews magic and draft Casey in the 5th round. I also like Ross Homan in the 5th and Colin McCarthy in the 4th but Matthews would be my main target.
At OLB there are some boom or bust type of players if you want to roll the dice: Greg Romeus in the 4th, Mark Herzlich in the 6th, and Markus White in the 7th. White had the best production of any late round prospect with 8 sacks and 12.5 TFL.
At CB I really like Ras-I Dowling in the 3rd but we can't afford to pick a DB that high especially with Will Allen coming back. Rashad Carmichael in the 4th would be great but I don't see that happening either. To me that leaves Andrew McGee from Oklahoma State in the 7th. He ran way too slow at the Combine (4.67) but he may have been hampered by an injury. Didn't stop him from snagging 5 interceptions last year. Question is can he play special teams?
At Safety I love DeAndre McDaniel in the 3rd but how can we pass on a running back or some other position of need in that round? I will say this. We may look back three years from now and wonder why we didn't draft McDaniel in the 3rd round.
In the 7th round you've got Tejay Johnson and Mana Silva. Loved the way Tejay Johnson played safety for TCU last year. Wouldn't surprise me if he turned out to be a special teams demon. Mana Silva had 8 interceptions last year at Hawaii.
Don't think I've forgotten about quarterback. Are there any late round guys worth a shot? Well I'm running up to the podium if Colin Kaepernick is still there when we pick in the 3rd but that's probably unlikely. Ricky Stanzi is worth a 7th round pick if you're looking for a backup. And then there's ckparrothead's guy: T.J. Yates. Definitely worth a 7th round pick. Let him carry a clipboard for a few years and he might shine given the opportunity.
Finally, I've got my eye on a handful of kickers.
Dan Carpenter is great and all but that's no reason to be complacent. I mean I'm still pissed off he missed four kicks in that Buffalo game. Plus we have three 7th round picks! Alex Henery from Nebraska can punt as well as kick field goals. Kai Forbath won the Lou Groza Award in 2009 and Dan Bailey won it in 2010. At least one of them should be available in the 7th.
