Anyways no team would not draft a guy for having "short arms" in the 1st place but Bill Jeff and Tony have all passed on 6'1 OLB'ers many times.:tongue2:
Aside from the height, Brandon Graham has every single quality and attribute this regime looks for in a first round draft pick.
I also heard from a very reputable source that Larry English was high on the Dolphins board last year, and likely would have been our pick at 25 if he was there and Vontae wasn't. English is only an inch taller than Graham and he weighed 12 pounds less than Graham when he came out.. Larry English went 16th overall.
But let's look at all the other attributes Graham has that this regime looks for in a 1st round pick:
1) Tough, Smart and Disciplined - Yes he is. VERY.. Check
2) He's a Michigan kid. Parcells loves great productive players who were long time starters from that school- see Jake Long and Henne.. Check
3) Gym rat - Absolutely. Just like Vontae Davis and Jake Long were dedicated gym rats.. two of their previous 1st round picks.. Check
4) Hard Worker - Absolutely. Graham plays every snap 110% with relentlessness and is a very hard worker off the field. Highly dedicated to his craft.. Check
5) Film Study - Absolutely. Graham is a film nut. Studies the game relentlessly and has an extremely high football IQ.. He was the leader in the film room on that team.. Check
6) Can he stop the run as a 1st round 3-4 OLB? - You bet. He is very good against the run. In the 1st round this regime looks for "complete" football players, that's why it was important for Vontae to be good against the run. If he wasn't, I don't think he would have been picked in the 1st by us.. Check
7) Physical.. Oh yes, Graham is extremely physical.. Check
8) Production - Absolutely.. Check
9) No "one-year wonders" need apply - This regime detests one year wonder types early in the draft in the 1st round.. They prefer players who produced over the long haul, not the short term. They like a track record. Graham played 47 college games and did what this regime looks for.. which is continued development and production over all those games played.. Check
10) Leadership - Graham has it in spades.. Check
11) Love for football - Graham has a very high level of passion and love for the game of football. He eats, sleeps, dreams and breathes football...another big thing this regime looks for when scouting players early in the draft.. Check.
12) Durability - Graham doesn't get injured. He is extremely durable, and has shown that over a 4 year span.. Check.
13) Did he bite as a pup? This is one of Parcells' most famous quotes. "If they don't bite as pups they won't bite". Graham had plenty of bite as a very young player early in his football career. And was the #1 linebacker recruit in the country out of high school.
14) Technically sound? - very technically sound. he is the most technically sound DE in the draft. In fact he is one of the most technically skilled players in the entire draft, regardless of position.. Check
Graham is definitely on our radar. The Dolphins coaching staff didn't run plays away from him 80% of the time yesterday because they don't know how good he is.. they definitely do.