Pass Rusher in the 1st round......is it the best option?

[Dolphinator530]

I personally think that the Dolphins are in a terrible position come this year's draft. At 15 we are out of the hunt for the only elite QB, the 2 top WR's no lineman are worthy of the 15th pick TE is too high, because while Rudolph is good he isnt THAT good. Not to mention that i think that while Ingram is good he is not worthy at the 15th pick and this is a deep draft for the RB so no need to get one at 15 and there is one player like a Peterson out of LSU would be a great addition but again the Dolphins will be out of the running for him.

And if by some miracle the NFL creates a new CBA prior and we trade down Ingram will be gone and probably Leshoure as well, Titus Young will be a reach as will any QB at this point and some O-lineman will be available but i think FA is a better option for this position.

So looking at how bad our position seems to be and even if we trade down (which only happens with a new CBA) it looks like getting a big time pass rusher might be the best option for this team.

I was unable to see the senior bowl but from what i heard on here and saw posted Von Miller is an absolute monster, Justin Houston is a freak as well and has experience in the system and there are other options like, Aldon Smith, Akeem Ayers, Ryan Kerrigan. Though i think Miller and Houston are the two best prospects at the rush OLB spot and i think that Miller will probably be gone by 15 but a guy can dream but if he is there at 15 there needs to be a vapor trail up to the stage picking him and i know Houston would be there at 15 (reach?) and probably if we were able to trade down.

So looking at all of our options I think that taking a pass rusher is the best option in the 1st round unless something completely unforeseen happens an example being if Gabbert or AJ Green falls to 15

 

[Pinkboy]

Kind of what I'm hoping for. You're not going find great pass rushers in free agency because that position is so valuable..., but you will find a boatload of WR's, plenty of RB's, and a good amount of offensive linemen in free agency for our offense.

By bringing in another fierce pass rusher opposite Wake and moving Misi to ILB next to Dansby... essentially you're upgrading 2 positions with one move. Nothing would improve our defense more than adding another really good pass rusher. Good pass rushers are worth their weight in gold and we definitely need more of them.

A linebacking corps consisting of:

Wake-Misi-Dansby-Quinn

or

Miller-Misi-Dansby-Wake

would be fine by me.

* Edds is strictly a coverage guy as he cannot blitz at all or play downhill as he's too weak and gets brushed off by OLinemen.

Both of your ILB's are excellent coverage ILB's (what a huge difference from 2 years ago with Crowder and Ayodele).. and both your ILB's can blitz and be a threat for offensive lines to worry about and prepare for -- opening up the outside backers even more. (notice that the Jets get a lot of their pressure from their interior LB's Scott and Harris and play alot of mindgames with O-lines that way - but the Dolphins will have much better OLB's to compliment them)

you can also play a lot of mind games on opposing O-lines by faking a Misi blitz and shooting a safety through with a D-line twist or stunt.. Or, fake a safety blitz and have O-lines struggling to figure out which of Dansby or Misi will come in on the blitz ( having such versatility in your front 7 lineup puts offensive lines on their heels).. and you don't lose anything in coverage with Misi as he's better than Crowder in coverage when Misi retreats after showing blitz.. Crowder doesn't strike fear into any O-line as far as blitzing so they don't come into games preparing for him at all.. Misi is a smart hardworking guy so I think he can handle the transition better than most.

This would drive offensive lines and QB's absolutely crazy as all 4 guys can get to the QB.. I think Misi could do better blitzing from the inside as he doesn't have elite pass rusher speed and can't bend from the arc very well, but he is quick enough to beat interior linemen - and he has experience against interior linemen from his college days. And of course Dansby can get to the QB as he's shown in his career by looking at his QB pressure numbers (quite high) and sack totals.

Couple that with the very strong defensive line rotation we have (which is the strength of the team) and a linebacking corps like this would expand Nolan's playbook immensely. And it would be the first step into truly making Miami's D an elite level defense.

Nolan is BY FAR the best and smartest coach we have so we should continue to give him good players as he knows how to put them in the best possible position to succeed. I have no faith that Sparano and Daboll can do that for the offense, and have absolutely no trust in them devoloping a QB or putting this offense in the best position to succeed. If you handed them the Patriots offensive unit they'd figure out a way to have them ranked 10 spots lower offensively.

You'll get double the bang for your buck by giving Nolan a good young player on his defense than you will giving Sparano a good young player for the offense.

 

[Roonnette]

The best "option," if there is such, is to trade down, get a second rd pick, and draft Mallett (rated 39) and Henkerson (52).

 

[Dolphinator530]

The best "option," if there is such, is to trade down, get a second rd pick, and draft Mallett (rated 39) and Henkerson (52).

Well if you want to trade down you need to start praying that a new CBA is stricken here in the next 6 or 8 weeks. Which will be hard considering that I dont think the sides are very interested in speaking with each other for a few months and probably wont come to a deal until right before the season if at all this year.

And Mallet is not our best option, he has to many flaws and runs a wide open 1 read system at Arkansas. While he can go through multiple reads he is not great at and i do not think the Dolphins are high on him.

Like grey said, Quinn, Houston, Miller would make our D scary and you can get speedy skill players in rounds 2 (through player trades) and 3 along with FA to boost the O

 

[Dolphinator530]

Hey Grey or any draft guru's, have you heard anything about Quinn. With being out a year and missing all that chance to show off and continue to develop I dont know about him as a viable pass rusher in the NFL. While i know the skill is there I just see guys Mike Williams and Maurice Clarett who plummet of the face of the earth after missing a year.

Is there good things coming out of Quinn's camp about how he has been preparing.

 

[Roonnette]

I disagree. What's gonna make us scary is players who can score, and DBs who can break on the ball and take it to the house.

 

[Pinkboy]

I disagree. What's gonna make us scary is players who can score, and DBs who can break on the ball and take it to the house.

1) A great defense gives the offense the ball more - to score

2) DB's will have a lot more chances at INT's when you have a linebacking corps and defense (like the one i described) that can seriously get after the QB making his life a living hell.

ps - there's plenty of good WR's, backs and OL in free agency, but you don't find great pass rushers available in free agency often because... guess what.. they're an extremely valuable commodity.

 

[Dolphinator530]

I disagree. What's gonna make us scary is players who can score, and DBs who can break on the ball and take it to the house.

There are options on players who can score during FA players like Mike Sims Walker, Zach Miller, James Jones, Mercedes Lewis, Owen Daniels, Malcom Floyd are targets and can be added to beast up the O.

I have no quarrel with getting a speedy play making guys in the draft but i think in the 2nd (if possible) getting a WR/PR/KR and maybe get a multiple treat RB the 3rd is the best way to do that.

All i am saying is in the first round there are alot of very talented pass rushers that could benefit this team faster than getting a Qb who needs 2 or 3 years to develop into a starter.

 

[Roonnette]

I agree with that.

I have no confidence in Henne, Bess, Hartline to score, to stretch the field, to keep drives going consistently and take us to the ultimate level, even with Steelers D. I love Von Miller. Von Miller is the safe pick. Von Miller is not a winning pick however.

 

[Pinkboy]

I agree with that.

I have no confidence in Henne, Bess, Hartline to score, to stretch the field, to keep drives going consistently and take us to the ultimate level, even with Steelers D. I love Von Miller. Von Miller is the safe pick. Von Miller is not a winning pick however.

But we have the rest of the draft and all of free agency to go offense.

we are not saying that the offense should be ignored here.

Four of the last 5 super bowls were won with defense. The 2 teams in the super bowl this year have the #1 and #2 ranked scoring defenses.. all the talk of their offenses, but a good part of it is because those defenses give their offenses the football so much for more (and better) opportunities to score.

 

[Roonnette]

True. Our D gave our O so many opportunities, and they failed though. I can see it your way. There are some O players I like in later rounds, so bottom line is it depends on the whole draft and FA. Look, a draft could be structured where first 4 players are on D, and I'd be happy with, but it depends on players taken.

 

[SCOTTY]

With the 30th worst offense and investing so much in the D already. I never considered going defense again with the 1st pick. Dolphinator530-why do we have to hope for a CBA if we want to trade down-am I misreadin your 2nd paragraph? A CBA does not need to be in place to trade draft picks, just to trade player.

 

[Pinkboy]

remember that our D looked best against some real crappy backup QB's.. the backup on the raiders, trent edwards (lucky we didn';t face fitzpatrick and Campbell who are better and they're starters).. delhomme instead of Mccoy. a bad kerry collins, etc etc. Guys who don't belong in the league.

I like our defense but let's face it, they got real lucky with the qb's they faced pumping their numbers. I am not as confident in the defense as it currently stands in the playoffs against the good QB's. We can't ignore the D because although it's improved, it isn't as good as their ranking shows this year imo.

I'm all-in for Von Miller.. adding a great player at a very valuable position that's worth gold is never a bad move. When you hold teams to 14-16 pts per game you have a great chance to win most of your games.. especially if that defense creates a lot of turnovers giving the offense the ball in good field position, and/or gives them the ball more period.

 

[Roonnette]

We can't ignore the D because although it's improved, it isn't as good as their ranking shows this year imo.

I agree that it could be improved. I just feel that the improvements needed are more in the secondary, specifically the Clemons, Smith, and Bell spot. No hands, no play making ability.

The fact that Von Miller is an OLB, which is an important and difficult position, and is so highly rated, would make me think twice before drafting any offensive player. But I think I'd still take Mallett.

 

[j-off-her-doll]

Miller is the most interesting defensive player I've seen in a few years. I can't see him falling to 15, but if he's there, and if we're not going QB anyway - because we're idiots - then I'd love to have him. If we trade down because we're not going QB anyway, I'd love to have Houston.

But, if we go with Kaepernick, I'll blow my brains out.