Philbin, WCO, 174 lb Tavon Austin..

[spiketex]

Eifert is a pretty safe pick. He's the best TE in the draft. Austin is much more of a risk but he is so electric and his ability to stop and change direction is so rare that we may kick ourselves for not picking him for the next 10 years. Yes, he's tiny and yes, we sure blew the 1st round pick in 2007 with another small, fast WR who avoided physical contact in Ted Ginn Jr. But where Teddy would take huge strides as an athlete and wind up to full world-class speed, Austin seems to get to full speed in a nanosecond and is far more gifted as a footballer.
Historically, Ireland has not been a huge risk taker in the draft and I understand that a sensible pick like an OT or a CB or Tyler Eifert is probably prudent, but you can't help but wonder whether Austin is a once in every 25 year freak of nature who could energize the team and whole fanbase. Make no mistake, Austin has been told for years that he is too small, too light, etc to compete. And he has simply got better and better.

 

[dcnr226]

Disagree. There is "the next great TE" coming out once a year. There was Graham, then Gronk/Hernandez, then Fleener/Allen. Colleges are pushing these mammoths out like they grow on trees now. When is the last time you saw a player like Austin come out? You can't label a player who had almost 400 yards rushing, and another 200 receiving yards in one game a "slot receiver that isn't hard to find". He's more than he's getting credit for, and the ways you can use him make his value skyrocket in my mind. This is not to take anything away from Eifert either, because if for some terrible reason we don't grab Austin; Eifert or Milliner would be the only other players I would want, if neither then I would hope to trade down. The kid is simply electric, and is no where near common and I feel like he's worth taking a chance on.

All the guys you just mentioned were 2nd and 3rd round picks, Tyler Eifert is a clear cut top 15 talent and the last time I can remember a TE being this much of a sure thing, it was Vernon Davis

 

[Digital]

I think we are showing a lot of interest in him and it could be for any of 3 different reasons:

1. We love him as a prospect and are seriously considering him at #12 overall,
2. We want to trade down and are hoping another team wants whatever is/may be available at #12 so we want to seem interested in a prospect to get more from the trade down,
3. We like someone else like Swope in the 2nd or Patterson at #12 and want to throw off the scent.

Dunno which of the 3 it is, but Austin is a risk. I know Ireland tried to trade for Desean Jackson a couple years or so ago, so I could see him going for a Tavon Austin despite the size. Also, in Philbin's/Sherman's system, the slot receiver is showcased, so he'd be more than a luxury for us. Under Philbin, Jennings played predominantly in the slot and did well. But, Philbin also likes to have all of his WR's play all 3 positions, and Tavon Austin is too small to play on the sidelines IMHO. If position flexibility is a serious concern for us, then someone like Ryan Swope or Robert Woods makes a lot more sense than Tavon Austin.

 

[dcnr226]

All the guys you just mentioned were 2nd and 3rd round picks, Tyler Eifert is a clear cut top 15 talent and the last time I can remember a TE being this much of a sure thing, it was Vernon Davis

The last Tavon Austin that came into the league was Percy Harvin, and the last Tyler Eifert that came into the league was Vernon Davis. Clear cut sure things, stars.

 

[Dolfan23]

Think long term. Players we draft, we hope, aren't for just next year but hopefully the next 8. We aren't winning the Super Bowl next year so if we can get an elite playmaker for hopefully the next decade you do it. Your frame of mind is the reason we don't have a Patrick Willis. I was pounding the table to nab him but all I heard was it wasn't as pressing a need. I kept saying to think 3 years from now when Zach was gone and our lb corp would be completely different.

Going by that philosophy we would of never had pat surtain since we already had Sam Madison and t-buck. Positions are fluid and what might be a strength can easily be a weakness in a year or two. So when the opportunity presents itself to grab an elite playmaker that you hope is playing for you for 8-10 years, you don't dismiss it by saying we have other more pressing matters today. That frame of mind leads to continuous losing seasons as you continue to pass on elite playmaking talent because you are unable to see past 8 months from now

I never said don't pass up an elite play maker, but why can't it be an elite play maker on defense? Thinking like this is how we took Ted Ginn, Jr rather than Patrick Willis (or Darrelle Revis), if you'd like to be technical. Your analogy doesn't hold water because Willis didn't have a single question mark about his size whereas Austin has legit questions concerning whether or not he can take a hit at the NFL level and survive. And while it's not apples to apples by any means, it sure didn't work out well the last time we took an undersized "play maker" from WVU! It won't upset me if we take Austin but I'd sure as heck rather roll the dice on finding an elite play maker on defense at CB or DE, where he have actual major holes, or an elite LT so we'll have someone to actually give our franchise QB time to find our franchise WR that we just spend $60 million on. So yeah Austin is a luxury pick and I don't mind taking luxury picks if they are sure things but we're not talking about a guy who is Calvin Johnson size, we're talking about a guy smaller than most of us on this board and that's not something to be ignored when talking about the 12th pick in the draft and a team with 1 playoff appearance in the past decade making the pick.

 

[thefranchisedef]

Austin is a highlight machine.. If we draft him- great! Much rather draft eifert or Lane Johnson. Don't be suprised with a Patterson pick at 12 or a mingo/ Jarvis jones pick. Corner is deep, second round is a prime place for corners or even receivers. If we want to really mess with teams we will draft Eifert!

 

[LordTua]

All the guys you just mentioned were 2nd and 3rd round picks, Tyler Eifert is a clear cut top 15 talent and the last time I can remember a TE being this much of a sure thing, it was Vernon Davis

So you're saying that Eifert will be a better TE than Gronk or Graham because they weren't drafted in the 1st? Because if not, then you just made my point, saying that the two best TEs in the league were found in the 2nd round. Davis was a first round pick, but he's isn't as good as Graham or Gronk who were passed on in the first, simple as that. The last Austin is Harvin, and Harvin just doubled in value when he hit the trading block, even with his injury history. It just shows that size and even durability to an extent aren't as important to NFL teams as they are to you guys. The chance that they don't end up on IR, are worth taking the risk because of what they can create on the field. Austin 2013.

 

[BigNastyDB13]

correct. And a supermarket worker could end up as superbowl mvp qb kurt warner. Fact is, you don't know. You have to make a calculated guess.

You're acting like our #12 overall pick can only be used on tavon austin or a pile of garbage. That's ridiculous. There will be plenty of hall of fame potential talent available with the #12 pick[/b].

[/b]

How do you figure there will be plenty of HOF potential at 12? How many players do you think makes the HOF in an average draft? It's not ""plenty".

 

[STL-FIN]

Love him

 

[BigNastyDB13]

In today's NFL slot WR's are starters buddy. They play 80-90% of downs. Oh BTW he also plays RB so you can use him at RB as a change of pace which essentially means he can be on the field 100% of the time. He's also an elite return specialist. We are not palying 90's football here. Who are you? Bill Parcells?

No, they dont. It's more like 50% of the time and even that's probably high for most teams. I guarantee you can't find me 1 team in the NFL that used 3 wr's 80-90% of the time.

 

[Glaxocon]

One thing is a definite. This whole debate will change. It is to early for this debate. FA is far from over. Who knows what Ireland/Philbin have planned!? We may pick up a T in Winston or we may trade for one. That will change this debate alot. Just sayin'

 

[Glaxocon]

On another note Austin is E L E C T R I C !! He may be to fast and shifty to ever get hit real hard..just sayin'

 

[CANDolphan]

A whole lot of condescending remarks here. Let's break them down .

1) Stop assuming he can easily put 10 lbs of muscle on him. Until that happens, facts are facts. He's 174. Not 185. Not 180. Not 184. He's 174.
2) Stop saying Swope is "just as fast" as Austin. Watch them play. Night and day difference. There's game speed then there is track speed. You want to sit there and tell me Ryan Swope is faster than Percy Harvin? Because their 40 yard dash time seems to say so, and that's flat out WRONG.
3) STOP saying "You just don't know football" because you sound like a pompous ass. I don't care who you are, but none of us are expert coaches or scouts. I can guarantee that. There are a few people here who simply understand the scouting process better than most, but that's it.

 

[NRA]

180 lb Ted Ginn Jr with a #9 overall draft pick.

wow!! tedd ginn mentioned in the same sentence as tayvon austin. EPIC FAIL!!

i am beginning to think that most of the austin nay sayers actually know NOTHING about him. he can be a pro bowl wr as well as a pro bowl rb and ace punt and kick returner. he runs EXELLENT ROUTES and can burn you deep at any time. he gets off the line clean and rarely gets jammed.

ted ginn was a great college return guy but was very raw as a wr and couldnt run routes to save his soul. that is the big difference. ginn, one hit wonder. austin? big time wr , rb and k/punt return man.

i guess no one remembers the marx brothers. or the smurfs. or the 3 amigos, etc....... they all went against the BIG boys and all were perenial pro bowlers. its one thing to be small and have some college game, but, its differrent when you are a small guy and TRUE TALENT NO MATTER WHERE YOU LINE HIM UP. i dont want to hear about it was the 80's, schemes, etc.... . you still have to run and catch and beat big players.

"YEAH BUT, YOU DONT UNDERSTAND nra, he will only be on the field part time, thats not worth the #12 pic".

really? why would you only play a guy who can score at ANY time from the wr position, slot, rb or return guy part time? i promise you, if we were to draft tayvon, he puts either gibson or bess on the bench easily!! and if used correctly, he will score more than mike wallace.

so, is it safe to say that if tayvon is 6'0 tall, no one is questioning his #12 selection. lets look at that...... . take out a ruler or tape measure and look at three inches. its not much at all!! and you think he being that tiny bit more in height would make him any better?

all that talent and scoring ability and you will pass on that over 3 tiny inches? he out jumped almost every wr at the combine. [see mark clayton]. he has no problem with 6'0 corners.

this isnt tedd ginn or any of the other tiny terrors who made their name off of returning kicks against college special teams. this is a guy with DOMINANT game in 3 different positions.

if thats not worth #12, i dont know what is.

and what exactly would that tiny 3 inches do for him exactly?

 

[Playmaker76]

I read the most ignorant thing on twitter today. Some dude said he didn't want the Dolphins to pick Austin because he reminded him of John Avery. I would like to know how our fanbase became so ignorant. What happened? We actually used to be a very intelligent fanbase.