i feel like delmas would be a reach at 25... yes, he's in the top 3 safeties, but remember that this year's crop of safeties is pretty weak.
there's a lot of offensive linemen and defensive linemen that will go in the first round (about 10 to 15), there are also some skill players at the WR, QB and RB position that will leave in the first round (about 10 of them) . there's also a good LB pool ( about 5).
IMO, there will be 1 safety at most that will be a first rounder.
The cornerback is another story though... i think at least 3 of them will go in the first round.
so now, if you're the dolphin staff, you ask yourself: at what position will the best players slide to 25 ?
because obviously, there will be a top prospect in one of those positions that will fall in our laps, and this staff has to identify who before they can think of resigning every free agent we've got. On a sidenote, that's why they are not in a hurry to resign any of our FA... because the draft process just started...
the way i see it, there either will be a very good RT, a very good CB or a very good LB/DE at 25... there will also have good to average safeties, good WRs and maybe a good DE (for a 3-4) in tyson jackson (RBs and QBs might slip but they are not worth mentionning in our case)
guess what, we have holes at all those positions on our roster...
right now, it's up to ireland to put the pieces of the puzzle in the right place:
- resign vernon carey, or draft a guy like jamon meredith and let him compete with Ndukwe for the RT spot ?
- Keep carey and:
- move Merling to OLB to compete with roth and draft a big guy like Tyson jackson to be our DE ? or a guy like jarron gilbert in a later round?
-
Don't resign Bell and draft moore in the first round ?
- Don't resign goodman and draft a guy like alphonso smith or dj moore ?
- be cautious and draft delmas or R.Johnson in the first round to be your free safety, even though you know it's a reach ?
- resign a few guys in the secondary and draft a big DE with OLB potential in the mold of demarcus ware ... but really, are there any ?
- etc etc ...
obviously, what will be available in later rounds will also dictate how they will attack the draft...
here's a last food for thought... last year, the dolphins spent A LOT of money on the offensive line by drafting Jake Long and signing smiley... do they really want to tie up another 4 to 6 million per year on that unit ? I really don't know. The offensive line is gelling together, vernon had a good year and he's offering good versatility... on the other side, you can get younger/cheaper (and better ?
) in the first round of the draft...
the vernon carey situation, IMO, is the one to monitor right now.
Cameron wake changed our draft but now carey can have an even bigger impact, so it's really not as simple as " a LB or a CB"
