CK's Draft Reviews: Miami Dolphins Wrap Up | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

CK's Draft Reviews: Miami Dolphins Wrap Up

ckparrothead

ckparrothead

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Hey all.

Just wanted to point out that my draft review is up. We don't have all the videos we want to get together up quite yet but we will shortly enough. Enjoy.

http://www.universaldraft.com/2010/04/28/cks-2010-draft-reviews-miami-dolphins-wrap-up/

I find draft grades to be all but meaningless. They are purely a function of how you rated players prior to the draft, and which teams took your favorite players. The notion that you could grade a draft after the fact, but within days of the actual event, is kind of absurd.

What I prefer to give readers is a feel for my own personal reaction as the draft came to me. You can take that for whatever you feel it is worth. I did the same with last year's Miami Dolphins draft and I was notably wrong on several of my reactions. I hated the Brian Hartline pick, and loved the Clemons and Gardner picks. Hartline looks well on his way to being a legitimate NFL starter and I've admitted a hundred times that my initial read on him was very wrong. On the other hand, Clemons and Gardner played very little in 2009 and we still have no idea what they have to offer the Dolphins. It wasn't all bad for me, I hated the Pat White pick with a passion and that one has not turned out very wise thus far. I hailed the Sean Smith pick and he was a day one starter (unlike Vontae Davis who went a round ahead of him) despite his inexperience at the position, so obviously the coaches saw what I saw in him. I was neutral at best on the John Nalbone and Pat Turner picks, and thought the J.D. Folsom selection was purely a throwaway pick.

Overall, I walked away from 2010 Draft weekend feeling much better about the Miami Dolphins' draft than I did in 2009. Given my negative grade on the 2009 Draft it would be tough to make a case for bias. The fact of the matter is, before the draft I created a list of players about 80 deep that I considered to be draftable favorites of mine. I called it the "All-Smiles List", as in I would be all smiles if the Dolphins had grabbed that player. About 15 of those players went undrafted. The Dolphins came away from Draft weekend with 5 of those remaining 65 drafted players (Odrick, Misi, Jerry, Edds, Spitler), more than any other team in the league. Only one team (the Arizona Cardinals) walked away with more than 3 of my All-Smiles players.

Technically I have every right to claim, completely free from accusations of bias, that the Miami Dolphins walked away with my favorite draft class and therefore my highest draft grade in the league. I don't see any other way around that. But, I've decided not to give letter grades. Below is a pick-by-pick analysis of what I think about each player's positives and negatives, where they fit with Miami, and I'll kick off with a parable of my draft day reaction to their selection.

Pick #12: DE Jared Odrick, Penn State

My Reaction: "I hope they take Jerry Hughes. C'mon, Jerry Hughes! JERRI-!!! Jerri-...Jared Odrick? Huh. That's interesting. Really good player. Why not Hughes? Odrick's damn good but that surprises me."
Click to expand...

EDIT: This review, along with thoughts from Simon Clancy (Boomer) and Richard Lines (Conuficus) can now be found on the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel under Dave Hyde's blog section. Here is the link:
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/spo...g/2010/04/analyzing_the_dolphins_draft_t.html
 
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Just for giggles, do you have a link to the list of players on your all smiles list? I always enjoy looking back at players liked from drafts, and I respect your opinion.
 
PhinsTD said:
Just for giggles, do you have a link to the list of players on your all smiles list? I always enjoy looking back at players liked from drafts, and I respect your opinion.
Click to expand...

I'll just list them for you.

CK's All-Smiles List

CB Amari Spievey, Iowa
CB Brandon Ghee, Wake Forest
CB Devin McCourty, Rutgers
CB Javier Arenas, Alabama
CB Kareem Jackson, Alabama
CB Kevin Thomas, Southern California
CB Patrick Stoudamire, Western Illinois

DE C.J. Wilson, East Carolina
DE Corey Wootton, Northwestern
DE Derrick Morgan, Georgia Tech
DE Jason Pierre-Paul, South Florida
DE Jeffrey Fitzgerald, Kansas State

DS Earl Thomas, Texas
DS Eric Berry, Tennessee
DS Kam Chancellor, Virginia Tech
DS Kurt Coleman, Ohio State
DS Larry Asante, Nebraska
DS Major Wright, Florida
DS Morgan Burnett, Georgia Tech

DT Arthur Jones, Syracuse
DT Cam Thomas, North Carolina
DT Doug Worthington, Ohio State
DT Geno Atkins, Georgia
DT Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma
DT Jared Odrick, Penn State (1st Round)
DT Linval Joseph, East Carolina
DT Martin Tevaseu, UNLV
DT Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska
DT Tyson Alualu, California
DT Vince Oghobaase, Duke (UDFA Signee)

LB A.J. Edds, Iowa (4th Round)
LB Antonio Coleman, Auburn
LB Austin Spitler, Ohio State (7th Round)
LB Brandon Graham, Michigan
LB Brandon Spikes, Florida
LB Daryl Washington, TCU
LB Dekoda Watson, Florida State
LB Dexter Davis, Arizona State
LB Greg Hardy, Ole Miss
LB Jason Worilds, Virginia Tech
LB Jerry Hughes, TCU
LB Kavell Conner, Clemson
LB Keaton Kristick, Oregon State
LB Koa Misi, Utah (2nd Round)
LB Navorro Bowman, Penn State
LB O'Brien Schofield, Wisconsin
LB Sean Weatherspoon, Missouri
LB Thaddeus Gibson, Ohio State

OC Jeff Byers, Southern California
OC John Estes, Hawai'i

OG Alex Parsons, Southern California
OG John Jerry, Ole Miss (3rd Round)
OG John Malecki, Pittsburgh
OG Shelley Smith, Colorado State
OG Thomas Austin, Clemson

OT Charles Brown, Southern California
OT Kyle Callaway, Iowa
OT Rodger Saffold, Indiana

QB Levi Brown, Troy
QB Mike Kafka, Northwestern
QB Sam Bradford, Oklahoma
QB Tyler Sheehan, Bowling Green

RB Anthony Dixon, Mississippi State
RB C.J. Spiller, Clemson
RB Jahvid Best, California
RB Ryan Matthews, Fresno State
RB Toby Gerhart, Stanford

TE Andrew Quarless, Penn State
TE Dennis Pitta, BYU
TE Dorin Dickerson, Pittsburgh
TE Jeff Cumberland, Illinois
TE Jimmy Graham, Miami

WR Andre Roberts, Citadel
WR Arrelious Benn, Illinois
WR Blair White, Michigan State
WR Chris McGaha, Arizona State
WR Demaryius Thomas, Georgia Tech
WR Dexter McCluster, Ole Miss
WR Dez Bryant, Oklahoma State
WR Taylor Price, Ohio
 
I completely understand why/how the Ireland threads are pages and pages long while this is has received only some attention - though I expect it will soon receive more - but it still pisses me off. I was new to the boards when you posted your write up last year, and I disagreed with a few of your write-ups on players. Here: I think you're spot-on just about everywhere. I'm a little higher on R. Jones - considering the place we drafted him especially - but other than that, there's just about nothing I can find to argue.

Given the development of the draft, are you pleased that we drafted Odrick over Hughes? I made a post yesterday, sharing that I had pretty much the exact same initial reaction. And, do you view passing on Hughes as a ringing endorsement for Wake - in a Dumervil roll?
 
good Write up CK really enjoyed it. Spot on in my opinion. I however do not agree wholly on the Jones assessment from a "FIT" standpoint as i clearly see the FO giving him every opportunity to start Game 1 as long as we don't bring in a Sharper or Atogwe. As i think we wouldnt have traded up for him in the 5th if we werent overly interested in his value in rd 5.

Anyways man thats just nickpicking. . Good work keep it up!
 
j-off-her-doll said:
Given the development of the draft, are you pleased that we drafted Odrick over Hughes? I made a post yesterday, sharing that I had pretty much the exact same initial reaction. And, do you view passing on Hughes as a ringing endorsement for Wake - in a Dumervil roll?
Click to expand...

Pleased with Odrick/Misi over Hughes/Joseph? Tough call, really. It will depend on how Wake does. Which ties into your second question, yes this is an endorsement of Cameron Wake who will be asked to rush the passer pretty constantly.

The Dolphins have remodeled the LBs unit, and the common theme is COVERAGE. Guys that back up, not just guys that move forward and attack.

1. Jason Taylor, an attacking pass rusher at this point in his career. OUT.

2. Joey Porter, also an attacking pass rusher who lost his pass rush. OUT.

3. Akin Ayodele, a straight-foward, attacking thumper. OUT.

4. Tim Dobbins, also a thumper but who can also back up and cover. IN.

5. Karlos Dansby, one of the best cover linebackers in football. IN.

6. A.J. Edds, the second best cover linebacker in the draft. IN.

7. Koa Misi, the best cover linebacker among 3-4 outside linebacker prospects. IN.

8. Heck, even Austin Spitler...he's a guy that has the feet to cover, just not quite as much experience as Edds. IN.
 
phinsfan84 said:
good Write up CK really enjoyed it. Spot on in my opinion. I however do not agree wholly on the Jones assessment from a "FIT" standpoint as i clearly see the FO giving him every opportunity to start Game 1 as long as we don't bring in a Sharper or Atogwe. As i think we wouldnt have traded up for him in the 5th if we werent overly interested in his value in rd 5.

Anyways man thats just nickpicking. . Good work keep it up!
Click to expand...

You have to remember that the Dolphins are one of those teams that operate with a very small draft board. They started out with something like five picks in the 6th and 7th rounds. If they're sensing that they're not going to gain anything from having five extra bodies in those rounds, especially because all of the guys on their board won't even be there by that time, they had no issues trading away the picks. Trading up for Reshad Jones wasn't to me something that was done out of urgency or desperation to get the player, just something they did to burn off an extra pick they didn't really need, and make sure they got a player at the right position that was on their board.
 
What I like in your annual reviews is that you explain to us what role exactly we should expect these players perform in the future. nicely done!
 
ckparrothead said:
You have to remember that the Dolphins are one of those teams that operate with a very small draft board. They started out with something like five picks in the 6th and 7th rounds. If they're sensing that they're not going to gain anything from having five extra bodies in those rounds, especially because all of the guys on their board won't even be there by that time, they had no issues trading away the picks. Trading up for Reshad Jones wasn't to me something that was done out of urgency or desperation to get the player, just something they did to burn off an extra pick they didn't really need, and make sure they got a player at the right position that was on their board.
Click to expand...

I dont personally believe that this is the case. . . Ireland and Parcells knew going into the draft how many people they wanted to bring in to compete and if they were not interested in having all those picks in those rounds i wouldnt understand why we were interested in accumulating picks at what seems to be a premium interest. IF Jones isn't selected we go into Training Camp with Clemons and Culver as the only options at FS besides Allen. I understand that Will Allen MAY be a good option(one i am actually hoping pans out if we dont land a veteran) but the fact of the matter is its a postion he has never played and it would be risky to not make sure to select Jones and allow things to fall into place. As you alluded to last season we didnt have any options when the PLAN didnt turn out as expected. You and i agree that this is a big reason and explanation as to why the FO brought in soo many bodies at the LB postion. Why wouldnt it be safe to assume that they are trying to avoid that issue at FS as well?


and again thanks for all your work CK! Im an avid reader of your post as i feel you are one of the few very skilled individuals on this board in terms of having that Eye for the game and being able to turn that info into knowledgeable and pretty well put together thoughts on various subjects.
 
to add to my point i know that the front office likes culver and Clemons to a degree but the Attempts at landing Rolle and Clark are proof enough on their stance on whether they truly believe the answer was on the team pre draft.
 
I would disagree. The "attempt" at Antrel Rolle involved a low-ball offer that was not competitive with what he had on the table. As for the Ryan Clark deal, if they would have added just a little more butter to the top of that deal, he was theirs.

They didn't feel urgency about the safety position and they're not going to think they've immediately solved it with a late 5th round pick.

If they thought Reshad was the answer to a position of heavy need, but they weren't sure he would make it to their 6th round pick, why did they take Nolan Carroll in the 5th round over Reshad Jones? There was no surprise that Carroll was still available. That's where most would have had the guy projected (including the Dolphins, who put together mock drafts just like we all do using a lot of the same information).

It's just very unlike an NFL front office to leave a position of heavy need in the hands of a late round draft pick rookie, especially a junior. It's very rarely done that way in the NFL.
 
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