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Day one in the books

HoneyB

HoneyB

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Ja'Wuan James is a Miami Dolphin.

thidHA75301801277pid15-1.1
thidHN607999049481782883pid15-1.1



We have a Right Tackle who excels in pass protection, but needs work on run blocking. Lance Zierlein graded him at 5.17 which according to his chart, is 3rd round material:
RoundGrading Scale
1st7.0 - 6.3
2nd6.2 - 5.6
3rd5.5 - 5.0
4th4.9 - 4.5
5th4.4 - 4.1
6th4.0 - 3.5
7th/FA3.4 - 3.0
http://www.thesidelineview.com/grades/ol


Other draft profiles I've read are somewhat similar. DraftInsider projected him as a middle rounder. Another profile concludes with a projection for the second around, mentioning that from his tape, he sometimes appears as a first rounder, and others as a middle or late round pick:
Overall: Ja’Wuan James is a prospect who didn’t take the step forward that he needed to in 2013. His performances could be described as up and down. You could watch 4 games and come away thinking he has a shot at the first round or watch 4 others and project middle to late rounds. Defenses that didn’t vary fronts, just put a man across from James and let them go 1 v. 1, often had little success against James. Those that gave multiple looks, moved players around pre-snap, and played games up front gave him some fits.
That speaks to where James is at as a prospect right now. The sloppiness to footwork gets him in trouble at times. His technique still needs work, though the building blocks are definitely in place. Most importantly, James needs to be coached into a tackle that can play with more confidence and conviction. Too often it appears as if James is unsure of his assignment and doesn’t play to his top speed because of it.
The physical upside is the draw. James’ size and physical measurements all meet the criteria of an NFL tackle. His feet aren’t too heavy, and he thrives moving into space. One of the more impressive things about him is the flexibility he has. He bends at the knees, plays at his balance point consistently, and utilizes leverage. James physically looks and moves exactly like what you want in a starting tackle. The need for refinement and lack of instinctive traits could push him into the third round. If a team has a plan for James to sit a season and then succeed a veteran, he could be worth a second round selection.
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My Conclusion:

This is another Joe Philbin pick, just like Jonathan Martin was. We're committing to this finesse offense, and the priority so far has been to protect Ryan Tannehill. Ja'Wuan does nothing for the run game.

This better work for this season. If it does, then I'll be happy. I don't need to remind everybody that the main problem we had (besides sacks and turnovers) was running the ball and scoring. I don't know if Ja'Wuan helps us with that, but if it turns out that all Ryan Tannehill needs is more time to throw, then maybe this will turn out to be a smart move.

I will very much welcome day two. And since we're on this track, they might as well draft a receiver.
 
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Depends who you ask a lot of mocks had him bottom of the first round most in the top of the 2nd. Anybody complaining about going OL in the first Must not pay attention to Seattle or sf
 
Nobody said anything about not picking an O line in the first round. But this was a reach, based on what I read. I don't know the player but I looked at several profiles and they all said the same thing.
 
HoneyB said:
Nobody said anything about not picking an O line in the first round. But this was a reach, based on what I read. I don't know the player but I looked at several profiles and they all said the same thing.
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Fair enough it was a reach nobody can debate that
 
I just watched the draft party video up on the Miami Dolphins.com and two of the four guys there picked him as our selection before his name was called so in spite of being a reach for other evaluators it seems he was very high on the Fins board. They said the team meet with him for several hours at the combine and even ran him through the paces at Davie in a pre draft workout.
Personally i wanted to trade back a few spots but i guess he's the guy the wanted so it is what it is.

Here's the video http://www.miamidolphins.com/multim...es_At_19/0d5e9d76-4c80-42c5-a9f4-2aa0c9abca9d
 
HoneyB said:
This is another Joe Philbin pick, just like Jonathan Martin was. We're committing to this finesse offense, and the priority so far has been to protect Ryan Tannehill. Ja'Wuan does nothing for the run game.
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I'll politely disagree and believe Hickey, and also Benton was a major part of the evaluation process as the new regime seems to gel and share in their decision making far much more the the previous disaster Ireland cued up. Yet to be seen long term of course, but seems to be a more cohesive FO to me, none the less.
 
Sons of Shula said:
I'll politely disagree and believe Hickey, and also Benton was a major part of the evaluation process as the new regime seems to gel and share in their decision making far much more the the previous disaster Ireland cued up. Yet to be seen long term of course, but seems to be a more cohesive FO to me, none the less.
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I do feel better in the sense that Benton did interview him for quite a long time, and collectively the coaches did target him. But nobody has him as a first round talent. He needs coaching up. So if Benton feels he can grab this guy and improve his reaction time and also his run game, then I'm good with it. Our own Hoops eval stated that he didn't really see James at the ideal kind of "move" RT that Benton needs to run Philbin's ZBS,...but his measurables are good, he's solid in pass protection, and as far as right tackles go, hoops didn't have anyone else that great to replace him once the top tackles were off the board. Moses is who I had in mind but he didn't like him. Keith Sims on the radio yesterday loved Moses and in fact that player was the finsiders pick...but Moses may not have been athletic enough.

Twitter reaction is mixed. Joe W hates James, completely and utterly and says he's not a starting RT. CK loves him. Scouts are up and down, I mean, take your pick. Not sure what to conclude from this. There's no consensus. The only consensus is, that it was a reach, but a need.
 
HoneyB said:
I do feel better in the sense that Benton did interview him for quite a long time, and collectively the coaches did target him. But nobody has him as a first round talent. He needs coaching up. So if Benton feels he can grab this guy and improve his reaction time and also his run game, then I'm good with it. Our own Hoops eval stated that he didn't really see James at the ideal kind of "move" RT that Benton needs to run Philbin's ZBS,...but his measurables are good, he's solid in pass protection, and as far as right tackles go, hoops didn't have anyone else that great to replace him once the top tackles were off the board. Moses is who I had in mind but he didn't like him. Keith Sims on the radio yesterday loved Moses and in fact that player was the finsiders pick...but Moses may not have been athletic enough.

Twitter reaction is mixed. Joe W hates James, completely and utterly and says he's not a starting RT. CK loves him. Scouts are up and down, I mean, take your pick. Not sure what to conclude from this. There's no consensus. The only consensus is, that it was a reach, but a need.
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Not that my opinion means jack ****, but personally I like what I see of him on film. He passes off pass rushers well to kick out, and when he can't engage he does what he can to slow a blocker down. A reach? A bit yeah, but again he does his job who the hell cares?
 
ChambersWI said:
Not that my opinion means jack ****, but personally I like what I see of him on film. He passes off pass rushers well to kick out, and when he can't engage he does what he can to slow a blocker down. A reach? A bit yeah, but again he does his job who the hell cares?
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That may be true. I watched some film on him this morning, against alabama, missouri,...I was pleasantly surprised, he does pass protect very well. But they couldn't run the ball to save their lives. Passed it out of the end zone, too. They were always in the shotgun. I'm just concerned about running the ball, that's all.

Best case scenario is we're much better this year at stretching the field, we're faster and more dynamic, and as a side-effect of that there's more room for Miller to run. If not, then it's another mediocre season, because we don't have a natural run game.

If they're building this offense around Tannehill and quick pass-catchers, then ok let's do it and upgrade our TE and WR positions. If that's our identity, then fine, let's actually do it.
 
Probably the worst 1st rd pick we've made since Ted Ginn, I just don't understand why you reach on a guy like this at #19. Most people had him as 2nd rd picks and he was only going in the first rd if we took him.
 
I hate the philosophy of not just taking but reaching for corn in round one and I probably always will, but i probably would have taken a QB at 19 so what in the hell do I know...

Anyway, its all up to Tannehill now, no more excuses.

Question for the draftnicks: I have a theory that we want to instill a fast paced offense, can James keep up? Did his team run a lot of up-tempo?
 
I looked up to see what Daniel Jeremiah had on James. He squeaked by in his top 50. Someone tweeted and asked him about James and he replied:

Rory Higgs @RoryWHiggs

@MoveTheSticks any thoughts on Dolphins picking James at 19? Was it a reach?

Daniel Jeremiah ✔ @MoveTheSticks
Follow

@RoryWHiggs he was my 50th player. Little bit of a reach but the OTs were flying off the board.
7:58 AM - 9 May 2014
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