Detailed Draft Review with Possible Undrafted FA's | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Detailed Draft Review with Possible Undrafted FA's

JepheryRoss

JepheryRoss

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I think I learned alot about Jeff Ireland as a GM in this draft.

#25 Vontae Davis CB - 5'11" 203 Illinois
Super talented cover corner. He's got all the skills to be a top flight guy. As the AFC East grows at the Wide Receiver position (Moss/Welker, Owens/Evans), Davis needs to develop and dominate. He has a little bit of swagger to him, but at the DB/WR positions you need a little bit of that.

GRADE = A

#44 Pat White QB/WR/PR/WILDCAT - 6'0" 197 West Virginia
If you dont know about Pat White, you dont follow college football. This kid is a winner. Hard working, over achieving, super talented FOOTBALL PLAYER. If you want to doubt this pick the only other true options were Clint Sintim and Connor Barwin. Neither player would start immediately for this team. Pat White will create mismatched scoring scenarios for this offense. Ireland is saying that Pat White will compete as QB. I do suggest reading this artcile about QB Roster Changes.

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sport...dolphins-pat-white-as-a-2nd-qb-not-a-3rd.html

Grade = A

#61 Sean Smith CB - 6'4" 214 Utah
Probably the best player available. I believe this team had Vontae Davis, Darius Butler and Sean Smith all on their radar with our first pick. Similar to the Philip Merling pick last year. We didnt expect Smith to still be available. I suppose as a fan you want to fill lots of different holes during the draft. But at the end of the day we may have just drafted our starting CB's for the next 3-5 years. The only other players I could've seen us drafting were Cody Brown DE/OLB Connecticut, Michael Johnson DE/OLB Georgia Tech. We apparently really like the potential of Cameron Wake and we could be considering resigning Jason Taylor. We drafted the best player. It looks like the right pick.

Grade = B+

#87 Patrick Turner WR - 6'5" 223 USC
I really wanted Ramses Barden 6'6" 229 Cal Poly. The Giants traded right up in front of us and drafted him. The only two receivers I had any interest in this draft were Hakeem Nicks and Ramses Barden (Both drafted by the Giants). Patrick Turner fits the size mold. He seems like an intelligent hard working kid. He doesnt jump off the page. Other available players? The only one that comes to mind is Tyrone McKenzie OLB USF. I'm not really a huge fan of his, so this pick is what it is. A big physical possesion/red zone target. Brandon London?

Grade = C+

#108 Brian Hartline WR - 6'2" 195 Ohio St
This is probably my least favorite pick of the draft. I think Hartline has some nice unknown skill sets. I've read alot of good things about him. Here's my problem with the pick. We can only have so many receivers. Ginn, Bess, Camarillo, London, Wilford, Turner, Hartline. Other available picks? I have four that I like.

Lawrence Sidbury JR DE 6'2" Richmond
Terance Taylor DT 6'0" 306 Michigan
Sammie Lee Hill DT 6'4" 329 Stillman
Gerald McRath LB 6'2" 309 Auburn

Grade = D

#161 John Nalbone TE - 6'4" 254 Monmouth
At this point in the draft we've basically drafted 4 receivers and 2 backs. We have 3 Tight Ends. This guy appears to be a big physical pass catching tight end. I dont see the value here. I remember when Parcells and Co came in here last year and shook up our Tight End crew. This pick reminds me of our #176 pick last year of Jalen Parmalee. Useless. Would this guy have been around in the 7th?

Other available players - Duke Robinson, Jamon Meredith two very solid offensive lineman that would provide great depth for us. I thought Duke Robinson was the pick for sure.

Grade = F

#165 Chris Clemons FS 6'0 208 Clemson
Solid depth. Solid player. Solid pick. Interesting that we drafted him ahead of Michael Hamlin (clemson).

Grade = B

#181 Andrew Gardner OT 6'7" 304 Georgia Tech
Solid depth. Solid player. Solid pick. He fits the mold of monster offensive lineman that we seem very serious about. (ex - trading Samson Saetele).

Grade = B

#214 J.D Folsom OLB 6'3" 240 Weber St
I have no idea who this guy is. Haven't been able to find much of anything about him. It looks like he played 1 game last year. Due to injury? I dont know. I'd like it if anyone had some info on him.

Other available players

Darryl Richard DT 6'3" 303 Georgia Tech

Grade = ? I dont know anything about this guy.

We drafted zero NT prospects. We drafted no big name LB'ers. The following are UFA's that I'm interested in......

Chris Baker DT Hampton 6'2" 325 - Nose tackle prospect from the same school that we got Kendal Langford from.

Frantz Joseph OLB Florida Atlantic 6'1" 242 - Instictive pash rusher. We checked this guy out. He failed a drug test a few years back. Orginally played for Boston College, but left to return to Florida and take care of his mother. Florida native. Could be a solid special teams player.

Orion Martin DE/OLB Virginia Tech 6'2" 262 - Solid pash rusher.

Darry Beckwith ILB LSU 6'1" 234 - Thought this guy was a 5th round pick. We need some players to come in and battle Akin Ayodele.

Greg Carr WR Florida St 6'6" 216 - Other big physical receivers that
couldnt hurt to have in camp
Aaron Kelly WR Clemson 6'5" 204 - see above


Last year we were very active with undrafted players. I really expect to be again. This draft says alot about CAMERON WAKE. We need this kid to be legit because we didnt stab at any of the first top tier pash rusher (which there were alot).

Depending on the learning curve of Davis and Smith we should have improved our secondary big time. In one year we went from Will Allen, Yeremiah Bell and a rotating cast of characters to Bell/Wilson with Will Allen / Vontae Davis and great depth between Eric Green, Jason Allen, Sean Smith and Nate Jones.

The Pat White experience is going to be very interesting.

Over all I give us a B for our draft. None of us are pro scouts. However I do believe the TE Nalbone pick was a big waste with the amount of talent available vs where else we could've drafted Nalbone later.
 
one last point to make....

The really good GM's in this league are economically sound about every move they make. The only thing I question about our draft approach is this. You can be a great talent scout / talent developer. But on draft day you have to understand value and projection. You really can waste a draft pick on a good player.

Patrick Turner, Brian Hartline, John Nalbone (Rounds 3 - 5). Value? Where were these players projected to be drafted?

I think we missed out on Lawrence Sidbury Jr DE/OLB in the 4th and Duke Robinson in the 5th.

I think Hartline is probably a decent receiver prospect but does he make the roster? And John Nalbone could've been an UFA.
 
If I have a gun to my head and have to defend the Nalbone pick, I'd say this: after next season both Fasano and Martin are FA's, both won't be resigned. Ireland and Parcells wanted to bring in S.O. now to learn for a year and will be ready to step in in 2010. Joey Haynos is there and is huge, but he is raw. Thus, it's not a pressing need that a Round 1-4 pick is required, but it is important to grab one. Why so soon and not wait? Maybe the powers that be realized that Nalbone was one of the few 2 in 1 TE's - not strictly a blocker, not an H-back receiver. So his "value" is that he's 2 players in one. So, bring in a 2fer in Round 5(where I think it's OK to begin to take a few chances), maybe hide him on the practice squad, or he's available in case of injury, and not even dress him. Then, in 2010 he begins to play, and see where the chips fall.
 
I understand your frustration with some of the picks but how do we really know that those players could have been had later? Because a million and one mock drafts said so? Scouts are paid to find talent and the player personnel people are paid to grade them and pick them accordingly.

I wished we would've taken a Duke Robinson or Dorell Scott or a hundred other players. But our guys scouted and interviewed and picked who they picked based on all the info they gathered and where they felt they were ranked.

We got some really good players on the first day and guys who provide depth and create competition and play special teams on Day 2.

We'll see how this draft looks in a couple of years. Not every draft is perfect. Every team makes bad picks. We're not any different.
 
Very nice post. Great analysis.
I find myself completely agreeing with nearly everything you have said.
I don't want to open this can of worms, however you are clearly a a knowledgeable poster.
I have to disagree with the A grade for the Pat White pick.
The FO has shown that they are clearly viewing him as a QB/Specialist prospect with the rest of their draft. I completely agree this kid is a winner and a true football player. But, I want to make my argument, strictly based on logic with no emotional response.
However, I would argue that he is not seen as a real prospect to be the next "franchise QB." I know this a bit hard to compare, but last year we selected Henne with the 57th overall draft pick as our next franchise QB. White was selected with the 44th overall pick, however I do not believe he is seen in the same light. Therefore it looks to me as White is a complete luxury (Henne being a commodity.) Value seems to also not be there. I cannot give a luxury pick a higher then a B grade, especially on a team with specific needs.

Again, I'm not here to bash/praise White or Henne. Overall I have to agree with your team draft grade of a B.
 
Has anyone heard this phone interview with J.D Folsom?

http://www.miamidolphins.com/newsite/aquavision/aquavision.asp

This dude is hilarious. He didnt expect to be drafted. He was basically speechless during this entire interview. He had already registered for classes at veterinarians school.

I do however really recommend the phone conference (same page) with Brian Hartline. I didn't like this pick, but this kid sounds very intelligent, very motivated, and its possible that alot of his talent went unnoticed while ohio st was trying to develope Pryor.
 
i got to defend the Hartline pick.

The bottom line is, we NEED another receiver that can contribute this year. Wilford is terrible and Camarillo, Turner and London are all question marks for different reasons. In taking two receivers we increase the odds of finding a guy that can contribute. That being said, i like hartline in particular because 1) he is a special teams ace and loves doing it, 2) he is extremely athletic and smart, 3) he has experience in a pro-style offense and 4) had his numbers not taken a hit due to the beginning of the Terrell Pryor era in Ohio, i think he would have been a fringe second rounder.

Really nice post though...
 
Folsom had multiple games last year with double digit tackles...hes older a mature player turning 25 and smart going to be a doctor! I like the pick, last time the Fins took a late round white LB who was to slow to play the game, worked out well for the Fins... Zach Thomas...

At TE I like it, and really like Turner. His pro day film looks good, I think he is one of those players that did not hit true potenial in college and may be a better pro than collegiate athlete.
 
Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland didn't give a "this draft was great" speech exiting the 2009 NFL Draft on Sunday night. Ireland said a few things didn't go according to plan, which kept the team from addressing key positions such as nose tackle and outside linebacker.

Ireland also said by the time the draft got into the later rounds, the Dolphins' prospect board was picked clean, which prompted them to trade their second seventh-round pick to Kansas City for a 2010 seventh-rounder.

"We're not going to overdraft guys," Ireland said, referring to the selection of players a round earlier than their draft grade merited.

resource - http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/other/sfl-dolphins-draft-day-two-s0427sbapr27,0,623454.story
 
In the past we've missed on alot of players in the draft. The most famous misses being Anquan Boldin and Drew Brees.... So I thought I'd put together a list of players that we didn't draft that we can keep an eye on. In a few years if the majority of these guys didn't pan out, then our scouts are obviously way ahead of the game....

Clint Sintim DE/OLB (Saints)
Connor Barwin DE/OLB (Texans)
Cody Brown DE/OLB (Cardinals)
Ramses Barden WR (Giants)
Deon Butler WR (Seahawks)
Juaquin Iglesias WR (Bears)
Sammie Lee Hill NT (Lions)
DJ Moore CB (Bears)
Brandon Williams DE/OLB (Cowboys)
Louis Murphy WR (Raiders)
Lawrence Sidbury Jr DE/OLB (Falcolns)
Gerald McRath ILB (Titans)
Terrance Taylor NT (Colts)
Scott McKillop ILB (49ers)
Jamon Meredith OT (Packers)
Duke Robinson OG (Panthers)
Coye Francis CB (Browns)
Stryker Sulak DE/OLB (Raiders)
Myron Pryor NT (Patriots)
 
Have you personally scouted these players yourself? Have you attended their on-campus workouts and visits to Dolphins Headquarters? I think I trust Bill Parcells and Jeff Ireland to make sound decisions in their selections. These "wastes" may turn out to be pretty good players for us. Just wait 3 years and see before you "grade" them.
 
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