Dolphins sign CB Ryan Cooper. Send CB Jason Maitre to IR

[Springveldt]

Should have done it this year. It was THE biggest need by far, hands down. We had let Fuller go and put Ramsey on the trading block by draft day.

You can find DTs in the later rounds. But hey, we drafted 3 DTs and we traded away some day 2 picks....so here were are. Pathetic.

DL was the biggest need, they only had 2 NFL calibre DL on the team.

 

[Scotty_P]

DL was the biggest need, they only had 2 NFL calibre DL on the team.

Im sorry, but we could have lined up a "serviceable free agent DT" next to Sieler, Chop, Chubb and Phillips and had decent results. We have 2 open CB's spots that were trying fill with UDFA's. We can revisit this argument after the season though...

 

[Aqua Man]

DL was the biggest need, they only had 2 NFL calibre DL on the team.

Simply stated: Adding Grant on this roster solves some problems for Miami and because of that, I’m sure I’ll get plenty of fans disagreeing with me but I think Grier went about shoring up the DL (and interior OL) about as inefficiently as humanly possible and it came with the MASSIVE expense of ignoring the CB position.

I still think Miami had trade interest in the #13 pick from a couple of teams due to Tyler Warren and there’s certainly a few reports from credible NFL insiders that support my argument. Grier zeroed in on Grant being “the guy” to the point of refusing to move off of 13. Problem is, if Grier pulls the trigger on a trade down and gains BADLY needed extra draft capital, Grant is still most likely available around 20 and even if not, there were a few DT’s that would have still been on the board who were actually rated higher than Grant.

So I while I don’t see the player as the mistake in round 1, the method in which he was acquired was lazy and uninspired. Even more damning is the fact that this draft was universally seen as a very deep DT draft and a not so great CB draft.

Grier could have stayed put at #13 and drafted whomever he had rated as the 2nd best CB prospect in the entire draft behind Travis Hunter, stayed put in the 2nd round and still had a good number of promising DT prospects worthy of going 48th overall and by virtue of not trading up in round 2, he still would have had a 3rd round pick to address the interior O-line.

To take it a step further, if Grier would have been more proactive on a trade down, it doesn’t sound like it would have been too hard to generate some action on the Tyler Warren front. If he could have found a way to pull that off and combined that move with staying put at 48, suddenly he’s built up a handsome cache of 2025 picks in the first 3 rounds and we wouldn’t be having this debate because Grier would have been able to add DL, OL, and CB in the top half of the draft. But We’re the Miami Dolphins, not the Ravens or Chiefs. We always knew how this was gonna go.

 

[Springveldt]

Im sorry, but we could have lined up a "serviceable free agent DT" next to Sieler, Chop, Chubb and Phillips and had decent results. We have 2 open CB's spots that were trying fill with UDFA's. We can revisit this argument after the season though...

Sorry but 3 of those guys are more like OLB's, they aren't DL, I see them standing up on a lot of downs. We had Sieler and Jones (who isn't very good) and that was it. We needed guys who could play DE and DT more than CB because without those guys it doesn't matter who was at CB and teams would just ram the ball down the Dolphins throat every single game.

You need to be good in the trenches before worrying about secondary, you can help the secondary with scheme and a good pass rush, you can't scheme your way out of someone running for 5ypc right down your throat.

 

[Springveldt]

Simply stated: Adding Grant on this roster solves some problems for Miami and because of that, I’m sure I’ll get plenty of fans disagreeing with me but I think Grier went about shoring up the DL (and interior OL) about as inefficiently as humanly possible and it came with the MASSIVE expense of ignoring the CB position.

I still think Miami had trade interest in the #13 pick from a couple of teams due to Tyler Warren and there’s certainly a few reports from credible NFL insiders that support my argument. Grier zeroed in on Grant being “the guy” to the point of refusing to move off of 13. Problem is, if Grier pulls the trigger on a trade down and gains BADLY needed extra draft capital, Grant is still most likely available around 20 and even if not, there were a few DT’s that would have still been on the board who were actually rated higher than Grant.

So I while I don’t see the player as the mistake in round 1, the method in which he was acquired was lazy and uninspired. Even more damning is the fact that this draft was universally seen as a very deep DT draft and a not so great CB draft.

Grier could have stayed put at #13 and drafted whomever he had rated as the 2nd best CB prospect in the entire draft behind Travis Hunter, stayed put in the 2nd round and still had a good number of promising DT prospects worthy of going 48th overall and by virtue of not trading up in round 2, he still would have had a 3rd round pick to address the interior O-line.

To take it a step further, if Grier would have been more proactive on a trade down, it doesn’t sound like it would have been too hard to generate some action on the Tyler Warren front. If he could have found a way to pull that off and combined that move with staying put at 48, suddenly he’s built up a handsome cache of 2025 picks in the first 3 rounds and we wouldn’t be having this debate because Grier would have been able to add DL, OL, and CB in the top half of the draft. But We’re the Miami Dolphins, not the Ravens or Chiefs. We always knew how this was gonna go.

Considering no one traded up in the first until Atlanta came back in at #26, I'm just not seeing how you can say Grier had the opportunity to trade down.

Also, it doesn't matter what talking head or what publication had DT's rated above Grant, the Dolphins obviously had him rated as the #1 DT since they had their pick of them all and took him. We have no way of knowing how other NFL teams had them graded.

The next CB taken didn't go till #20 and most talking heads and publications had him going higher than that, so again they got it wrong on how the NFL felt about that player. I would not have been thrilled with taking a 24 and soon to be 25 year old tweener at #13 and calling him the saviour of the secondary compared to someone who is 3 years younger than him and there aren't many people on the planet who move like him at that size.

The Dolphins are soft on both lines and have been for years. I'm all for taking big guys before CB's when you aren't very good in the trenches.

 

[Gsmack_42]

Im sorry, but we could have lined up a "serviceable free agent DT" next to Sieler, Chop, Chubb and Phillips and had decent results. We have 2 open CB's spots that were trying fill with UDFA's. We can revisit this argument after the season though...

Chubb and Phillips? One hasn’t played in over a year and a half, and the other has had two major leg injuries the past two seasons.

 

[Scotty_P]

Sorry but 3 of those guys are more like OLB's, they aren't DL, I see them standing up on a lot of downs. We had Sieler and Jones (who isn't very good) and that was it. We needed guys who could play DE and DT more than CB because without those guys it doesn't matter who was at CB and teams would just ram the ball down the Dolphins throat every single game.

You need to be good in the trenches before worrying about secondary, you can help the secondary with scheme and a good pass rush, you can't scheme your way out of someone running for 5ypc right down your throat.

You are entitled to your own opinion, but CB is more important to than DT and thats not an argument. And right now, we have two vacancies at CB. Like I said, we can revisit at the end of the season.

 

[stillhardcore]

Should have done it this year. It was THE biggest need by far, hands down. We had let Fuller go and put Ramsey on the trading block by draft day.

You can find DTs in the later rounds. But hey, we drafted 3 DTs and we traded away some day 2 picks....so here were are. Pathetic.

Can't disagree more. BUILD THE TRENCHES 1st! although I wanted to see OLine the 1st rd.

 

[Scotty_P]

Chubb and Phillips? One hasn’t played in over a year and a half, and the other has had two major leg injuries the past two seasons.

And theyre both active in OTA's right now. In fact, Chubb said he feels like 95-99%. People can recover from injuries.

 

[stillhardcore]

Simply stated: Adding Grant on this roster solves some problems for Miami and because of that, I’m sure I’ll get plenty of fans disagreeing with me but I think Grier went about shoring up the DL (and interior OL) about as inefficiently as humanly possible and it came with the MASSIVE expense of ignoring the CB position.

I still think Miami had trade interest in the #13 pick from a couple of teams due to Tyler Warren and there’s certainly a few reports from credible NFL insiders that support my argument. Grier zeroed in on Grant being “the guy” to the point of refusing to move off of 13. Problem is, if Grier pulls the trigger on a trade down and gains BADLY needed extra draft capital, Grant is still most likely available around 20 and even if not, there were a few DT’s that would have still been on the board who were actually rated higher than Grant.

So I while I don’t see the player as the mistake in round 1, the method in which he was acquired was lazy and uninspired. Even more damning is the fact that this draft was universally seen as a very deep DT draft and a not so great CB draft.

Grier could have stayed put at #13 and drafted whomever he had rated as the 2nd best CB prospect in the entire draft behind Travis Hunter, stayed put in the 2nd round and still had a good number of promising DT prospects worthy of going 48th overall and by virtue of not trading up in round 2, he still would have had a 3rd round pick to address the interior O-line.

To take it a step further, if Grier would have been more proactive on a trade down, it doesn’t sound like it would have been too hard to generate some action on the Tyler Warren front. If he could have found a way to pull that off and combined that move with staying put at 48, suddenly he’s built up a handsome cache of 2025 picks in the first 3 rounds and we wouldn’t be having this debate because Grier would have been able to add DL, OL, and CB in the top half of the draft. But We’re the Miami Dolphins, not the Ravens or Chiefs. We always knew how this was gonna go.

If your trade-down scenario worked, you have made a good argument. On the other hand, I believe the trenches need to be built 1st, on any team. Now having said that, I wanted an OLineman in the 1st rd. and wanted a trade-down to pick up Grey Zabel in the 1st (he went at 19 to the Seahawks). Then I wanted best DT available with our 2nd pick. Our trade-down could have netted another 2nd, or 3rd and we could have taken a CB there. I do like the Samoan Guard we took in the 2nd and I really hope he starts this season. On DT, if our DLine is humming this year with the rook, Sieler, Chubb, Chops and Phillips, I think they can cover some deficiencies in the secondary. I also have hope that Trader taken in the 5th turns out to be a draft steal. Weaver advocated for this pick, so I will trust in Weaver on that. Now, you may very well be correct in our secondary getting carved up this season, but I sincerely hope our DLine will mask that. I also hope our OLine shows improvement this season. Worst unit on the entire team BY FAR. Next draft I think we will go CB 1st rd. if a talent is there.

 

[Scotty_P]

Can't disagree more. BUILD THE TRENCHES 1st! although I wanted to see OLine the 1st rd.

I don't disagree about building the trenches, but we've invested tons on the D-Line at the expense of the secondary. The amount of draft capital and money is laughable. We have one guy in the secondary that started last year in Kohou....and some would argue he shouldn't be a starter. We drafted 3 DTs though. Sorry if Im not doing cartwheels after seeing the video of Isaiah Johnson getting a pick in OTA's. I'm worried that we are going to see the secondary getting torched all season.

Lets compare so our opinions don't get in the way of the truth....

DL/Edge Players
Zach Sieler
Kenneth Grant
Benito Jones
Jordan Phillips
Matt Dickerson
Neil Farrell
Zeek Biggers
Jalean Phillips
Bradley Chubb
Chop Robinson
Mohamed Kamara
Quinton Bell
Cameron Goode
Grayson Murphy
Derrick McLendon
William Bradley-King

CB/S
Kader Kohou
Storm Duck
Artie Burns
Jason Marshall
Ethan Bonner
Cam Smith
Jason Maitre
Ryan Cooper
Isaiah Johnson
Ashtyn Davis
Elijah Campbell
Dante Trader
Patrick Morris
Jordan Colbert

 

[MrClean]

Coop is another 4.67 guy. I think special teams guy but if he's in at corner, were in trouble.

While Cooper's 40 time might raise concerns about his straight-line speed, it's important to consider his other athletic abilities and overall skillset. He has demonstrated good agility, fluidity, and cover skills, which are essential for a cornerback's success. His effectiveness in coverage will ultimately be determined by his ability to combine his strengths and overcome any limitations in raw speed.

2024 Guide: What Ourlads’ NFL Scouting Services said about BUMP COOPER JR.:

Oregon State | HT: 5112 | WT: 184 | 40 time: 4.45 | Arm: 3012 | Hand: 0834 | Wing: 7158

Two year starter. Transfer from San Mateo CC in 2022. Honorable mention All-Pac 12 in 2023. Has desired size for a corner with solid athletic movement skills. Primarily a man cover corner with press, off and trail technique. In press, often played a reactive press with a slow pedal and jam on the stem. Flashed an off-hand jam on outside release with ability to lock out a receiver on the sideline. Was effective with a two hand jam to slow vertical release. Easy turn and run along with fluid hips to react to route breaks. In press can stay in phase throughout the route. Shows a quick pedal into a lateral shuffle and turn and run in off coverage. Keeps the right spacing to stay connected to the routes. Seamless transitions in all directions he shows lateral agility to close on inside cuts. Can undercut route breaks closing the throwing window. Shows soft hands for interceptions. Sudden plant and drive with the throw in front, he made some big hits at the catch point separating receivers from the ball. Can be physical attacking blocks but at times is knocked upright and out of the play. Willing tackler but is not physical driving through tackles and has a number of whiffs. Average length prevents attacking the catch point from behind. Has to be perfect with cushion and turn versus deep speed or a burner can run by him and he lacks recovery speed. He has solid overall cover skill but will need the right system. Has backup and sub package potential.

2023 Stats: 37 T, 1.5 TFL, .5 sack, 7 PBU, 1 QBH, 1 INT (1 TD). Draft projection: 5th-7th round

 

[marino13zach54]

If anyone on FH has experience or feels they can play CB, now’s the time to speak up. Your chances of making training camp are quite decent.

 

[Nugtron]

Jason may have a future as a maitre d at a fine dining establishment

Working right alongside his bff...Ryan Cooper. DUN DUN DUN!

 

[raving]

Im sorry, but we could have lined up a "serviceable free agent DT" next to Sieler, Chop, Chubb and Phillips and had decent results. We have 2 open CB's spots that were trying fill with UDFA's. We can revisit this argument after the season though...

The Dolphins got so bullied at D line - think tush push… the difference in that game was the elephants on the D line… if the Dolphins can get a pleasant surprise or two in the secondary this D will actually be on a trajectory.