After one of the most historic turn around in NFL history, the Dolphins come into the draft with a plethora of needs. The Dolphins season ended in a disappointing fashion, with a home loss to the Baltimore Ravens in which the offense turned the ball over five times and managed to score only nine points. The Dolphins played the kind of ball that was not similar to the kind of ball they got eleven wins with. The Dolphins weaknesses were shown in that game, and it was clear where Miami had to go in Free Agency.
The Dolphins did not make a big splash in Free Agency, but they did something that was much needed, which was resign the key players of your team. The Dolphins key free Agents consisted of Yerimiah Bell, Channing Crowder, and Vernon Carey. The Dolphins signed others, but more importantly they retained their leading tackeler in ’08, one of their defensive leaders, and their starting right tackle. They were not done with the offensive line either. They traded away Samson Satele to the Oakland Raiders for a swap of fourth rounders and an extra pick. They than signed center Jake Grove from Oakland, to be the starter. The Dolphins really upgraded the offensive line this offseason, which shown to be one of the weaknesses in the playoff game this past season. They now have Jake Long a year more experienced, Donald Thomas and Justin Smiley return from season ending injuries, Vernon Carey is now the right tackled for some time, and Jake Grove is the new center that will have to face tough nose tackles like Vince Wilfork, Marcus Stroud, and Kris Jenkins. This eliminated a major need in the draft by the moves they had made.
When it came to defense, Miami leveled out in Free Agency. The Dolphins kept their key Free Agents Channing Crowder and Yerimiah Bell, but lost Renaldo Hill and Andre Goodman. They Dolphins signed Free agent Gibril Wilson to replace Renaldo Hill from the Oakland Raiders. Gibril Wilson started for the New York Giants when they won the Super Bowl. Wilson has a similar style of play to that of Bell. The Dolphins added Eric Green from Arizona to battle for the starting corner spot opposite of Will Allen.
The Dolphins despite their great season have so many holes to fill. Their primary needs are at Outside Linebacker, Wide Receiver, and Corner Back. The Dolphins have three picks on the first day, which is the more crucial part of the NFL draft to get the best talent. Now here is my insight and analysis for the first day of the draft, for the Dolphins first three picks.
25th pick-Clay Matthews. This pick is the most intriguing pick in the draft for the Phins. They have so many directions they could go with this pick. With the first pick I feel Miami is going to take an outside linebacker who is primarily and pass rusher. The Dolphins lacked another pass rush besides the great Joey Porter. He registered 17.5 and the next one down Matt Roth only had 5. The Dolphins could go other ways here with a Corner or even a Wide Receiver. They could go corner because they did sign Cameron Wake, an outside linebacker who had registered thirty-nine sacks in the CFL the past two seasons. He is basically a rookie and a lot of people when thinking about the Phins draft tend to forget about the signing of him. Corner is another great need at this spot because they lost starter Andre Goodman. If there were a chance that a guy like Malcom Jenkins was to somehow drop, they would definitely pick him up. That doesn’t seem likely, but guys that are high on Miami’s radar are Darius Butler and Sean Smith. Butler would be worth the first rounder, but you could probably get Smith in the second round. Vontae Davis is another good corner that could slip and that is due to character issues, which is not a Parcells favorite. There is always a slight chance that Miami could go with a Wide Receiver at 25, which would be a fan favorite. There will be guys like Hakeem Nicks, Derrius Heyward-Bey, and Kenny Britt that would be available; it is just not in the Tuna’s resume that he likes to take a receiver with the first pick. It is a major need, but the Dolphins have Ted Ginn, Davone Bess, and have extended the contract of Greg Camarillo. It doesn’t seem likely Miami will take a receiver with the first pick.
44th Pick-Sean Smith. The Dolphins need tom address their other primary need, which is Corner. Sean Smith is a big corner at 6’3 that will be big enough to face guys like Terrel Owens and Randy Moss within the division. Darius Butler’s stock has risen, so he most likely will not fall here at 44. Other options are nose tackle Ron Brace from Boston College and also a Wide Receiver. Ron Brace would be a great addition, but the Dolphins traded for Tony McDaniel, a young tackle who stands tall at 6’7. So maybe the Dolphins would be willing to address that need later in the draft. The other need is Receiver. If Hakeem Nicks or Kenny Britt has fallen here at 44, Miami must take one of those players. Those are players with first round grades and have tremendous potential to become a number one receiver in Miami. My bold prediction on draft day would be Percy Harvin falling here due to character issues. Miami has had Chad Henne work with Harvin privately, so if he were to fall here I think Miami gets a slight steal with this pick.
56th Pick-Brian Robiskie. This would be a huge steal at this spot. I do feel Robiskie could slide here. This would be a great addition to this Offense as he stands tall at 6’3. Former teammate of Ted Ginn, which means they would have great chemistry as a duo. I could see the Tuna taking a receiver here, but more importantly it is a necessity to take a receiver on day one. Other considerations might be Ron Brace if he were to slip here. Maybe another corner depending on who may have slid. A surprise pick here would be a running back. Miami could easily get a great back in round two and there are issues and rumors as of late surrounding Miami’s backfield lately. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams are both free agents after this season, which would be hard to resign both. Also, GM Jeff Ireland has expressed that he would like to acquire more picks for this draft. He has also said before everyone is available for the right price. Ronnie Brown would be one of the more premiere players for trade bait and would be able to acquire more picks. This trade would make sense because he is a free agent at the end of the year and Parcells has shown dislike in resigning running backs to big contracts. I disagree with this move if it were to happen totally for a number of reasons. If you were to trade Brown for more picks, you would have to use a pick for a back. You wouldn’t want to go into training camp with Ricky Williams as your starter. Also, Ronnie is proven, why take a chance on a pick that might be a bust.
Ultimately, there is a lot of different analysis that goes into the Draft. So many rumors, so many different scenarios. All in all, its great to watch it play out and see where future stars will go and play. So for the weekend we will all be watching and may not agree with all the picks made, but it has been proven to trust the trifecta with Sparano, Ireland, and Parcells. I will write a review once the draft has concluded. Go Dolphins!!!
The Dolphins did not make a big splash in Free Agency, but they did something that was much needed, which was resign the key players of your team. The Dolphins key free Agents consisted of Yerimiah Bell, Channing Crowder, and Vernon Carey. The Dolphins signed others, but more importantly they retained their leading tackeler in ’08, one of their defensive leaders, and their starting right tackle. They were not done with the offensive line either. They traded away Samson Satele to the Oakland Raiders for a swap of fourth rounders and an extra pick. They than signed center Jake Grove from Oakland, to be the starter. The Dolphins really upgraded the offensive line this offseason, which shown to be one of the weaknesses in the playoff game this past season. They now have Jake Long a year more experienced, Donald Thomas and Justin Smiley return from season ending injuries, Vernon Carey is now the right tackled for some time, and Jake Grove is the new center that will have to face tough nose tackles like Vince Wilfork, Marcus Stroud, and Kris Jenkins. This eliminated a major need in the draft by the moves they had made.
When it came to defense, Miami leveled out in Free Agency. The Dolphins kept their key Free Agents Channing Crowder and Yerimiah Bell, but lost Renaldo Hill and Andre Goodman. They Dolphins signed Free agent Gibril Wilson to replace Renaldo Hill from the Oakland Raiders. Gibril Wilson started for the New York Giants when they won the Super Bowl. Wilson has a similar style of play to that of Bell. The Dolphins added Eric Green from Arizona to battle for the starting corner spot opposite of Will Allen.
The Dolphins despite their great season have so many holes to fill. Their primary needs are at Outside Linebacker, Wide Receiver, and Corner Back. The Dolphins have three picks on the first day, which is the more crucial part of the NFL draft to get the best talent. Now here is my insight and analysis for the first day of the draft, for the Dolphins first three picks.
25th pick-Clay Matthews. This pick is the most intriguing pick in the draft for the Phins. They have so many directions they could go with this pick. With the first pick I feel Miami is going to take an outside linebacker who is primarily and pass rusher. The Dolphins lacked another pass rush besides the great Joey Porter. He registered 17.5 and the next one down Matt Roth only had 5. The Dolphins could go other ways here with a Corner or even a Wide Receiver. They could go corner because they did sign Cameron Wake, an outside linebacker who had registered thirty-nine sacks in the CFL the past two seasons. He is basically a rookie and a lot of people when thinking about the Phins draft tend to forget about the signing of him. Corner is another great need at this spot because they lost starter Andre Goodman. If there were a chance that a guy like Malcom Jenkins was to somehow drop, they would definitely pick him up. That doesn’t seem likely, but guys that are high on Miami’s radar are Darius Butler and Sean Smith. Butler would be worth the first rounder, but you could probably get Smith in the second round. Vontae Davis is another good corner that could slip and that is due to character issues, which is not a Parcells favorite. There is always a slight chance that Miami could go with a Wide Receiver at 25, which would be a fan favorite. There will be guys like Hakeem Nicks, Derrius Heyward-Bey, and Kenny Britt that would be available; it is just not in the Tuna’s resume that he likes to take a receiver with the first pick. It is a major need, but the Dolphins have Ted Ginn, Davone Bess, and have extended the contract of Greg Camarillo. It doesn’t seem likely Miami will take a receiver with the first pick.
44th Pick-Sean Smith. The Dolphins need tom address their other primary need, which is Corner. Sean Smith is a big corner at 6’3 that will be big enough to face guys like Terrel Owens and Randy Moss within the division. Darius Butler’s stock has risen, so he most likely will not fall here at 44. Other options are nose tackle Ron Brace from Boston College and also a Wide Receiver. Ron Brace would be a great addition, but the Dolphins traded for Tony McDaniel, a young tackle who stands tall at 6’7. So maybe the Dolphins would be willing to address that need later in the draft. The other need is Receiver. If Hakeem Nicks or Kenny Britt has fallen here at 44, Miami must take one of those players. Those are players with first round grades and have tremendous potential to become a number one receiver in Miami. My bold prediction on draft day would be Percy Harvin falling here due to character issues. Miami has had Chad Henne work with Harvin privately, so if he were to fall here I think Miami gets a slight steal with this pick.
56th Pick-Brian Robiskie. This would be a huge steal at this spot. I do feel Robiskie could slide here. This would be a great addition to this Offense as he stands tall at 6’3. Former teammate of Ted Ginn, which means they would have great chemistry as a duo. I could see the Tuna taking a receiver here, but more importantly it is a necessity to take a receiver on day one. Other considerations might be Ron Brace if he were to slip here. Maybe another corner depending on who may have slid. A surprise pick here would be a running back. Miami could easily get a great back in round two and there are issues and rumors as of late surrounding Miami’s backfield lately. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams are both free agents after this season, which would be hard to resign both. Also, GM Jeff Ireland has expressed that he would like to acquire more picks for this draft. He has also said before everyone is available for the right price. Ronnie Brown would be one of the more premiere players for trade bait and would be able to acquire more picks. This trade would make sense because he is a free agent at the end of the year and Parcells has shown dislike in resigning running backs to big contracts. I disagree with this move if it were to happen totally for a number of reasons. If you were to trade Brown for more picks, you would have to use a pick for a back. You wouldn’t want to go into training camp with Ricky Williams as your starter. Also, Ronnie is proven, why take a chance on a pick that might be a bust.
Ultimately, there is a lot of different analysis that goes into the Draft. So many rumors, so many different scenarios. All in all, its great to watch it play out and see where future stars will go and play. So for the weekend we will all be watching and may not agree with all the picks made, but it has been proven to trust the trifecta with Sparano, Ireland, and Parcells. I will write a review once the draft has concluded. Go Dolphins!!!