Draft Discussion (Midway Point)

[SF Dolphin Fan]

Looking at the AFC East, I honestly think Buffalo and the New York Jets are a bit further along than Miami. That is hard to admit, but I don't think either is head and shoulders above the Dolphins. The return of Ryan Tannehill certainly could be huge for Miami next season.

Point is, this will be a critical draft for the Dolphins to not only make up ground on New England, but to overtake the other division rivals. Gase must get the offensive ship headed the right way and fast.

First the needs in my order.

1. Offensive Guard/Interior Lineman --- this is just such an obvious weakness and I certainly expect the team will not have Pouncey back. May need two interior (starting caliber) linemen. Maybe one in free agency and one in the draft.
2. Running Back --- Gase might be able to get by with a complement to Drake, but this is a good running back draft.
3. Tight End -- Thomas had his best game against the Raiders, but he hasn't looked good most of the season. In particular, he seems to have lost a step or two.
4. Linebacker --- Timmons has been a standout, but will Miami keep him? Seems likely, but even so he's on a short-term contract. Can't wait to get McMillan back.
5. Corner --- This is an interesting one. I'm a bit on the fence with Howard. Seen some good and bad with him. Also, a slot corner upgrade would be nice.
6. Pass Rusher --- Wake is 35, Suh is on the wrong side of 30. I put pass rusher because it could be a defense end, a defensive tackle or even a linebacker.
7. Wide Receiver --- The Landry contract will be resolved one way or the other. If he isn't on the team you can move wide receiver up this list. I have some concerns about Parker staying healthy. His talent is obvious.
8. Tackle --- Tunsil's season has been disappointing and James could be a free agent. Personally, I think the team keeps James and hopefully Tunsil can reach his immense potential.

Some other points. The best players on defense are all guys who will need to be replaced soon. The Dolphins already started that by drafting Harris. He may be the guy to eventually take over for Wake. Godshaux is playing well, Phillips looks a little better as well. But another talented DT would be nice with Suh's contract up in a few years. A young safety to groom behind Jones would be nice.

And then the question.....can Miami take the best defensive player available in round 1 and still fill all their needs on offense? I love how far the defense has come in one offseason and would love to see the Dolphins continue to build that unit up. Is that a realistic possibility? I know Miami doesn't currently have a lot to spend in free agency. Of course that can always change.

 

[RalphX19X]

Billy Price might remind Tannenbaum of a former Ohio State linemen he drafted. One of his best picks ever.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

Billy Price might remind Tannenbaum of a former Ohio State linemen he drafted. One of his best picks ever.

Agree on Price. Hoping he's there for Miami in R2. Really would be a perfect fit.

 

[RalphX19X]

Agree on Price. Hoping he's there for Miami in R2. Really would be a perfect fit.

Yea. And I think Tannenbaum will get a happy feeling remembering the time he drafted Nick Mangold. Lol

 

[Lovethefish]

This team has to build the OL. First and foremost.
We could use help at every level of the defense.
Wake, Pouncey and James are cap casualties.
We are stuck with alonso and Branch for 1 more season....

 

[Jerrysanders]

Billy Price might remind Tannenbaum of a former Ohio State linemen he drafted. One of his best picks ever.

Price would definitely upgrade this OL.

 

[finfan41]

If we are top 7 I am looking at a qb, de, or safety or trading down to a qb hungry team, that’s to high for a guard unless I am positive it’s the second coming of John Hannah

 

[jim1]

If we are top 7 I am looking at a qb, de, or safety or trading down to a qb hungry team, that’s to high for a guard unless I am positive it’s the second coming of John Hannah

I think that Guard Quenton Nelson from Notre Dame is the best OL in the country and I would gladly draft him at #7. Every year we have a problem with the OL, every year we fail to fix it, every year it's a major issue. I would focus this draft on OL, CB, LB and TE, try to fix those problem areas as per both starters and backups.

Dude is a beast:

 

[j-off-her-doll]

I think Connor Williams is the best OL in the country by a healthy margin, and he may be best suited for OG. Young too. If Miami is picking in or near the top 10, they could have a shot at him. Otherwise, some nice OL talent should spill into the 2nd RD. I view Nelson as more of a 1st/2nd guy - not as good as F. Lamp from the 2017 Draft.

In the 1st, Guice is the RB that interests me, but ideally, you bypass that risk and get a guy like J. Kelly or R. Penny in the 3rd or 4th. K. Johnson and N. Chubb are also nice options.

This TE class is a pile of trash relative to the 2017 Draft, so I wouldn't force it, but I'd look up A. Breneman in the 3rd or 4th. As usual, Miami failed to assess the strengths of that class. Shameful.

R. Smith and M. Jefferson are potential 1st RD picks and really good players. But, they'll have to wow from here on out to warrant a pick near the top 10 (Shazier was selected 15th overall for reference). Tremaine Edmunds is a guy to look up later, and Nwosu will get a chance to play 4-3 OLB in Mobile, where I expect him to play well. At SLB, a guy like Brian Womac II from Rice is also really interesting. He's relentless, and he makes a ton if plays in the backfield.

I'd consider Josh Jackson and Minkah Fitzpatrick early in the 1st (tests pending), and after them, you have guys like Juan Thornhill, Carlton Davis, and Holton Hill - as well as Kameron Kelly (very underrated CB out of SDSU). Could be a steal, but his stock will likely rise. Also, DJ Reed is a stud Slot CB. Darius Phillips is also an excellent Slot option and a dynamic return man.

Chubb, Ferrell, and Sweat look like the 1st RD pass-rush options at this point. Love Holland and Josh Allen, but they're more 3-4 OLB. Justin Lawler looks good and should be there on Day 2 or 3.

 

[jim1]

Connor Williams is excellent, what really jumps out at me are his feet, nimble and powerful LT. I prefer Nelson for the sheer power, both block on the 2nd level very well, I would take either in the 1st round. We obviously need Guards, nothing new there. I don't see RT Ja'Wuan James being worth $9 million given his somewhat erratic play and his frequent injury history, just not worth it. If OL is important enough to sink a team when it's not right, then OL are worth high draft picks including first rounders, it's that simple imo.

As to TE, with the picks we coughed up in that lousy Carroo trade we could have had C Pat Elfein and TE Eric Saubert. That would have helped. If we could get solid OL in rounds 1-2, CB Holton Hill in the 3rd, QB Josh Allen in the 4th and TE Dallas Goedert or Hayden Hurst in the 5th round I'd be happy with that.

 

[J. David Wannyheimer]

I'm not in favor of drafting OL in the first.

Ted Larsen looks like he's capable of being an adequate pass blocker, and that's fine for our LG. He's not good, but he's not a dumpster fire, and that's all I ask at this point. The bigger concern right now is what to do at C and RG. Asiata has not even been active yet, so how can we pencil him in as the starting RG with any confidence? That concerns me a lot. We also need to dump Pouncey's salary and find a replacement, so you have to think about finding a center in the draft.

I think our draft needs to be defense heavy again. We need linebackers who can cover, defensive ends who can replace aging Hayes and Wake, and to continue looking for upgrades at CB. I also think that we need a free safety, but the dopes who run Miami's defense apparently think having two strong safeties back there is just brilliant and nothing can possibly go wrong. So we know they won't be looking at that position.

This discussion is kind of depressing for me for the simple fact that I know the guys who run our draft room are going to continue making head-scratchingly dumb decisions. I fully expect us to go into 2018 with Mike Pouncey penciled in as the starting center and nobody having been drafted to replace him.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

I think Connor Williams is the best OL in the country by a healthy margin, and he may be best suited for OG. Young too. If Miami is picking in or near the top 10, they could have a shot at him. Otherwise, some nice OL talent should spill into the 2nd RD. I view Nelson as more of a 1st/2nd guy - not as good as F. Lamp from the 2017 Draft.

In the 1st, Guice is the RB that interests me, but ideally, you bypass that risk and get a guy like J. Kelly or R. Penny in the 3rd or 4th. K. Johnson and N. Chubb are also nice options.

This TE class is a pile of trash relative to the 2017 Draft, so I wouldn't force it, but I'd look up A. Breneman in the 3rd or 4th. As usual, Miami failed to assess the strengths of that class. Shameful.

R. Smith and M. Jefferson are potential 1st RD picks and really good players. But, they'll have to wow from here on out to warrant a pick near the top 10 (Shazier was selected 15th overall for reference). Tremaine Edmunds is a guy to look up later, and Nwosu will get a chance to play 4-3 OLB in Mobile, where I expect him to play well. At SLB, a guy like Brian Womac II from Rice is also really interesting. He's relentless, and he makes a ton if plays in the backfield.

I'd consider Josh Jackson and Minkah Fitzpatrick early in the 1st (tests pending), and after them, you have guys like Juan Thornhill, Carlton Davis, and Holton Hill - as well as Kameron Kelly (very underrated CB out of SDSU). Could be a steal, but his stock will likely rise. Also, DJ Reed is a stud Slot CB. Darius Phillips is also an excellent Slot option and a dynamic return man.

Chubb, Ferrell, and Sweat look like the 1st RD pass-rush options at this point. Love Holland and Josh Allen, but they're more 3-4 OLB. Justin Lawler looks good and should be there on Day 2 or 3.

As much as the team needs offensive linemen, I'd love for Miami to get a defensive gem in the first round and then work on the oline. Josh Jackson is very interesting as a corner who makes a lot of big plays. Miami needs more speed at linebacker (Smith or Jefferson could fill that pretty nicely).

Plus, the defensive line needs another dominant guy to take some pressure off Suh. Wilkins from Clemson could be an interesting player and the Dolphins may pick high enough to be in that range.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

I'm not in favor of drafting OL in the first.

Ted Larsen looks like he's capable of being an adequate pass blocker, and that's fine for our LG. He's not good, but he's not a dumpster fire, and that's all I ask at this point. The bigger concern right now is what to do at C and RG. Asiata has not even been active yet, so how can we pencil him in as the starting RG with any confidence? That concerns me a lot. We also need to dump Pouncey's salary and find a replacement, so you have to think about finding a center in the draft.

I think our draft needs to be defense heavy again. We need linebackers who can cover, defensive ends who can replace aging Hayes and Wake, and to continue looking for upgrades at CB. I also think that we need a free safety, but the dopes who run Miami's defense apparently think having two strong safeties back there is just brilliant and nothing can possibly go wrong. So we know they won't be looking at that position.

This discussion is kind of depressing for me for the simple fact that I know the guys who run our draft room are going to continue making head-scratchingly dumb decisions. I fully expect us to go into 2018 with Mike Pouncey penciled in as the starting center and nobody having been drafted to replace him.

I know what you mean. I think Pouncey will probably stay as well and Miami will probably go dumpster diving to find some offensive lineman. I hope the team plays Asiata at least in the final four games maybe sooner. The team needs to know what they have in him.

A player like Harrison on Alabama would be pretty nice, but I seriously doubt Miami drafts a safety early. But I do agree the Dolphins need a lot on defense. The best players on D are the vets in Suh, Wake and Jones. Younger and more athletic players are needed.

 

[j-off-her-doll]

I'm not in favor of drafting OL in the first.

Ted Larsen looks like he's capable of being an adequate pass blocker, and that's fine for our LG. He's not good, but he's not a dumpster fire, and that's all I ask at this point. The bigger concern right now is what to do at C and RG. Asiata has not even been active yet, so how can we pencil him in as the starting RG with any confidence? That concerns me a lot. We also need to dump Pouncey's salary and find a replacement, so you have to think about finding a center in the draft.

I think our draft needs to be defense heavy again. We need linebackers who can cover, defensive ends who can replace aging Hayes and Wake, and to continue looking for upgrades at CB. I also think that we need a free safety, but the dopes who run Miami's defense apparently think having two strong safeties back there is just brilliant and nothing can possibly go wrong. So we know they won't be looking at that position.

This discussion is kind of depressing for me for the simple fact that I know the guys who run our draft room are going to continue making head-scratchingly dumb decisions. I fully expect us to go into 2018 with Mike Pouncey penciled in as the starting center and nobody having been drafted to replace him.

I think the way to approach a given draft is to examine the strengths and weaknesses relative to most years. 2017 was outstanding for DE/pass rusher, TE, S, and it was really good for CB. It was a weak draft overall for OL.

This year, it looks like OL will be a strength, S and CB will again be good, but DE/pass rusher looks - at this point - relatively weak. There can still be values (Ogbah should have been a top-15 pick in 2016, which was also a relatively poor draft for pass rushers), but it's less likely.

If you can do this, you have a better chance of avoiding the problem of talent vs need. If Connor Williams falls to Miami, that'd be tough to pass up, but it's early, and in this class, finding a stud OL in the 2nd and/or 3rd is more likely than normal. That'd be ideal.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

I think the way to approach a given draft is to examine the strengths and weaknesses relative to most years. 2017 was outstanding for DE/pass rusher, TE, S, and it was really good for CB. It was a weak draft overall for OL.

This year, it looks like OL will be a strength, S and CB will again be good, but DE/pass rusher looks - at this point - relatively weak. There can still be values (Ogbah should have been a top-15 pick in 2016, which was also a relatively poor draft for pass rushers), but it's less likely.

If you can do this, you have a better chance of avoiding the problem of talent vs need. If Connor Williams falls to Miami, that'd be tough to pass up, but it's early, and in this class, finding a stud OL in the 2nd and/or 3rd is more likely than normal. That'd be ideal.

Well said. I really wanted one of those top safeties last year. I see this year as a really good DT draft as well. Agree?

That's one reason I'd look there early. I like Godchaux, but if Miami can get a difference maker there it would make things so much harder for opposing offenses. Plus, you need to prepare for when Suh is gone. I think that could happen after 2018.

Looks like a really good group of running backs as well, but I'd look there in the middle rounds.