Grade Hickeys first draft and why? | Page 4 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Grade Hickeys first draft and why?

SebasMiamiFan said:
I'll let you know in 3 years.
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So could anyone, that would kind of make this thread pointless. Lets not speculate, lets only deal in certainties, therefore there's no need for message forum, or for people to express their views.
 
Ive got news for everyone, everyone drafts for need. otherwise, why does a team without a QB always go for them? Why does a team who has one rarely go for them?

I dont get the reach thing. Many teams reached all day for all 3 days. Philly took a 3rd round graded DB. Pats took a QB in teh 2nd who wont see any action for quite some time if at all.

If any of you think that Brandin Cooks is a starter or an impact player clearly have not followed the NFL closely. WR's rarely make big splashes their first year.

IMO We got a legit RT with great strength, character, wing span. He will be our starting RT.

The value explained on here is ass backwards if you consider what other teams did. Cleveland and Ray stinkin Farmer traded out from taking Watkins and took a CB then later took a risk on a flashy QB who is all about showmanship and then we find out Josh Gordon will be gone. WTF? Where is the crying out loud about this? Farmer knew damn well what was coming down with Gordon. This is not value.

Our Landry pick was valued right where we picked him. Anyone who says otherwise is full of crap. His knock was his slow combine but we later find out he had medicals and he fought through or wanted to fight through it anyways showing his heart.

Billy Turner I was ignorant on as well as Bitonio. But where we picked him was not bad value. We obviously knew teams had their eye on him which is why we traded back up. He has the ability to be starting by midseason. Tough kid.

I like the TE pickup from a big program. He will stick. True TE type. Not the ASJ catch radius I was seeking but he has good size and will upgrade the position.

All the others are 2-3 year guys. Which can be said for most any team in the NFL picking back in these spots.

The draft has become about perception and big names pimped by the media. No one knows which way the wind blows. But at least we got good character guys. I wont give a grade. its stupid and it doesnt mean anything.
 
I'll go C+, B- if Turner works out
The James pick doesn't bother me as much as most because Hickey stuck to his conviction. He felt James was a first round tackle and he made sure he got the biggest hole on the team filled. Maybe he is the 5th best tackle but everyone tells me we just need linemen that are good enough, not the ones ranked the highest.
Landry is the best pick, imo. He's not speedy but fast enough. too many read the combine 40 time and are writing him off but he isn't that slow. he is tough, smart and has good hands and looks to be a perfect slot receiver.
Turner wasn't a bad pick and I think will also end up starting, but would have liked to see them stand pat in the 3rd and keep the extra 4th. If he ends up a solid player and again, is good enough, it won't be so bad but there were some very good players in the 3rd and 4th round that we missed out on.
Aikens doesn't excite me but in this day and age, you need lots of good corners. And I don't look at him as a small school guy, he was good enough to play in the Big Ten. If it weren't for the stolen laptop, he would have stayed there.
Not a big fan of Lynch and not because of the player he is, but because he's not the modern style, seam threat TE that we have lacked for too long. I would rather upgrade and replace Egnew instead of Sims. Maybe this is a Lazor pick.
I'm ok with the LB Tripp but not sure the other WR or the DE was needed, I'm guessing they were BPA picks on Hickey's board.
 
If Shelly and Turner are our starting guards our running game should be improved..
This draft was odd.. Going into it our needs are not sexy so i find it hard to believe we could of had a super sexy draft.
Reaching for your guy is still reaching..
We needed lb help but the two guys who stood out were gone..
Even the big wrs were gone.
I like both the O linemen i wouldnt doubt if benton has both starting week 1.
When the tech te got picked right in front of us it hurt.
I have no idea how the wr position is going to stack out this year.
 
I like Spesh's summary. We're stuck in patch mode while other franchises pick up gems.

Look at the top two picks from so many of the teams that are similar caliber to the Dolphins. It's sickening. Top echelon talent. We desperately needed something like that. Instead it looks like a draft in which we primarily tried to modestly upgrade some of our weakest positions.

Difficult draft to grade, with all the small college kids. I don't know how so many posters are confident enough to assign grades with so many largely unknown quantities.

The strategy doesn't thrill me. I like multiple picks in the top 40, and then hunting for major college sleepers, like Ben Gardner. Hickey apparently believes he can uncover hidden talent at the lower division schools. That's too cute and unlikely to succeed, IMO. I like Belichick's approach of targeting the power conferences and notably the SEC.

For once I'd like to draft a guy and have legitimate hopes he could become one of the premier players in the league at his position.
 
Geordie said:
So could anyone, that would kind of make this thread pointless. Lets not speculate, lets only deal in certainties, therefore there's no need for message forum, or for people to express their views.
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But there are no certainties right now. I'd give it a B. They fixed the O-line, brought leadership, and I love the Landry pick. They reached in certain spots though.
 
F - because we didn't use our #1 on a kick-returner and their whole family. And, we didn't use a 5th rounder on a 4'10" FG kicker. Terrible draft, just terrible.

I honestly have no business grading as I don't follow college ball. Let's see what happens when these guys get on the field.
 
I give this draft a B maybe a B+ at best (for now).

Through the whole draft I kept hearing one word from some people, VALUE, well I could care about value, what I care about is will the player end up helping the Dolphins in the end, not was he picked at the right time for good value. I agree getting the same players later or where they are expected to go is more favorable, but in the end, did you get a quality player that will help your team.

James: (B) - Biggest problem with this pick is when he was picked, not the type of player he is. He is a quality pass protector that will help keep Tannehill upright and confident that from the R-tackle position, few battles will be lost. I gave him only a B because he still needs work run-blocking (even though he has proven to be able to get ot the 2nd level), and when he was taken.

Landry: (B+) - Landry had success at LSU, as much or even more then his much higher rated teammate Beckham JR. He is also a much better blocker, route runner. and more physical receiver then the Giants new toy Beckham JR. Landry has the desire to succeed of great receivers, but is only a B+ because his time will make him have to work harder then the other recievers in the NFL if he wants to succeed.

Turner: (B-) - Turner is another quality linemen that could have an even higher ceiling then Jawuan James, but right now not nearly as finished a product. He loks the part, very light on his feet, has a mean streak that will serve him well once he gets his chance. I gave him only a B- because his lean lower body will need to be worked on, also there are sill some technique problems he needs to work on, and finally to start in the NFL, even though he started at tackle most his career, he will probably be kicked inside, that also will take time for him to get used to.

Aikens: (C+) - Converted safety, with above average height, and size, has shown good skills in press coverage, with very good upside. The reason I gave him a C+ is because he does seem to lose coverage when he gives some cushion and does have a problem locating the ball seem to have a problem locating the ball, even with his 7 INT in 4 years.

Lynch: (B-) - A four start recruit (once ranked 2nd best TE by Rivals), he is a premier Blocker, and is one of the best route running TEs coming out this year. The reason I gave him a B- is because he also does lose concentration when going for a pass at times, and will not get many yards when he does make the catch. One last plus is with his size/height and quick route running, he could be a very good redzone target.

Tripp: (B+) - A finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award (for best small school defender), good size and height, with room to add a bit more muscle to play M-LB ( where many are projesting him), he is highly instictive, seemingly always around the ball. Reason for only a B+ is he came from a small school, how he will do against top talent in nationin the NFL is still to be determined, and does at time plays with more finesse and physicality.

Hazel: (b) A receiver with good height, he runs good routes, and has very good hands. he is also level headed and a very hard worker, and a lot of heart. I gave him only a B because of his lack of ideal bulk, he is easily at times out-muscled, and also becausehe went to a small school, we still don't know how well he will do against top talent in the NFL.

Fede: (C+) - Fede has good skills, athletic, and has a great 1st step, and his great size to go along with his his athletic tools, he can be a very effective rotational Pass-rushing DE. The reason I gave him a B is because even though he does have a great 1st step, and has good power, the the linemen get their hands on him, he has a hard time shedding blocks, and he also does have arms on the short side.
 
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Think I'll go for a B, there were clear themes to the draft which please me. We went for leaders and confident players, we filled needs and bar the first pick got good value. Even the first pick I can't complain about because we drafted a pure RT which is what we needed, one that is better at pass blocking which again is what we needed. That should be the oline pretty much sorted hopefully and Benton and Lazor have a good bit of new talent to work with. With last year's draft being focussed on D and with the needs we had it was always going to be a more O focussed draft.
 
C

Hickey did a pretty good job plugging holes, but he left a lot a meat on the bone.

If he slid down in the 1st round as he should have if he wanted to draft JuWuan James, the extra 3rd round pick that he was offered could have been used to get OG Trai Turner.

If he didn't trade a 4th rd pick to move up in the 3rd round to get Billy Turner he could have used that pick #116 on WR Martavis Bryant. If Hickey gave the Raiders the #125 pick instead of the #116 pick he still could have had Bryant.

When Hickey traded down in the 2nd rd with SF the pick he got should have been the one just before the Pats, not the one right after.

Bottom line- these moves and non moves showed me that Hickey's trading skills are suspect, he is not a great wheeler and dealer.

TE Arthur Lynch- could be a solid, unspectacular in line TE and blocker for us, but we just drafted last year a solid, unspectacular blocking TE in Dion Sims.

If Dennis Hickey was a better wheeler and dealer WE COULD HAVE EASILY ADDED OG TRAI TURNER AND WR MARTAVIS BRYANT TO THIS DRAFT. That bothers me, and I agree with the other criticisms that we could have gone for more top end players- trading back in the 2nd rd twice was ok, but the value of the moves was shot to sh** by paying not only a 4th rd pick but our higher 4th rd pick so we could reach for OT Billy Turner.
 
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So after reading most of the reviews Im convinced most people here have over estimated their knowledge of football.Just because you coached your kids u-12 team doesnt mean you can critique the pros!We filled our biggest needs on o-line.upgraded wr corp,depth in secondary.Everybody is tanking on Lynch but ASJ,Amaro and Ebron werent their in 5th rd. Hickey hopefully fixed all our immediate needs and next year when we get out of Wallaces contract we get true no.1 wr,bigtime running back top notch lb.Why reach for Skov in 4th or 5thrd and get poor value when we can add to uur depth with good value.Everyone is entitled to their opinion I just wish you little league coaches kept yours to yourself and let the pros do their job
 
None of this matters. 30-40% will eventually be cut or picked up by other teams, which we will do so its amazing that people havent figured this whole process out.
 
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