Grade Hickeys first draft and why?

[Fin Fan in Cali]

He spent the 1st overall pick, the 15th overall pick, a second round pick, 2 third round picks, a fourth round pick, a sixth round pick, and over $100 million dollars on that line.

Ireland would absolutely have addressed the line this offseason and he probably would have made the same exact moves as Hickey. Billy Turner would be the only exception, though he most certainly would have gone guard at some point high in the draft.

This Oline stunk it up with Martin and Incognito before what happened, and I don't believe Ireland would have addressed the O line like Hickey did. I believe Ireland would have looked more to free agency then the draft. We need to keep investing in this O line until we get in right and have depth behind our starters.

 

[Gonzo]

You know what I find funny is Ireland would of never addressed the O line like Hickey did and now Hickey is a failure.

He certainly tried to address the line. He drafted 5 high round (1-3) linemen. He just didn't do it well (only ones that stuck were ones that required drafting very high). I don't think Hickey is a failure yet, I'm just not impressed at this point.

 

[Gonzo]

This Oline stunk it up with Martin and Incognito before what happened, and I don't believe Ireland would have addressed the O line like Hickey did. I believe Ireland would have looked more to free agency then the draft. We need to keep investing in this O line until we get in right and have depth behind our starters.

Ireland drafted the first one high and paid a good amount for the second.

 

[Spesh]

This Oline stunk it up with Martin and Incognito before what happened, and I don't believe Ireland would have addressed the O line like Hickey did. I believe Ireland would have looked more to free agency then the draft. We need to keep investing in this O line until we get in right and have depth behind our starters.

Yes, and before the O-line stunk it up he attempted to pay Jake Long $9 million a year and tried to trade for Branden Albert. You dont think that he would have snagged Albert for no draft compensation and paid him what he tried to pay Long? Especially since Ireland already agreed to Albert's contract demands once before?

The Miami Dolphins are prepared to meet the contract demands of offensive tackle Branden Albert, for whom they are looking to trade before this week’s NFL Draft.

NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reported that the Dolphins are willing to give Albert a similar contract to the six-year, $53.4 million extension that was signed by Houston Texans tackle Duane Brown last year.

http://tracking.si.com/2013/04/22/branden-albert-dolphins-trade-contract-demands-chiefs/

Jeff Ireland had more invested in keeping Tannehill upright then Dennis Hickey does. After all, Ireland picked Tannehill, not Hickey. Ireland, after giving Hartline an extension and signing Wallace, felt our offense was set except for the offensive line. Ireland's philosophy dictated drafting lineman high and skill position(other than corner) late in the draft.
Yes, Ireland would have spent hard in free agency. He would have nabbed Albert and probably have spent upwards of $30 million on a guard. But he also would have gone after a right tackle in the draft, especially after being burned with Colombo and Clabo via free agency. Recall, Ireland brought in 2 centers in free agency, when those didnt work he drafted Pouncey in the top half of the first round.

We should invest what the most successful teams in the league invest in their offensive line. Blindside protectors should be grabbed relatively high(and even thats debatable). But once you have that down? Second day selections and use coaching to compensate(roll outs and rb blocking). Second round picks being the highest they should go, and thats only after either 1) having a established nucleus of talent or 2) the player is significantly better then anyone else available at that pick. Why? Because for every investment we make in the line, we dont make an investment in the rest of the team. We could have the best line in the history of the NFL, but it wont matter when our defense is being gouged and our receivers are giving up on plays, dropping passes, and falling on the dirt anytime someone gets within a few feet of them. Just like we should never take a kicker or punter with top selections, we should have understood the value of the position.

This "spending hard on the line" philosophy hasnt worked. Ireland proved that. Just as he would have proven again had he stayed. Now Hickey followed his example and smart money says it ends in the exact same way. After all, just because we made a big investment in the position doesnt mean it was the right one.

 

[dlockz]

As much as I hate Ireland and thought he was a crappy GM, people saying that he would not have addressed the line have been in a bunker for years I guess. The problem has been addressing its been getting the right players, which seems to be my issue with Hickey outside of Albert.
Overdrafting James doesn't make him any smarter than Ireland. Nobody was taking James in first outside of us.

 

[Zounds]

This is a very difficult drat to judge, but I think we will know very soon how this draft fares. Our first 3 picks are scheduled to get significant playing time within the first year or 2, so we should be able to discern the long term value of this draft pretty quickly.

Based on what we know now, I think we did ok. Not a flashy draft, but I think Hickey and Philbin were able to get all of the players they targeted. We addressed our immediate needs, but passed up on some value in doing so. But if we have fixed the weakest unit on our team in the OL, and it appears we have, the picks we made will be well worth it whether we reached or not. All of the picks were scheme picks, so at least we got that right. I dont see any picks being wasted on skill sets that don't fit within scheme. Bottom line is we reached a few times, but the players we picked can have a greater impact on our team than some of the value picks that were available.

 

[miamiron]

INCOMPLETE:
Only because it's idiotic to put a grade on any teams draft before players have yet to play 1 NFL down.
WE STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT WE HAVE WITH LAST YEARS DRAFT FOR GOD'S SAKE

 

[rent this space]

As much as I hate Ireland and thought he was a crappy GM, people saying that he would not have addressed the line have been in a bunker for years I guess. The problem has been addressing its been getting the right players, which seems to be my issue with Hickey outside of Albert.
Overdrafting James doesn't make him any smarter than Ireland. Nobody was taking James in first outside of us.

Disagree. 20 and 23 were definite possibilities, plus the teams at 32,33, and 34 all took tackles in the 2nd and easily could have jumped above 27

 

[Zounds]

This "spending hard on the line" philosophy hasnt worked. Ireland proved that. Just as he would have proven again had he stayed. Now Hickey followed his example and smart money says it ends in the exact same way. After all, just because we made a big investment in the position doesnt mean it was the right one.

Well thats a load of crap. Before signing our draft picks, Miami only has about $13 million committed to the OL for 2014. That's one of the lowest amounts committed to the OL in the entire NFL. Miami has minimal resources committed to the OL compared to other teams, and you want us to commit even less? You might want to rethink that.

 

[jim1]

Well thats a load of crap. Before signing our draft picks, Miami only has about $13 million committed to the OL for 2014. That's one of the lowest amounts committed to the OL in the entire NFL. Miami has minimal resources committed to the OL compared to other teams, and you want us to commit even less? You might want to rethink that.

Not so fast. The low $ amount on the books for the OL is a result of the Great Purge of 2014, a cathartic tsunami caused by a combination of "Bullygate"
and overall lousy play by the OL, Martin gone, Incognito gone, Jerry gone because he participated in the bullying and he sucks, Clabo just plain sucked. Five men go into the ring, one man leaves- Pouncey. And if he keeps on running his mouth his clock might be ticking as well.

Historically, in the Jeff Ireland era, we spent huge money on the OL from Jake Long to Jake Grove, Mike Pouncey, take your pick of the other names over the last 7 years or so including hignh picks like Samson Satele and John Jerry. Did any team in the league invest more money in the OL than we did in the Ireland era? I don't know, but I'd think that we're right up there.

 

[roy_miami]

Chip Kelly took a corn at 4 overall and his QB went on to have one of the greatest statistical seasons in the history of the league. Did Lane play a role in that? Of course he did. Will Lane end up being a better player than Austin (or whichever skill player Kelly had rated highest) five years down the road? Probably not. But Lane Johnson did help develop short term credit and momentum for Kelly's system and the value of that momentum for any new head coach is being severely underrated imo.

IMO 3 eventual playoff teams reached for corns in the first last season but they proved me wrong so maybe my opinion on the subject is dumb. I'm also of the opinion that rating a draft the day after is dumb too though, so meh.

 

[Zounds]

Not so fast. The low $ amount on the books for the OL is a result of the Great Purge of 2014, a cathartic tsunami caused by a combination of "Bullygate"
and overall lousy play by the OL, Martin gone, Incognito gone, Jerry gone because he participated in the bullying and he sucks, Clabo just plain sucked. Five men go into the ring, one man leaves- Pouncey. And if he keeps on running his mouth his clock might be ticking as well.

Historically, in the Jeff Ireland era, we spent huge money on the OL from Jake Long to Jake Grove, Mike Pouncey, take your pick of the other names over the last 7 years or so including hignh picks like Samson Satele and John Jerry. Did any team in the league invest more money in the OL than we did in the Ireland era? I don't know, but I'd think that we're right up there.

Yep I'm well aware of who was on our team and how much money they made, and that doesn't change my point. The poster Spesh said Hickey is following the Ireland formula of "spending hard on the line", which is completely wrong, and I stand by my statement.

And Samson Satele wasn't drafted by Ireland. And for comparison, no we didn't generally spend more on the OL than other teams during that era. Even if we did spend more, its foolish to say that we shouldn't invest in the OL just because Ireland made poor decisions. Just FYI, Ireland isnt employed by the Miami Dolphins anymore.

 

[KTOWNFINFAN]

solid B

Especially if Turner starts day 1. He won 3 str8 ships in div 1-AA @ NDSU, has bloodlines, proved beind from a small school didnt mean sh*t at the SB. One of the best moving linemen with a strong a punch I've seen in a while. Very experienced and confident. Not a doubt about his work ethic. Im more concerned about James' run blocking than this guy as a whole.

People forget we already have not only a playmaker, but probably our most exciting & consistent player in Clow42. A bunch of wr that do different things, but compliment eachother.

Main thing holding us back last yr was our o-line. They really crippled us AND the playbook. Yet, Tanehill still tossed twenty TDs. Imagine if the o-line comes together, along w/ play calling.....It would only be icing on the cake when Dion[yes] starts showing out. A potential pass rush MIA has is going to contend w/ leagues best. Last yr was evident.

W/ a good pass rush, you can pretty much get away with it. HOU, BAL even MIA have been doing it for years. Our line backing core and our secondary not named Grimes were a mess. Yet our defense was holding together til the last 2 weeks even though the offense just failed.


We already have a solid vet set to start at RB. I really think MIA is another STRONG draft away from being playoff bound for the foreseeable future


I mean on paper....we have no GLARING needs. Lets just see how it works out.

No glaring needs?? We need two guards, and two LBs. At this point our best two options at OG are Dallas Thomas, who was bad last year, and either Garner or Brenner. Shelly was one of the worst pass protectors in the entire league last year, and you certainly can't expect a 3rd rd tackle to come in and start year one.

At LB the only thing I can see is they are thinking of moving Jordan to strong side LB and moving Ellerbe to the weak and Koa in the middle on early down and bringing in Jenkins to replace Koa on passing downs. That would allow for Jordan to cover TEs and Koa couldn't be a lot worse in the middle than what Ellerbe was last year. Tripp is not starting material, not this year any way. STs is how he will see the field.

 

[roy_miami]

At this point our best two options at OG are Dallas Thomas, who was bad last year, and either Garner or Brenner. Shelly was one of the worst pass protectors in the entire league last year, and you certainly can't expect a 3rd rd tackle to come in and start year one.

.

Exactly!! All nine picks should have been spent on corns!

 

[KTOWNFINFAN]

You know what I find funny is Ireland would of never addressed the O line like Hickey did and now Hickey is a failure.

?? The biggest complaint about Ireland was he addressed the OL too often. His problem was he had no eye for talent. He tried to get the right pieces he just stunk at it. Time will tell if Hickey has a better eye. If free agency is any indication I would have to say he doesn't either.