Hayden Fox's Draft Assessment

[FINSItalia]

Doubt James would have made it to anywhere near the 50 spot. It's where I wanted him initially, but both NFL Draft Scout and Gil Brandt, among others, had him in the mid 30s the week before the draft. Maybe we could have traded down to 30 and still got him, but for a late 3rd rounder was it worth the risk when few of the remaining RTs provided value? Maybe. But I won't crucify Hickey for this one if James proves to be a top third RT starter.

 

[susser2000]

I completely agree with your assessment of the drafting of James at 19 overall. I would've loved for them to trade back, but you do not know what is going to happen if you make that move. Also, I am hoping Landry proves to be a valuable asset. Lastly, I love the pick of a LT to play RG.

 

[greasyObnoxious]

I'm kinda surprised Joe Philbin didn't make it on the negative list

 

[gerblack]

I would have traded down. I said that prior to draft. If the top linemen were gone which they were and no other amazing player drops trade down.
Taking the 50th best player at 19 is a recipe for losing no matter how one trys to spin it.
James would have been there in a trade down, no other team drafted a lineman until second round. And if by some miracle another team took him there were guards and other tackles available, in fact the guy u liked equally Moses was still there.
Another third rounder means another possible starter. Another player similar to James none the less. You cant say without a doubt that James will make Tannehill even better. Johnathon Martin was considered a superior prospect to James and yet we were on a record pace for sacks last year.
I don't know a lineman just as good as James or maybe James and a better linebacker might add more wins than James by himself.

Just because he liked Moses doesn't mean the team thought Moses and James were the same. In fact they didn't Hickey came out and said James was his man and they had a higher 1st round grade on him before the draft. Also there are reports from Omar (I know take with a boulder size grain of salt) say AZ wanted James at 20. Maybe no other OL was picked after James because he was the last OL with a 1st round grade on him?

 

[jerseys_FINest]

I would have traded down. I said that prior to draft. If the top linemen were gone which they were and no other amazing player drops trade down.
Taking the 50th best player at 19 is a recipe for losing no matter how one trys to spin it.
James would have been there in a trade down, no other team drafted a lineman until second round. And if by some miracle another team took him there were guards and other tackles available, in fact the guy u liked equally Moses was still there.
Another third rounder means another possible starter. Another player similar to James none the less. You cant say without a doubt that James will make Tannehill even better. Johnathon Martin was considered a superior prospect to James and yet we were on a record pace for sacks last year.
I don't know a lineman just as good as James or maybe James and a better linebacker might add more wins than James by himself.

The fact that you keep bringing up player "rankings" as your only proof is the only spin i'm seeing. what scientific rankings might you be talking about? a random talking head at your favorite sports network? your favorite blog writer's rankings?

the fact is, after the first 10 or so blue chip prospects get picked (just estimating that amount, it varies by draft), the next list of players is such an impossible thing to accurately rank due to different teams having different needs, as well as different prospects excelling in different aspects of the game. ranking that many skilled prospects is impossible, yet every year people try to do it anyway. and every year people use those rankings as gospel.

just to make a point, if i asked everyone on this board to rank the top 53 players from last years dolphins roster, i guarantee the first 5 or so would be very similar on most lists. after that? it'll be all over the place. there's no exact way to rank players, so just stop trying to rank them.

i dont know if james is the answer, but one of the main questions going into the offseason was the oline. i think/hope it's fixed.

 

[rent this space]

If you want more athletic O-linemen, you choose James over Moses for sure.

 

[psfign]

I agree with pretty much everything the OP stated. I'm very excited to see how the 2013 picks step up this year! It has been said before, but I believe as well, it's almost like we have twice as many rookies due to last year's injuries.

I'm very excited about Landry and hope he has an immediate impact! I'm confident he will eventually become a starter, it's just a matter of if that happens this year or the next, etc.

As far as the DB situation, I am actually high on Wil Davis. He has some developing to do, but he was making plays in the OTAs last year. So between him, Taylor, Grimes & Finnegan...I'm not overly concerned that we can't get two successful CBs on the field unless we get hit with injuries at the position again. That being said I'm not as comfortable with the Safety position.

I'm weary about just assuming the line is fixed. I thought that last year too....

 

[dlockz]

I love the statement that somehow James was best right tackle in draft, nobody seriously believes that he would be a better right tackle than Jake Matthews.

 

[truedolfan57]

I love the statement that somehow James was best right tackle in draft, nobody seriously believes that he would be a better right tackle than Jake Matthews.

i think when people say that, they mean RT's left in the draft at the time of their draft pick.

 

[dlockz]

i think when people say that, they mean RT's left in the draft at the time of their draft pick.

no quakifier for that either. we drafted a second rounder mid way through first and somehow now people want to act like this was a good move. Like we couldn't have upgraded guard or took a different tackle.
Actually in the assessment he said the top rated right tackle in draft. Matthews can play both sides at a higher level than James ever has. moses and he were rated fairly similar by all except maybe us.
The Ravens gm that picked just before us said he didn't take a tackle because none of them graded that high a pick so we have no clue what the other teams outside of us thought.
We do know that some prospects that were supposedly rated higher than James were not taken till early second round.

 

[truedolfan57]

no quakifier for that either. we drafted a second rounder mid way through first and somehow now people want to act like this was a good move. Like we couldn't have upgraded guard or took a different tackle.
Actually in the assessment he said the top rated right tackle in draft. Matthews can play both sides at a higher level than James ever has. moses and he were rated fairly similar by all except maybe us.
The Ravens gm that picked just before us said he didn't take a tackle because none of them graded that high a pick so we have no clue what the other teams outside of us thought.
We do know that some prospects that were supposedly rated higher than James were not taken till early second round.

you state that no one knows what teams rate the players, but then say james was a second rounder. if Miami thought james was a first rounder, is there no way any other team could have felt the same way? Miami wanted james, and they got him. that's the bottom line. if james starts right away, and is successful, then he was not a reach. until then, there's no point in keep saying he's a reach, because we just don't know yet. it's who Miami wanted, so it was a good pick for them. plus it was a huge need.

i would not have liked any other OT prospect in the 20's if it wasn't James, if Miami traded down. and going with another position only leave a huge hole in the oline still. And Miami didn't have a pick in the early 2nd, when the run of OL went, so that point is moot.

 

[dlockz]

you state that no one knows what teams rate the players, but then say james was a second rounder. if Miami thought james was a first rounder, is there no way any other team could have felt the same way? Miami wanted james, and they got him. that's the bottom line. if james starts right away, and is successful, then he was not a reach. until then, there's no point in keep saying he's a reach, because we just don't know yet. it's who Miami wanted, so it was a good pick for them. plus it was a huge need.

i would not have liked any other OT prospect in the 20's if it wasn't James, if Miami traded down. and going with another position only leave a huge hole in the oline still. And Miami didn't have a pick in the early 2nd, when the run of OL went, so that point is moot.

Im saying I feel james was a second round prospect. The only point that is moot is James was a reach. I said it was likely no other team felt the same way and definately that Baltimore felt he wasnt worth taking mid first. They could have traded down was my point and there was opportunities. By your rationale no pick is ever a bad pick or a reach because thats who the team wanted.I think we all realize that James was the player we wanted after the other 18 players were gone, the issue we have is it was not a good pick in our opinion.

 

[Hayden Fox]

Ozzie Newsome took a beat up, overrated MLB right before us.

 

[dlockz]

Ozzie Newsome took a beat up, overrated MLB right before us.

would much rather have that than a lineman who should have been selected late second round at best.
We basically chose Dallas Thomas but in th first round


Funny though it was ok was us to take a beat up overrated DE the previous year and who cares if he produced.
I guarantee that Mosely will have a better first year than Dion Jordan or JAwan James

 

[BlueFin]

Look, its not so much James as it is the continuing saga in Miami where we are forced to bypass playmakers for offensive lineman due to poor prior drafting...thats what gets old.