I agree that LT is a pretty premium position, fact of the matter is we already have a good one in vernon carey.
Ok now this is like the 5th time I've seen you say this and I have to step in now..
Carey is an "adequate" LT, he is not ideal.. One of the biggest misconceptions on this board is a few people saying we will be good with Carey at LT.. I'm sorry, but I just don't see it.
And here's why.. Our offense was was tailored for the short passing game because of our O-line just wasn't good.. This was by design.. Routes were shortened. Ronnie is an above average pass protecter (when he played) so he helped Carey quite a bit.. And our QBs rarely got the chance to drop back, set and throw comfortably..
When did you see 7 step drops from our QB's waiting for Ginn to get open deep for the long bomb? You didn't, it was very rare... You saw our burner taking quick hitches and quick 7 yard out passes.. This is because our coaches didn't have faith in the QB's blindside. And Carey was the main cog on that left side.
So Carey giving up only 3.5 sacks last year is very misleading.. Carey gave up quite bit of hurries.. Hurries that led to our QB fumbling the ball because of pressure.. Hurries that led to our QB's throwing the ball away losing downs.. Hurries that led to INT's , turnovers and overall bad or negative plays for the offense,. This in turn of course hurt our defense because they were on the field more than they should have been,,
After the final game of the regular season this past year, I saw someone put up an alarming stat on another message board. And it listed the most hurries Left Tackles gave up last season.. And Carey was in the top 10 for most hurries against a LT.. He was like 8th.. So he was 8th worst out of 32 NFL teams in that department..
And he was the worst in the AFC EAST for that stat.... And Carey gave up those hurries with our coaching staff needing less protection time because of our short quick passing game !!.. I am going to try to find that link again because I would love to show the proof of that here for all of my finheaven brethren to see...
So in essence, if we had an offense that had a normal passing attack, in other words plenty of deep drop backs, Carey would have had alot more sacks against than it showed.. It's just that the offense was curtailed to negate his shortcomings (as well as the shortcomings of the entire O-line in general.). And you cannot be a winning football team when your playbook is limited like that.
Basically, alot of what you say is misleading when it comes to Carey.. When you actually study him, and not just look at a number, but actually see "why" things happen, then you can see the dire need for OT's on our team..
And let me ask you this, what if Carey gets injured? What happens if goes down next year like Ronnie Brown, Zach Thomas, Yeremiah Bell and a plethora of other dolphins that have gone down last year (and in years past) due to injury ?? What will you do then?? Who will you put at LT? A lower round rookie from this draft? Or Julius Wilson?? So You see, it's not as easy as just saying Vernon Carey is fine at LT.. There are alot of variables here that are being overlooked.
Jake Long is without question the best pick Miami can make.. For many many reasons.. Carey is just a much better RT so we immediately improve 2 positions by drafting Jake the Snake Long.. Not to mention we really help the development of our best young players who are on the offensive side of the ball in Ginn, Beck, R Brown, L Booker, Satele, Carey etc.. We help their development by giving them the much needed help they need to thrive.. Instead of hurting and impeding their development (and hurting their fragile confidence at that young age) by going for stop gaps and projects on the O-line.
Furthermore, and last but not least, we help the defense by drafting Jake Long.. Having a very good O-line immediately means more long drives, more success for the offense.. Meaning the defense is on the field less.. Drafting Jake Long is a win-win-win situation for the entire team.
Moreover, having a much improved special teams next year, combined with a playmaker like Ginn putting us in good field position, coupled with an offense that can move the ball via a strong O-line, keeping our D off the field, is a terrific combination to start a rebuilding team.. Those are some really REALLY nice pieces there going forward..