juicifer1269
Starter
There has been a lot of negativity being spewed over the last few hours on finheaven. I am not going to argue that everything that the Dolphins have done in round 2 and 3 are genius moves. I'm just here to try to calm some of you down and am asking you to relax and take a deep breath.
After the Tunsil miracle of round 1, the rest of the draft couldn't live up to the high expectations that many of us, me included, were hoping for. I really do like Howard as a player but I don't really like having to give up a 4th rounder to move up from #42 to #38. A lot of fans, NOT all, are just upset that the Dolphins didn't trade up to draft Myles Jack. It is being reported that they did, indeed, try to trade up for Jack.
http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/armando-salguero/article74835262.html
True, McKenzie Alexander, a fan favorite, was available had the Dolphins stayed put at #42 but the Dolphins were obviously one of the teams turned off by his supposedly negative interviews. Also, Alexander is nowhere near as big or physical as Xavien Howard, which our defensive coordinator prefers. The Dolphins would not trade up 4 spots if they weren't concerned that another team could've taken or traded ahead of them to take Howard. You always here former executives like Gil Brandt and Bill Polian say that if there is a player that you like, you take them and don't risk losing them by trading down or staying put. You secure that player.
I have said more than a few times that there is too much of a history of late round and undrafted free agent running succeeding in the NFL to draft one early, especially with the multiple needs on this team. Well, running back was a need, and it was filled by drafting, in my opinion, the best receiving running back in this draft. Drake legitimately can catch the ball downfield like a WR. Drake is also an elite KR, which the Dolphins haven't had since Ted Ginn, lol. I most certainly would have waited until the later rounds to pick a RB (Dixon, Howard, Collins, Booker, etc) but at least Drake has an elite part to his game and is a good compliment to Ajayi.
At first, I was a little surprised at the trade for Leonte Carroo. It is a 6th this year and a 3rd next year with a conditional 4th. Nobody knows what the conditions are so its pointless to speculate what they are. If it ends up being a 4th, it will likely be triggered by some sort of performance bonus so maybe we should be rooting for it to be met. Some of our 3rd and 4th round picks over the last 10 years are Derek Hagen, Joe Toledo, Patrick Turner, Clyde Gates, Michael Egnew, and Dallas Thomas. Worst case scenario, Carroo ends up being an even swap for Rishard Matthews and best case he ends up like Jarvis Landry or Anquan Boldin. Regardless of what anyone says, the Dolphins are not stacked at WR. Stills is a FA after next year and according to some on here, needs to be upgraded or replaced.
Did we have bigger needs than RB and WR, yes, but this draft is not over and the season doesn't start next week. Through 3 rounds, the Dolphins likely found 3 starters and another who should get significant playing time. There is still time and players available to get us through the next season.
Could we have avoided a hole at RB and WR by re-signing Miller and Matthews? Absolutely. However, Miller and Matthews signed for $6.5 and $5 million per year respectively and the two players drafted to replace them, can easily match their production for $10m+ less. Other than being a threat to break off a 60 yard run, Miller was often a pedestrian running back. Yes, there were stretches during some games where he ran very well and the Dolphins too frequently abandoned the run but maybe, just maybe, there was a reason other than coaching incompetence that it happened. The Hurricanes often abandoned the run while Miller was there as well so maybe those 3 coaching staffs are far more in tuned to what Lamar Miller can and can't do than anyone posting on this site. As far as Matthews is concerned, I liked him and would have like to re-sign him but he is not worth $5m. He has about 100 career catches in 4 years. Drafting a WR in the late 3rd to replace him is not a stretch.
Look at it this way:
The offensive line is now officially fixed. This alone, fixes so many other problems on the offense. Tannehill should be sacked a lot less than 50 times this year. With more time, his accuracy should raise a bit too. The running game should be more effective. There literally is no negative to having a good offensive line.
Their most glaring weakness, CB (2nd biggest weakness was OL), was addressed and if the events of the 2nd round tell us anything, it was addressed by a player that fits the defensive system very well.
With Kenyan Drake, the Dolphins replaced Miller with the best receiving RB that we have had in, well, maybe ever. Although Drake never was a featured back in college, he was extremely explosive whenever he played and seems to be a nice compliment to Ajayi regardless of who starts, not to mention Drake is an elite KR.
With Carroo, the Dolphins have at the very least, replaced Rishard Matthews with a player with a much higher ceiling. Carroo just needs to stay out of trouble.
Let's not forget that this draft is less than half over and if tonight has taught us anything, it is very probable that the Dolphins will not just sit back and draft where they are slotted tomorrow.
After the Tunsil miracle of round 1, the rest of the draft couldn't live up to the high expectations that many of us, me included, were hoping for. I really do like Howard as a player but I don't really like having to give up a 4th rounder to move up from #42 to #38. A lot of fans, NOT all, are just upset that the Dolphins didn't trade up to draft Myles Jack. It is being reported that they did, indeed, try to trade up for Jack.
http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/armando-salguero/article74835262.html
True, McKenzie Alexander, a fan favorite, was available had the Dolphins stayed put at #42 but the Dolphins were obviously one of the teams turned off by his supposedly negative interviews. Also, Alexander is nowhere near as big or physical as Xavien Howard, which our defensive coordinator prefers. The Dolphins would not trade up 4 spots if they weren't concerned that another team could've taken or traded ahead of them to take Howard. You always here former executives like Gil Brandt and Bill Polian say that if there is a player that you like, you take them and don't risk losing them by trading down or staying put. You secure that player.
I have said more than a few times that there is too much of a history of late round and undrafted free agent running succeeding in the NFL to draft one early, especially with the multiple needs on this team. Well, running back was a need, and it was filled by drafting, in my opinion, the best receiving running back in this draft. Drake legitimately can catch the ball downfield like a WR. Drake is also an elite KR, which the Dolphins haven't had since Ted Ginn, lol. I most certainly would have waited until the later rounds to pick a RB (Dixon, Howard, Collins, Booker, etc) but at least Drake has an elite part to his game and is a good compliment to Ajayi.
At first, I was a little surprised at the trade for Leonte Carroo. It is a 6th this year and a 3rd next year with a conditional 4th. Nobody knows what the conditions are so its pointless to speculate what they are. If it ends up being a 4th, it will likely be triggered by some sort of performance bonus so maybe we should be rooting for it to be met. Some of our 3rd and 4th round picks over the last 10 years are Derek Hagen, Joe Toledo, Patrick Turner, Clyde Gates, Michael Egnew, and Dallas Thomas. Worst case scenario, Carroo ends up being an even swap for Rishard Matthews and best case he ends up like Jarvis Landry or Anquan Boldin. Regardless of what anyone says, the Dolphins are not stacked at WR. Stills is a FA after next year and according to some on here, needs to be upgraded or replaced.
Did we have bigger needs than RB and WR, yes, but this draft is not over and the season doesn't start next week. Through 3 rounds, the Dolphins likely found 3 starters and another who should get significant playing time. There is still time and players available to get us through the next season.
Could we have avoided a hole at RB and WR by re-signing Miller and Matthews? Absolutely. However, Miller and Matthews signed for $6.5 and $5 million per year respectively and the two players drafted to replace them, can easily match their production for $10m+ less. Other than being a threat to break off a 60 yard run, Miller was often a pedestrian running back. Yes, there were stretches during some games where he ran very well and the Dolphins too frequently abandoned the run but maybe, just maybe, there was a reason other than coaching incompetence that it happened. The Hurricanes often abandoned the run while Miller was there as well so maybe those 3 coaching staffs are far more in tuned to what Lamar Miller can and can't do than anyone posting on this site. As far as Matthews is concerned, I liked him and would have like to re-sign him but he is not worth $5m. He has about 100 career catches in 4 years. Drafting a WR in the late 3rd to replace him is not a stretch.
Look at it this way:
The offensive line is now officially fixed. This alone, fixes so many other problems on the offense. Tannehill should be sacked a lot less than 50 times this year. With more time, his accuracy should raise a bit too. The running game should be more effective. There literally is no negative to having a good offensive line.
Their most glaring weakness, CB (2nd biggest weakness was OL), was addressed and if the events of the 2nd round tell us anything, it was addressed by a player that fits the defensive system very well.
With Kenyan Drake, the Dolphins replaced Miller with the best receiving RB that we have had in, well, maybe ever. Although Drake never was a featured back in college, he was extremely explosive whenever he played and seems to be a nice compliment to Ajayi regardless of who starts, not to mention Drake is an elite KR.
With Carroo, the Dolphins have at the very least, replaced Rishard Matthews with a player with a much higher ceiling. Carroo just needs to stay out of trouble.
Let's not forget that this draft is less than half over and if tonight has taught us anything, it is very probable that the Dolphins will not just sit back and draft where they are slotted tomorrow.
