Last Two Drafts Have Propelled Dolphins

[SF Dolphin Fan]

In the last two drafts, Miami has six starters -- three on offense and three on defense. Not only that, but you could argue that all of them are above average. Is the Dolphins turnaround related to the young players emerging? Finally drafting well? At least in part I would say.

On offense....

DaVante Parker --- Parker has been slowed by injuries, but has shown big play ability when healthy. He certainly has superstar potential for Miami if he can stay healthy. Does anyone go up better for a pass than Parker? Those 50/50 battles are a thing of beauty.

Jay Ajayi --- His story is one of the best in the NFL this season. Left at home for the opener in Seattle because he disagreed with Arian Foster starting, Ajayi has emerged as a power back for the Dolphins. His highlight so far were back-to-back 200 yard games versus Pittsburgh and Buffalo.

Laremy Tunsil --- Tunsil fell into Miami lap at the 13th spot in the draft after being projected top five throughout the process. Honestly, you could make a strong argument that Tunsil is already a pro bowl talent and certainly one of the best young offensive linemen in the NFL.

On defense....

Jordan Phillips --- Phillips play is still a bit up and down, but he shows signs of becoming a force in the middle of the defense. His athletic ability for his size is simply unreal.

Tony Lippett --- A wide receiver who played some corner in college, Lippett is playing very well for the Dolphins. He has been a playmaker on defense and matches up well with bigger receivers. Like Ajayi a fifth round find.

Xavien Howard --- Man did Howard look good against the New York Jets after missing so much time with injury. He closes on the ball very quickly and looks like he could be a future pro bowler.

 

[dnr3131]

Not to mention that we may well have the BEST Special Team unit in the league.

 

[ANUFan]

If we can hit on are next draft in a similar way with the way. Couple that with this coaching staffing seeming to be the real deal and we can have something good for awhile.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[fansinceGWilson]

In the last two drafts, Miami has six starters -- three on offense and three on defense. Not only that, but you could argue that all of them are above average. Is the Dolphins turnaround related to the young players emerging? Finally drafting well? At least in part I would say. On offense.... DaVante Parker --- Parker has been slowed by injuries, but has shown big play ability when healthy. He certainly has superstar potential for Miami if he can stay healthy. Does anyone go up better for a pass than Parker? Those 50/50 battles are a thing of beauty. Jay Ajayi --- His story is one of the best in the NFL this season. Left at home for the opener in Seattle because he disagreed with Arian Foster starting, Ajayi has emerged as a power back for the Dolphins. His highlight so far were back-to-back 200 yard games versus Pittsburgh and Buffalo. Laremy Tunsil --- Tunsil fell into Miami lap at the 13th spot in the draft after being projected top five throughout the process. Honestly, you could make a strong argument that Tunsil is already a pro bowl talent and certainly one of the best young offensive linemen in the NFL. On defense.... Jordan Phillips --- Phillips play is still a bit up and down, but he shows signs of becoming a force in the middle of the defense. His athletic ability for his size is simply unreal. Tony Lippett --- A wide receiver who played some corner in college, Lippett is playing very well for the Dolphins. He has been a playmaker on defense and matches up well with bigger receivers. Like Ajayi a fifth round find. Xavien Howard --- Man did Howard look good against the New York Jets after missing so much time with injury. He closes on the ball very quickly and looks like he could be a future pro bowler.

And some pretty good backups who may blossom in a year or two. IMO, it takes 3 years to honestly grade a draft, but, yeah, pretty good.

 

[oasis]

Not to mention that we may well have the BEST Special Team unit in the league.

I'm too lazy to look them up, but do we have metrics that support this conclusion? Avg opp start position? KO/PR avg? Returns for TDs?

 

[datruth55]

I'm too lazy to look them up, but do we have metrics that support this conclusion? Avg opp start position? KO/PR avg? Returns for TDs?

FG% - Dolphins rank 30th at 77.8% (oh...the FG kicker is part of special teams. Baltimore and Justin Tucker the league leaders at 97.1% 33/34)
XP% - Dolphins rank 9th at 97.2% (one miss. 35/36)
Punting - Dolphins are 21st in average (44.7 yards per punt) and 17th in Net (41.3 yards per punt).
Kickoff/Punt returns - Dolphins are 5th in kickoff average (24.5 yards) and 13th in punt average (9.0 yards). Philly is #1 in kickoff average (28.5) and #2 in punts (12.9). Kansas City leads in punts (13.6).
Punt coverage - Dolphins are 11th in punt coverage giving up 7.9 yards per return. Los Angeles #1 at 4.0 yards per return.
Kickoff coverage - Dolphins are 12th in kickoff coverage giving up 21.2 yards per return. Carolina #1 at 18.5 yards per return.

We're not the best but I'd say overall we're top 10...maybe top 8.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

If we can hit on are next draft in a similar way with the way. Couple that with this coaching staffing seeming to be the real deal and we can have something good for awhile.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Agree. I was thinking back and it's pretty rare that Miami got three starters in a draft. Obviously, the coaching staff's ability to teach and get the players to reach their potential can't be understated.

 

[TannDaMan17]

Miami has actually been drafting well for a pretty long time if you look at the successful ex-Dolphins players around the league (still wish we tagged OV). The big difference this year has been coaching imo, I've always felt that regardless of the talent, we never had a chance with Queasy Joe in charge.

 

[susser2000]

Miami has actually been drafting well for a pretty long time if you look at the successful ex-Dolphins players around the league (still wish we tagged OV). The big difference this year has been coaching imo, I've always felt that regardless of the talent, we never had a chance with Queasy Joe in charge.

I'm glad we didn't tag OV, he hasn't been playing like a top pass rusher and it's allowed Andre Branch to come in and grow.

 

[royalshank]

Some is drafting, a lot is coaching. My guess is Tony Lipschitz doesn't have 4 INTs w Philbin and Coyle still here. It's amazing what good coaching can do in getting players to perform to their potential.

All the coaching in the world isn't fixing mr #stopsucking though. We haven't had a kicker be over 80% in years. Meanwhile Tucker has hit like 6 or 7 from over 50. We have a long of 41? Yuck.

 

[TannDaMan17]

I'm glad we didn't tag OV, he hasn't been playing like a top pass rusher and it's allowed Andre Branch to come in and grow.

It's true that Vernon's absence has allowed Branch to grow, and that has been a very good thing. My point is that Williams has been a waste of space and cap, and in NY I think they are very happy with the Vernon contract right now, he's a huge part of their defense. Now since we have Suh it really made no sense for us to even compete with teams like NY and Jax for Vernon's services when he hit the market, we had no chance. But in hindsight a 1 year deal for OV, for only about 15 mil would have been a steal, considering NY is paying 17 per, with waaaaaaay more guaranteed. OV is a stud and we could have had him for this one last year before we probably lost him anyway. If we had OV right now, our dline would be beyond ridiculous and based on the market, OV was a steal for the franchise tag which is why he was the only one I personally really wanted to keep this off-season. Quality DE's are gold in this league, as is OV. I wish him the best in NY, he's earned every penny.

 

[datruth55]

Some is drafting, a lot is coaching. My guess is Tony Lipschitz doesn't have 4 INTs w Philbin and Coyle still here. It's amazing what good coaching can do in getting players to perform to their potential.

All the coaching in the world isn't fixing mr #stopsucking though. We haven't had a kicker be over 80% in years. Meanwhile Tucker has hit like 6 or 7 from over 50. We have a long of 41? Yuck.

Tucker is 10 for 10 from 50+ which is just incredible. His miss, crazy enough, was from the 30-39 yard range. He's 22 for 22 from 40+.

Franks was 81.3% last year. 13/16 with a long of 53. Not sure why they won't give him any opportunities to kick from 50+. He's only had one attempt this year. If you can't trust the guy to kick a 50+ yard FG then I would have to say his days are numbered.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

It's true that Vernon's absence has allowed Branch to grow, and that has been a very good thing. My point is that Williams has been a waste of space and cap, and in NY I think they are very happy with the Vernon contract right now, he's a huge part of their defense. Now since we have Suh it really made no sense for us to even compete with teams like NY and Jax for Vernon's services when he hit the market, we had no chance. But in hindsight a 1 year deal for OV, for only about 15 mil would have been a steal, considering NY is paying 17 per, with waaaaaaay more guaranteed. OV is a stud and we could have had him for this one last year before we probably lost him anyway. If we had OV right now, our dline would be beyond ridiculous and based on the market, OV was a steal for the franchise tag which is why he was the only one I personally really wanted to keep this off-season. DE's are gold in this league, and so is OV. I wish him the best in NY, he's earned every penny.

That's a good point on Olivier Vernon. We could have anti-upped for a one year deal. Then maybe with the team winning he would have been more likely to stay here.

It's particularly tough to lose good players that you draft and that played in your backyard as well. That said, along the way you've got to be able to let good players go sometimes. It's just the current nature of the salary cap in today's NFL.

 

[datruth55]

I'm glad we didn't tag OV, he hasn't been playing like a top pass rusher and it's allowed Andre Branch to come in and grow.

OV has 8.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, among 4-3 DE's he's 6th in the league in sacks...he also has 59 tackles which is tops for a DE in a 4-3 defense. OV is much better at setting the edge against the run than Branch is. You may not think OV is playing like a top pass rusher but the numbers would say otherwise and I've watched the Giants a few times this year and OV is in the backfield on every play. If he's not getting pressure on the QB he's disrupting the running game.

Branch is .5 sacks away from his career high, he started 12 games in 4 years at Jacksonville. I don't think we allowed him to come in and "grow" I think he's just getting an opportunity to start with a better team and better coaching than he got in Jacksonville. And his starting was only facilitated by Mario Williams (who was signed to replace OV not Branch) sucking and basically stealing money from the Dolphins. People need to realize it's not letting OV walk that allowed Branch to come in and start for the Dolphins it's Mario Williams awful play and eventual benching that allowed Branch to become a starter.

 

[circumstances]

and ajayi now = pro bowler in year 2