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Miami's biggest need

fansinceGWilson

fansinceGWilson

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Guard It's debatable whether guard or outside linebacker is Miami's biggest hole. But the Dolphins at least have Koa Misi, a former starter at outside linebacker, on the roster. The team has no easy answers at either guard position, as part-time starter and free-agent pickup Ted Larsen is slated to play left guard and Jermon Bushrod, 32, will be counted on at right guard to stay injury free and play 16 games again in 2017. -- James Walker http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/page/32for32x170404
 
Yeah, I'd be surprised if those two are the opening day starters.

I know Adam Gase is saying that the team feels good about those guys, but have to believe Miami takes a guard early in the draft.
 
It has to be LBer ("Sam"). As it stands right now, the guard play with Larsen and Bushrod should be as good as last years guard play. The same can not be said about the LBer unit, yes we have upgraded at "Mike" and "Will", but there is a glaring whole at the "Sam" position. Yes we have Misi, but he can not be counted on, he will get injured sooner rather than later. DL is another spot worthy of consideration. I feel it is LBer, DL, G, DE in that order.
 
Right now it's between OL, SLB, DE, DT and FS.

I have little faith in Nate Allen for the first 8 games of the season but we can get by with him. He will give up a big play every game as a deep safety and occasionally make a big play.

Same at OG. We can get by with Larsen and Bushrod but we are only slightly better. We will be in trouble again when injury strikes. Depth is no better than 2016. ideally one of these guys would be depth players.

We can get by with Koa Misi until we can't. Basically we will get by with Hewitt for the 4-6 games Misi is out.

We can get by with Branch as a WDE but they still have no one to relieve him or get them better vs the run.

We cannot get by with Jordan Phillips as a full time starter. We have NO ONE to rotate and keep him fresh or to fill in those 20% of snaps Suh is resting.

Sounds more like DT and DE are the biggest immediate needs because we need to cover the snaps.
 
Its still pass rusher by a good margin. No way a team that relies on pressuring the QB like Miami does can feel comfortable with a 35 year old, a bunch of guys on a 1 year deal and Andre Branch As the only options. This roster is set up to take a pass rusher at 22.

Great ones don't reach free agency so your best shot at getting a great one is in the first round of a draft.

It makes too much sense unless for some strange reason there is a heavy run on them and the cupboard is empty which leaves a BPA option somewhere else.
 
Larsen is a starter. It's Bushrod who will likely be replaced by a rookie. But you don't need to draft a guard in the first round. There will be far better value available in the second.

Defensive end is our biggest priority need. Wake is 35, Hayes is 33 and on a one year deal, and Andre Branch is an "alright" player. I've seen nothing from Fede to even give me hope that he can develop into more than a final roster spot type of end.
 
Kdawg954 said:
Its still pass rusher by a good margin. No way a team that relies on pressuring the QB like Miami does can feel comfortable with a 35 year old, a bunch of guys on a 1 year deal and Andre Branch As the only options. This roster is set up to take a pass rusher at 22.

Great ones don't reach free agency so your best shot at getting a great one is in the first round of a draft.

It makes too much sense unless for some strange reason there is a heavy run on them and the cupboard is empty which leaves a BPA option somewhere else.
Click to expand...

Agreed. That's my only issue with this offseason aside from the contract they gave Branch. There are still a few quality defensive tackles available, and we need to sign one. This isn't the draft to spend a high pick on a DT. They should just make Hankins a solid offer.
 
I'd say G. We ran the ball pretty well last year with make shift line. If we could make OL a strength we would have potent offense.. We can find LB after june 1 cuts if drafted rookies don't pan out
 
Kdawg954 said:
Its still pass rusher by a good margin. No way a team that relies on pressuring the QB like Miami does can feel comfortable with a 35 year old, a bunch of guys on a 1 year deal and Andre Branch As the only options. This roster is set up to take a pass rusher at 22.

Great ones don't reach free agency so your best shot at getting a great one is in the first round of a draft.

It makes too much sense unless for some strange reason there is a heavy run on them and the cupboard is empty which leaves a BPA option somewhere else.
Click to expand...

Agree that Miami needs to get a pass rusher in the first. Cam Wake had 11 1/2 of the teams' 33 sacks so that says a lot right there. Wake is amazing and still going strong at 35, but have to find someone else to balance things out.

From there, the second round is very interesting. I think the team goes guard there with the likes of Johnson, Feeney, Eflein as possibilities. But, there could really be some tempting talent out there at safety.

I believe the linebacker need will be filled late. That just seems like the Dolphins MO.
 
The Dolphins should expect to land a quality starter at 54. In choosing among only players ranked 49-59 overall by ESPN, Bleacher Report and CBS, here are 10 excellent potential choices for Miami.

Jordan Willis, DE, Kansas State
Dan Feeney, G, Indiana
T.J. Watt, LB, Wisconsin
Zach Cunningham, LB, Vanderbilt
Jarrad Davis, LB, Florida
Ryan Anderson, LB, Alabama
Chidobe Awuzie, CB, Colorado
Raekwon McMillan, LB, Ohio State
Fabian Moreau, CB, UCLA
Dorian Johnson, G, Pittsburgh
Click to expand...
http://dailydolphin.blog.mypalmbeac...raft-top-10-miami-dolphins-2nd-round-options/
 
Kdawg954 said:
Its still pass rusher by a good margin. No way a team that relies on pressuring the QB like Miami does can feel comfortable with a 35 year old, a bunch of guys on a 1 year deal and Andre Branch As the only options. This roster is set up to take a pass rusher at 22. Great ones don't reach free agency so your best shot at getting a great one is in the first round of a draft. It makes too much sense unless for some strange reason there is a heavy run on them and the cupboard is empty which leaves a BPA option somewhere else.
Click to expand...
I'm leaning DE in R1 and either OG/LB in R2, depending, obviously, on who's available.
 
Though I agree that OLB and FS are positions of need, I think our first 3 rounds go like this:

1. DE
2. OG
3. CB
 
JJM_7 said:
Though I agree that OLB and FS are positions of need, I think our first 3 rounds go like this:

1. DE
2. OG
3. CB
Click to expand...

1 Jordan Willis
2 Dorian Johnson
3 ????

I'll be a happy camper but they'd have to sign SenDerrick Marks.
 
Positionally I think kdawg is right. We need more pass rushers. Though our guard position is so bad at the moment that it threatens to grind the offense to a halt all by itself, which makes acquiring mere competence there a pretty big need.

But in generally we need more great players, regardless of position. You can't have a whole draft class turn into nothing -- like 2013 -- and expect not to pay for it. To become a top level team were are going to have to overproduce in the draft to compensate for years of underproducing.

If we can't do that, "needs" become academic.
 
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