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My 2008 Draft Evaluation

zach8111

zach8111

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2008 Draft Review

1-1 Jake Long OT Michigan
Evaluation/Grade: A+
Going into the Draft many had speculated whether or not Jake Long was going to be a LT or RT when he came into the NFL and after his first full season, we can now see that he is a Franchise LT. He started ALL 16 games at LT and only let up 2.5 sacks. He was on the verge of being a Pro Bowler (1st Alternate) and it looks like Miami finally hit on a first round pick.

2-32 Philip Merling DE Clemson
Evaluation/Grade: B
Philip Played all 16 games (1 start-Arizona) at RE. He piled up 26 tackles, 1 sack and a BIG INT return for TD (in the final playoff clinching game).

2-57 Chad Henne QB Michigan
Evaluation/Grade: C+
Chad Henne only saw a few times this season in a reserved roll. Not much to grade but he played well going 7-12 for 67 yards this season. In preseason he went 40-63 for 351 yards 1 TD and 2 Ints. He is sitting behind QB Chad Pennington on the depth chart.

3-66 Kendell Langford DE Hampton
Evaluation/Grade: B+
Started 14 games at LE and played in reserve for the other two games. Finished the season with 31 tackles and 2 sacks (first two games). I really like this guy, he was very consistent this season and looks to anchor our D-Line for years to come.

4-100 *Trade* Anthony Fasano TE and Akin Ayodele LB Dallas
Evaluation/Grade: A+
Draft day trade with Dallas which included TE Anthony Fasano and LB Akin Ayodele. This trade was a steal. It would have been just a steal if it had been for Fasano but we got a solid LB in Akin Ayodele. Fasano has been a HUGE part of our offense this season he had 34 catches for 454 and 7 TDs (leds team). Akin Ayodele was thrid on the team in tackles with 74 and had two interceptions, while starting 14 games and played in two games as reserved role.

4-110 Shawn Murphy OG Utah State
Evaluation/Grade: D+
Was inactive all 16 games to start the season ... Played in a reserve role three times and did not play once in the preseason. With our starting OG's injuries, he couldnt get playing time but could be groomed a bit more and be a solid backup eventually.

6-167 *Trade* Jason Ferguson DT Dallas
Evaluation/Grade: A
Another one of Bill Parcells and Co. trades with Dalls which was a steal. We swapped this seasons 6th rounders and gave our next years 6th rounder for Jason. Although he is a 12 year pro he has really been a great addition for only a 6th round pick. He had 22 Tackles this season and started in all 16 games.

6-176 Jalen Parmele RB Toledo
Evaluation/Grade:D: D-
Jalen isnt on our team anymore and was on our PS for most of the season. He had a few good games in preseason but couldnt make the roster. Miami acquired this pick from trading down 2 spot that resulted in the Kendall Langford selection.

6-195 Donal Thomas OG Conneticut
Evaluation/Grade: B
Donald Thoams is a VERY promising player. He beat out every RG this season and started the 1st regular season game and looked very good until he had a season ending foot injury. If he recovers to full health he looks to be a very dominating RG for the dolphins.

6-204 Lex Hillard RB Montana
Evaluation/Grade: D
Was on Practice Squad all season this year but remains on the team still.

7-245 Lionel Dotson DE Arizona
Evaluation/Grade: C-
Made the team and played a reserve role twice and had 1 tackle. For a 7th rounder to make the team is good enough to warrant a C or better grade.

UDFA Davone Bess WR Hawaii
Evaluation/Grade: A
For the season finished third on the Dolphins in receptions and receiving yardage with 54 catches for 554 yards and one touchdown ... Also has 14 kickoff returns for 311 yards, an average of 22.2 yards per return and 21 punt returns for 231 yards, an average of 11.0 yards per return ... Has led the team in receptions five times and in reception yardage three times this year ... Has started each of the last six games since Greg Camarillo was placed on Injured Reserve and played in a reserve role the previous ten games this season. After Greg went down and Bess broke into the starting lineup he really shined and looks to be one of the Gem UDFA pickups who WILL make a big impact in the next few season for the Miami Dolphins.

UDFA Dan Carpenter K Montana
Evaluation/Grade: A
Beat out Jay Feely in training camp (who last season set a miami single season acurracy record) which led to Feely's release. Carpenter ended the season scoring 103 points, going 21-25 in field goals and 40-40 in extra points ... Ranks tied for 11th in the AFC in scoring among kickers. He also set a rookie record for most consecutive FGs made (14 straight). Carpenter looks to be a very valuable kicker to the dolphins because he is also a very accurate and reliable "bad weather" kicker.
 
Good write up, agree with everything. Man I hope Thomas comes back strong from that injury.
 
i don't know how you could come up with a fair gauge of Henne, Murphy and Thomas. Hilliard is a PS guy, so he might do us good in the future. Parmele is a goner, but he was a casualty of a number's game.

IMO evaluating some of the guys is a moot point right now.
 
Great write up and I think all of your evaluations were on the money.

I just wanted to add my 2 cents to Akin Ayodele (And I'll probably get ripped for this lol)... I think he sucks. I hear all the time from fans, media, that he's been a great acquisition etc. and yet I think he and Crowder are too invisible too often. I mean, our strong safety is the leading tackler on a team that uses 2 inside linebackers. There is something wrong with that. I'm not saying that stats are everything, and to be fair, his numbers are not horrible but other then his 2 interceptions, I dont see him making any big plays.

Again, I'm not disagreeing at all with the point made in the Draft Evaluation, Fasano makes that trade and A all by himself, and Ayodele has been a starter for all 16 games. But I always think to myself "What the hell am I missing?" when I hear people talk about how good Ayodele has been.
 
Great write up and it's right on the money
 
Great job.

I only have 2 problems.

How can you give a guy a C+ just for sitting behind a guy who finished 2nd in the MVP voting for the ENTIRE ****ING LEAGUE. I mean come on man, wtf. Couldnt you give him a no grade? I mean, he was active for every ****ing game and he was our backup QB. Not that he had anybody good to beat out for the backup spot, but if Pennington goes down, Henne is our guy. QB is different than most other positions as there is no rotation. You have one guy and go with him. Merling for instance, isnt a starter, but gets plenty of playing time. I dont see how you can give Henne a grade really and if you do a C+ is kind of a slap in the face.

Having said that, how the **** can you give a guy who played ONE ****ING GAME a B? He was injured the whole year and he gets a B, while a guy who was active for every game and was the backup QB gets a C+? Thats a mystery to me.
 
Nice write up, but I would give incompletes (INC) to Henne, Hilliard, and Murphy. I mean, none of them have had the kind of playing time that the other rooks have had.
 
losing parmele wasnt a huge blow, we stole Brandon London from Giants PSquad, IMO london has more value as WR and ST than parmele...

How could you give Langford a B+, and Carpenter an A?
Carpenter deserves a B-, he cant kick 50 yarders and isn't good kicking touchbacks
Langford doesn't get sacks, but thats not his role in the 3-4 DE... He has done a fantastic job against the run too. Kid deserves an A.

good write up though, I'm just nitpicking.
Shawn Murphy = F-
 
WVdolphan said:
Great job.

I only have 2 problems.

How can you give a guy a C+ just for sitting behind a guy who finished 2nd in the MVP voting for the ENTIRE ****ING LEAGUE. I mean come on man, wtf. Couldnt you give him a no grade? I mean, he was active for every ****ing game and he was our backup QB. Not that he had anybody good to beat out for the backup spot, but if Pennington goes down, Henne is our guy. QB is different than most other positions as there is no rotation. You have one guy and go with him. Merling for instance, isnt a starter, but gets plenty of playing time. I dont see how you can give Henne a grade really and if you do a C+ is kind of a slap in the face.

Having said that, how the **** can you give a guy who played ONE ****ING GAME a B? He was injured the whole year and he gets a B, while a guy who was active for every game and was the backup QB gets a C+? Thats a mystery to me.
Click to expand...


Yeah...Bring in Beck!!!!!!!!! <running> :sidelol:
 
Not a bad writeup.

I don't think you can really give some of these guys grades based on this season though. Henne, Thomas, and Murphy, as well as some of the other guys should get a "no grade" mainly because they haven't played/or haven't played a whole lot this season.
 
I love how Davone & Dan have played such big roles on our team and they were UDFA...talk about finding Diamonds in the rough
 
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