You're a Dolphins fan, and you're down in the dumps because of the Brandon Marshall stabbing and the fact that your team is in the midst of an overwhelmingly insignificant period. Look on the bright side: At least you don't have a second-round draft choice this year.
Someday, Miami fans may call the second-round drafting record of the Saban/Mueller/Cameron/Parcells/Ireland regimes "The Curse of Brandon Marshall.'' For now, let's document what's happened to the Dolphins' last 12 second-round draft picks:
2011: Traded 43rd overall pick to Denver as part of Brandon Marshall trade.
2010: Drafted LB Koa Misi 40th overall with pick acquired from San Diego.
Traded 46th overall pick to Denver as part of Brandon Marshall trade.
2009: Drafted QB Pat White 44th overall.
Drafted CB Sean Smith 61st overall.
2008: Drafted DE Phillip Merling 32nd overall.
Drafted QB Chad Henne 57th overall.
2007: Drafted QB John Beck 40th overall.
Drafted C-G Samson Satele 60th overall.
2006: Traded 51st overall pick to Minnesota for QB Daunte Culpepper.
2005: Traded 35th overall pick to Philadelphia for QB A.J. Feeley.
Drafted DE Matt Roth 46th overall.
Let's see what we have. Smith is a solid starter. Marshall, acquired for two seconds, has the potential to be more than that, but who knows if he'll ever be great in Miami with the mayhem that follows him off the field every offseason. You have to think that even though his future with the Dolphins isn't in question as of today, his Miami future is cloudy. Marshall, who has had eight incidents requiring police attention in the past four years, is recovering from stab wounds suffered in a fight with his wife Friday night; the Dolphins could release him when the new league year begins and owe him only $3 million, according to ProFootballTalk.com. But it's likely he'll return for the 2011 season, if there is one.
Misi may turn into a good starter, but it's too early to tell. Merling, returning from a 2010 Achilles tear, is competing for a spot in the rotation, and the jury's still out on how good he can be when healthy. Henne is hanging onto his starting quarterback job by a thread. Misi, Merling and Henne all have to go in the could-go-either-way mode.
That's one solid starter, one major question mark who could be very good, and three maybes. Pat White was a terrible reach. John Beck, a pick of one-year coach Cam Cameron's, never panned out. Satele played passably for two years, then was traded to Oakland. Jake Grove was cut a year after signing a $29.5-million deal with the Dolphins via free agency. Culpepper and Feeley each lasted one dubious season, combining to win four starts. Roth, never as good an edge-rusher as he thought he was, was dumped after a contract dispute; he had 12.5 sacks in five years.
That's a pretty bad track record, to put it mildly. After picking 15th in the first round, Miami will be out of the nightmare round -- but will be reminded of it daily this week, with all the stories about what a risky trade the Marshall deal was.
