What we should be focusing on right now

[CJGoCanes]

Dolphins Should Start Negotiating Now

By Michael David Smith

Tags: Dolphins, N.F.L. draft, Parcells

Twenty-five days before the draft, the Dolphins apparently know who they’ll pick.

The Miami Herald has reported that the Dolphins’ draft board is set, and that owner Wayne Huizenga has resigned himself to using the first pick in the draft because no other team is interested in trading for it. So while the Dolphins won’t say so publicly, they seem to know the name Commissioner Roger Goodell will call first when he takes the stage at Radio City Music Hall on April 26.

But that doesn’t mean the Dolphins should now turn all their attention to the later rounds of the draft. If they’re smart, Dolphins boss Bill Parcells and his staff will spend the rest of the month in contract negotiations with their first pick.

One of the benefits of owning the top choice is the ability to negotiate with players and their agents before the draft. If, as most observers believe, the Dolphins have decided to draft Virginia defensive end Chris Long, they can start negotiating with Long and his agent right now, and even come to a contract agreement before the draft. Alternatively, if the Dolphins don’t have a clear-cut top player on their board, they could begin negotiations with several players. If Miami’s coaches and scouts have assigned approximately equal grades to Chris Long, Michigan tackle Jake Long, Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan and Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston, they could use their contract negotiations as a tiebreaker: Offer all four players a contract the team thinks is fair, and select the first player who agrees to sign it.

That’s what the Houston Texans did in 2006, ultimately choosing Mario Williams instead of Reggie Bush in large part because Williams and his agent were willing to sign a contract before the draft. The Texans were widely criticized at the time, but they made the right move.

Following in the Texans’ footsteps would allow the Dolphins to avoid what happened to the Oakland Raiders last year: Oakland chose JaMarcus Russell without having done any type of substantive negotiations, and when it turned out that the team and Russell’s camp were far apart on contract terms, Russell didn’t sign until after the first game of the regular season.

Skipping all of his rookie training camp and preseason can’t be good for Russell’s development as a quarterback, and selecting a player only to wait close to five months to sign him is unwise for a franchise. The Dolphins should avoid the mistakes of the Raiders and get their pick signed long before draft day.

Michael David Smith also writes for FanHouse, Pro Football Talk, College Football Talk,Football Outsiders and The New York Sun.

http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/01/dolphins-should-start-negotiating-now/

 

[FinFanatic80]

In my opinion, Parcell's, Ireland, and Sparano know who there taking with the #1 selection if the cant trade out at this very moment in time.

The only reason I dont think the team will begin negotiating with anyone before the draft is because Parcells never wants to tip his hand at what he's going to do and to save all options until 0:01 seconds left with the 1st pick. This is a huge gamble because if we get our guy to sign a contract before the draft its definitely in our best interest because 1. the contract will be done 2. there wont be a hold out and 3. the contract will be fair and not a penny too larger then needed.

Come on Tuna, lets do some gambling!!!