Who Are You Pounding the Table For?

[SF Dolphin Fan]

Miami almost never takes the guy I want, especially early.

Wilkins was one where they did and that worked out well.

But I wanted Devante Parker but they should have taken Armstead.

I liked Waddle but would have taken Sewell.

I would have taken Herbert over Tua.

I also would have taken Herbert, but mainly because of Tua's hip injury and the uncertainty there.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

I, too, am a fan of obtaining Wilson. I've been pooh poohing the idea of taking yet a other small reciever... or even taking a reciever with the idea of 'he gets separation, therefore he is better'.

Sometimes, cracking heads works. Beat a DBs ass, then out leap or outstretch him.

We don't have that weapon anywhere on our team. We need a true X. If we draft another 5'11" receiver, and ignore size... again... then I'll begin to seriously sour on McD's 'expertise'.

Wilson, Legette and Coleman would seem to fit and are probably top 40-50 targets. Maybe Thomas if he makes it to 21.

I'm not necessarily advocating for Thomas there, but his size/speed combo is rare.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

Johnny Wilson moves so much better than I remembered. His 2022 was the best season of any WR in this class vs man coverage (in terms of yards per route run) by a huge margin. It not hard to see why. He big-brothers CB's to create separation and provide huge windows - similar to Mike Evans. His arms are the longest ever. His catch radius is 99th percentile, his speed score 98th percentile.

He's a true X with plus blocking. I'm not saying he'll have a career like Evans, but he's the closest thing to Evans from a size, movement, and skill standpoint since Evans himself. Specifically for Miami, he'd give them a guy who can beat press with ease, convert tough 3rd downs, and that translates to the red zone as well. Imo being the isolated receiver (led all WR's in yards when isolated), with a weak-armed (and inaccurate QB), in college with the wide hashes, made him less productive than he would have been otherwise.

Anyway, he gets open, and even when he appears covered, the window he provides on back-shoulders is particularly large. Guys his size tend to struggle to get to their spots on time and with any fluidity, but Wilson gets to his spots consistently and is very fluid. In fact, he comes off the line very fast - lots of urgency in his routes.

He struggles to throttle down once he's near full-speed, and his YAC depends on the QB hitting him in stride. Once he stops his feet, he's not elusive, but with momentum, he's strong and smooth. His hands are inconsistent - some spectacular grabs, higher drop rate than you want.

There are a few WR's in this class that move different - have some freakiness to them that shows up on the field - and Wilson is toward the top of that list.

All offseason, and really going back to last offseason, I've been talking about how Miami needs to add some physicality to the skill groups, and Wilson would be a hell of a physical add.

Good call. Love his physicality and how he breaks tackled.

 

[jimthefin]

I also would have taken Herbert, but mainly because of Tua's hip injury and the uncertainty there.

That is the reason I would have taken Herbert as well.

Bigger, stronger arm, better athlete, healthier.

I am happy with Tua but I would not have rolled those injury dice at #5.

 

[j-off-her-doll]

That is the reason I would have taken Herbert as well.

Bigger, stronger arm, better athlete, healthier.

I am happy with Tua but I would not have rolled those injury dice at #5.

We still haven't seen Tua move the way he did at Alabama. It wasn't until Week 2 vs Baltimore in 2022 that Tua showed the demeanor he had at Alabama.

2024 will be telling in regard to what kind of QB Tua will be for the next 5-10 years.

I think Miami was right to see that Tua had more special traits than Herbert. I think they were probably too optimistic about his ability to overcome injuries in a timely fashion, and they were probably too low on Herbert overall. If the switch ever flips for Herbert, he'll be in Josh Allen's range. Big if, though.

Overall, I feel good about where Miami is with Tua, and I'm optimistic about his trajectory.

 

[jimthefin]

We still haven't seen Tua move the way he did at Alabama. It wasn't until Week 2 vs Baltimore in 2022 that Tua showed the demeanor he had at Alabama.

2024 will be telling in regard to what kind of QB Tua will be for the next 5-10 years.

I think Miami was right to see that Tua had more special traits than Herbert. I think they were probably too optimistic about his ability to overcome injuries in a timely fashion, and they were probably too low on Herbert overall. If the switch ever flips for Herbert, he'll be in Josh Allen's range. Big if, though.

Overall, I feel good about where Miami is with Tua, and I'm optimistic about his trajectory.

I like Tua and where he surpasses Herbert is the intangibles.

And I agree that he is moving better as the hip injury gets further in the rear view, but he was never a great mover to begin with.

He is supposed to be working on his agility this off season and when he dedicates himself to something we usually see results so I am looking forward to him improving in that area.

If he starts making some plays with his feet he could be Top 5.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

That is the reason I would have taken Herbert as well.

Bigger, stronger arm, better athlete, healthier.

I am happy with Tua but I would not have rolled those injury dice at #5.

To me, that's an example of Grier going for the homerun. Herbert was the safer pick, but Tua always had that "it" factor.

 

[jimthefin]

To me, that's an example of Grier going for the homerun. Herbert was the safer pick, but Tua always had that "it" factor.

I am really curious to see what Harbaugh does for Herbert.

I assume the offense will become more run focused but will we see Herbert look downfield more?

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

I am really curious to see what Harbaugh does for Herbert.

I assume the offense will become more run focused but will we see Herbert look downfield more?

Likely a dream come true for Herbert.

 

[tay0365]

Though I would want one of the big O-Linemen, if Someone were to trade up with Miami, giving us an extra 2nd, 3rd, or 4th (Depending where Miami ends up drafting), I would not say no to that.

I want either Barton or JPJ.

Getting a LT would be great, but to me not as urgent as interior Linemen...Barton can play Tackle if needed, but I think he can be a great Center or Guard.

 

[ThePeopleShow13]

To me, that's an example of Grier going for the homerun. Herbert was the safer pick, but Tua always had that "it" factor.

I will say this; the farther we get from 2020 the more people I see talking about how they liked Herbert as a prospect. I remember looking at advanced metrics of that QB class prior to the draft and Herbert was top 5 in 1 of two dozen categories. Meanwhile, Burrow and Tua were top 3 in every category (Hurts was highly rated on a lot of the running throws). I’m not talking feel good stats here; someone broke down every throw each QB prospect made that year. Herbert was the 8th overall QB in terms of accuracy on all throws in the 2020 QB class (based solely on the 2019 season). He was 12th or 13th in the class on accuracy of throws under pressure.

People thought Miami might have to trade up to draft Tua, despite the injury, and a lot of “draft experts” had Herbert ranked as a mid 1st round talent.

Sure, the injury Tua suffered was a red flag. Personally speaking, Herbert had exceeded all expectations I ever had for him in L.A. I thought we were going to draft Herbert (seemed like a Miami thing to do at the time), but I still thought Tua was a better prospect.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

I will say this; the farther we get from 2020 the more people I see talking about how they liked Herbert as a prospect. I remember looking at advanced metrics of that QB class prior to the draft and Herbert was top 5 in 1 of two dozen categories. Meanwhile, Burrow and Tua were top 3 in every category (Hurts was highly rated on a lot of the running throws). I’m not talking feel good stats here; someone broke down every throw each QB prospect made that year. Herbert was the 8th overall QB in terms of accuracy on all throws in the 2020 QB class (based solely on the 2019 season). He was 12th or 13th in the class on accuracy of throws under pressure.

People thought Miami might have to trade up to draft Tua, despite the injury, and a lot of “draft experts” had Herbert ranked as a mid 1st round talent.

Sure, the injury Tua suffered was a red flag. Personally speaking, Herbert had exceeded all expectations I ever had for him in L.A. I thought we were going to draft Herbert (seemed like a Miami thing to do at the time), but I still thought Tua was a better prospect.

Agree. There was also a lot of talk about the system at Oregon holding Herbert back. His leadership was also questioned.

Herbert was a bit of a project, albeit with physical gifs to work with.