Why Hickey Nailed J. James pick | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Why Hickey Nailed J. James pick

JTech194

JTech194

Starter
Joined
Jun 14, 2004
Messages
2,132
Reaction score
174
Location
Miami Florida
He didn't get cute, and he stayed away from the dangerous game of projecting. Example

1. J. James: 5 star recruit at Tackle coming out of highschool, played RT his entire career at Tennessee (Started at the position as a rookie) and projects perfectly (size, weight, strength, length) as a RT in the NFL, what does this all mean? Means we have an ample amount of film of him playing the EXACT same position he'll play for us. None of this he played LT or RT in college but he "Projects" as an NFL guard! Well you don't know if he'll be able to do that because you haven't seen him do it. Now i know.. you don't know with ANY draft pick. This is true, however it's less guesswork if you have 4 years of film of him playing the same position you're asking him to play... Unlike what would have happened had we drafted Z. Martin. He played LT in college but due to his size, or lack thereof, he'll be asked to play Guard in the NFL or Maybe RT. Can he do it? Maybe... but we haven't SEEN him do it so the risk is greater that he fails, or maybe he'll have a bigger learning curve and won't start right away.

Look at what we did with Dion Jordan. Played OLB for the most part in college, we get him here and ask him to play DE. Can he do it? Maybe but we haven't seen it. And obviously his learning curve has been greater than we expected.

Ellerbe- played weakside LB for the ravens... we sign him and ask him to play MLB can he do it? Maybe but his learning curve will be greater than someone that actually played MLB

Egnew... Glorified WR in college rarely ever blocked. We get him here and ask him to be a blocking TE? can he do it? NOPE and will probably get cut for it but why did we draft him in the first place to ask him to be blocker when we had no clue if he could even do that?

James is a plug and play RT, no guessing, projecting etc... if he can play the position We KNOW he can play it because we have 4 years of tape to prove it all against SEC competition. We needed oline help in the worst way as nothing on offense works without good oline play, So while i'm not an advocate of drafting lineman in the first round.. if you are going to draft one you better be damn sure he's going to start from day one and i think there was some question if Z. Martin would have been able to do that.
 
He nailed the pick cause he got a RT that actually plays RT? Wow. We could draft a wet mop and some of y'all would find a way to praise the GM for doing so.
 
SQuinn17 said:
He nailed the pick cause he got a RT that actually plays RT? Wow. We could draft a wet mop and some of y'all would find a way to praise the GM for doing so.
Click to expand...

what kind of mop we talking here?
 
SQuinn17 said:
He nailed the pick cause he got a RT that actually plays RT? Wow. We could draft a wet mop and some of y'all would find a way to praise the GM for doing so.
Click to expand...

And if he didn't pick the player you (generally speaking) wanted, he's a bum GM. "Why didn't Hickey trade up for Sammy Watkins??? That's why he was the 86th choice for GM" (generally speaking). People whine like big babies in grown people's bodies. The fact that James was a career RT in college and grades out really well for what the Dolphins want at the position is exactly why he was the right pick. Get over it.
 
Not only did he play RT for Tennessee but his senior year Tennessee ran a lot of zone blocking plays...there wasn't much guess work on this pick.
 
Agreed. I think this idea that you need to transition to LT to get respect is for the birds and you're going to see a lot more players become specialists and stay where they fit best throughout their careers.

I would add that this idea that Hickey made a huge mistake by not trading is wrong. IMO the trade would not have been far off from even value, so its basically a take it or leave it type deal, and we know that Hickey was open to making a deal but only if he got the best of it which is fine. So for me its absolutely the right call to not be a pushover to make a fair trade. I'm sure Belichick and other teams that trade down a lot know full well they get the best of it every time they trade down for even points according to the chart and I'm also pretty sure they have a hard rule that the chart is gospel and they only trade according to the chart, and why wouldn't they? Why would they ever risk the leverage they have over the cash cow in points they gain to make a fair trade?
 
Simply put, we had a huge hole at RT, and this guy has proven to have 1st round talent at the RT position. It leaves little room for complaints imo
 
I'm glad we filled the glaring hole at LT.

Anyone who isn't ... :bobdole:
 
datruth55 said:
Not only did he play RT for Tennessee but his senior year Tennessee ran a lot of zone blocking plays...there wasn't much guess work on this pick.
Click to expand...

Agree this is a real positive. I was lukewarm on the pick until I saw the clips of him at his size cut blocking. He's not fast, but for a man with his wingspan he's very agile, and knows how to play the position. I honestly feel like we got a player that has a good chance to be elite at his position in the NFL. Given that, I don't care where the talking heads had him rated or if it's a sexy pick. Especially given that Ryan Tannehill was hit 6 times a game last year.
 
SQuinn17 said:
He nailed the pick cause he got a RT that actually plays RT? Wow. We could draft a wet mop and some of y'all would find a way to praise the GM for doing so.
Click to expand...

Sounds easy but how did that work out last year? We traded up to take an OLB to play DE..... uh yea hasn't quite worked out yet. Teams do it all the time. How often do you hear " He played whatever position in college but projects as whatever other position in the NFL" ? you can disagree with my post but don't try and discredit it as if it doesn't happen. Because it happens ALL THE TIME
 
SQuinn17 said:
He nailed the pick cause he got a RT that actually plays RT? Wow. We could draft a wet mop and some of y'all would find a way to praise the GM for doing so.
Click to expand...

Well, that is not exactly what he said, but whatever. Hopefully you will eventually figure out how grave our need for a R-tackle really is, and how effective at being that man James really is.
 
After comparing the strengths and weaknesses of James and Martin..... I have no clue why some people had us taking Martin over James.... Makes me scratch my head and think that these so called draft experts don't know sh**. Why would we take a projected guard over a as close as you can get to first day starting RT? :bobdole:

J James
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

STRENGTHS: Surprisingly quick off the snap, showing the ability to slide to protect the edge against the variety of speed rushers he has faced in the SEC. Plays on the balls of his feet but with his knees bent and his butt down, putting him good position to shuffle laterally as well as anchor against a quality bull-rush. Surprisingly light feet also stand out while run-blocking, as does his competitive spirit.
Powerful at the point of attack and can drive defenders off the ball. Not shy about peeling off of them to target would-be tacklers at the second level, as well. A plug and play candidate, James looks like a solid bet to crack the first 100 picks of the 2014 draft.

WEAKNESSES: Like most blockers with his frame, James occasionally struggles with pad level. When he drops his head, he can be beaten with a swim move over the top. This occurs most often while run blocking.

Z. Martin
STRENGTHS: Very good at keeping his feet underneath him while keeping his butt low to handle both speed and power. He does play with good quickness (but not explosiveness) off the snap, showing knee bend and core strength to anchor, as well as the lateral agility to mirror more athletic defenders.
He also shows better athleticism than you might think when blocking on the move, demonstrating above average straight-line speed to get to the second level, as well as the nastiness to bury his target into the ground.

WEAKNESSES: With less than ideal length and lateral range, Martin's NFL future may lie inside at guard, where he never played in college. The move to guard is necessary because Martin does not possess great height, arm length or foot speed. He chucks his way back (rather than sliding) for an effective if not aesthetically-pleasing form of pass protection.

COMPARIES TO: Logan Mankins, OG, New England Patriots - Mankins has been one of the NFL's most valuable offensive linemen since being selected by New England in the first round of the 2005 draft, and has anchored the Patriots' front line with top-notch instincts, toughness and versatility despite lacking elite athleticism. Martin exhibits many of the same traits, and should draw first-round consideration
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom