Since Cam Wake is gone for the season, should we in the offseason draft a defensive end? I mean, not to replace next season but to groom to eventually replace him. I'm just curious on what y'all was thinking.
We're going to have quite a few needs on both sides of the ball next off-season, and I agree that a young DE will certainly be on that list....along with an LB (or two), CB, OG, OT, etc, etc!
Maybe Campbell can become the head coach and put together a nice staff to teach players and make them better. I hope he can talk some sense into the previous 3rd pick in the draft and get him to come in and play an important role on D.
I'd say Miami need to draft/sign at least 2 defensive ends this offseason. Vernon and Shelby are both FAs and I'd guess both probably walk. OV has been bad and is asking for a LOT of money and you can find another Derrick Shelby (may already have one in Fede) easier than you are going to find another Cameron Wake. But, I think Miami ought to draft one in the first two rounds at minimum. Names I'm watching: Shaq Lawson, Emmanual Ogbah, Shilique Calhoun, Shawn Oakman, Jonathan Bullard, the Koufasi kid (spelling?) from BYU. Todd has some great posts in the Draft Forum on this as well in the 2016 Prospects thread. Edit - I purposely left Bosa off the list. He'll be off the board before Miami picks.
The whole season rests in Derrick Shelby's hands now. I for one am a huge fan of his, but I've also said many times in the past he's a player with a relatively low ceiling due to lack of speed. I sure hope I'm wrong about that. He's a very high effort player with heavy hands just like OV, Olivier just is a quicker twitched athlete. And with OV and Shelby's contract expiring at the end of the season, we really need them to play well these last 9 games and hopefully resign both of them going into 2016. If they don't perform well, our entire defense is going to need major work this off-season and that's really going to set us back long term. The play of our 3 young defensive ends is going to be absolutely critical to the 2015 fins and beyond, I have faith they can get the job done and earn their $$. Chris McCain could definitely be an X factor as well, but I'm not as optimistic about him or Fede for that matter until they show some pass rush ability in regular season games.
take your biggest needs, find the best prospect at those needs, and whoever is available take the best player. In the first round I would say top priority on defense is Mike...
We have three excellent pieces on defense. One at each level. Ndamukong Suh. Jelani Jenkins. Reshad Jones. Those are great players to build around. Then you add in promising youngsters like Terrence Fede, Jordan Phillips and Bobby McCain, and we have something cooking. I think Wake will be back. I'd bet money on it. Grimes should be back too. I'm not sure what's going to happen with OV and Shelby though. I could see us re-signing one of them. So with the draft and FA, I'm looking for a big time middle linebacker first and foremost. Then add some help at corner. Add some legit depth too.
Thats where Id want to see us go Deej...we need a stud there. I think it also makes a big difference who is coaching next year...if we go 3/4...I dont think getting a pass rushing DE is as high a need anymore.
If Miami shifts to a 3-4, who are your pass-rushing OLBs? Miami needs at least 2 pass-rushers this offseason. I'd say my dream scenario would be taking either Vernon Hargreaves or Mackensie Alexander in round 1 and finally solidifying the CB spot and then trying to land Emmanuel Ogbah or Jonathan Bullard in the second. I'd also see what I could do to get Bruce Irvin in free agency. You can play him at OLB or DE and despite not constantly getting sacks, he's a menace when rushing the passer.
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/ This is probably the best list. You can also filter it and search multiple years, not just 2016. Their salary cap lists are pretty handy as well.
Shelby needs to be resigned first and foremost, he won't break the bank unless he goes nuts, and his versatility is really good.
Man, there are a lot of really good players to be had in free agency at positions of need. It's going to be interesting.
There's some intriguing pass-rushing talent out there. Von Miller (likely doesn't get away from Denver), Aldon Smith, Bruce Irvin, Courtney Upshaw, Muhammad Wilkerson, and Jason Jones all intrigue me. Other defensive free agents I like include Nick Fairley, Eric Berry, Sean Weatherspoon (if healthy), Emmanuel Lamur, Nick Perry, Vincent Rey, and Danny Trevathan. I think Miami would do really well to land one name from the above.
Are you factoring in potential cuts though? Wake (injury), Jennings, Grimes (age), can all be let go. There's also the built-in restructure into Suh's contact that Barry Jackson reported on a month ago. Miami's got flexibility.
I think a lot of money will open up though. Guys will come off the books and some contracts can be reworked to open up more space.
Obviously Von Miller and Mo Wilkerson were the two names that immediately jumped out to me. I highly doubt they become available though. This will sound crazy, but I would love to take a flyer on Morris Claiborne. He hasn't lived up to his draft status at all, but a change of scenery could do wonders. He's only 25. Why not?
Actually, I wonder if Wilkerson will be available. The Jets already have a ton of money tied up. They have Richardson, Harrison, and Williams still. I could see them letting him go.
He's certainly intriguing, but I feel like a 3-4 team will throw a lot of money at him. I think Miami needs a good base-end who can power rush. How different would Miami's defense look had they drafted Ziggy Ansah instead of Dion Jordan back in 2013? That's why I think Miami should focus on some of those pass-rushers in the draft; Shaq Lawson, Emmanuel Ogbah, Bullard and Oakman would be nice targets. I'm bullish on Bruce Irvin. You could move Misi back to MLB since there aren't a ton of options out there in free agency and I'm not too high on any of the guys in the Draft in 2016. You could play Irvin at SLB or play him as the "starter" in Cameron Wake's spot. He's also very athletic and can cover. He's what Dion Jordan could have been, but he can rush the passer better and he's got a spin move, speed and surprisingly good at bull-rushing despite being 255-260lbs.
I think we should not count Dion Jordan out if Campbell remains the HC. He may know a way to get him to play. It's a nice dream.
If he can get him to play without the issues of his past, I'd like to see what he can do. I don't want all that talent to go to waste.
Generally agree, but I wouldn't take a Mike in the first unless he's special talent like a Kuechly. If he's not that level then you can find similar talent later. That's why I was against draft Rolando McClain several years ago. He was the highest rated mike and we had the need, but I didn't see him as special. I would take a special player at any of DE, LB, S or CB.
We really need to be a team that builds through the draft. I hope we can get a staff that is better at identifying and developing our talent.
If we let go of Grimes CB immediately becomes the first priority, IMO. Who do we have after Grimes? Taylor, the two McCains, not much, really. I say we keep Grimes and shore up the LB unit, grab a DE in FA and one in the draft, depending on who falls. Then focus on CB depth. Basically the priority is LB>DE>CB to me (if we keep Grimes). On offense, once again, we've got OL at the top of the list. I think besides the obvious guard problems we have, we gotta start looking at a LT to groom (and to possibly replace Fox as swing tackle). Albert is not getting any younger. Our offensive weapons are set, IMO, no need to target any skill position players on offense next offseason.
The defensive scheme is going to play a huge role in this. Once you know that, you'll be able to formulate(or infer, in the case of fans) what kind of guys they'll target and their availability. What you want/need might not be readily available. I don't think there are a lot of 1:1 understudies/replacements for Wake this off-season. There seem to be very few "standard" 4-3 DE type guys this offseason- most guys are going to naturally line up closer or further from the ball. Especially draft-wise, this seems like it's going to be a feast-or-famine kinda draft depending on your defensive scheme and needs. Whoever picks up Ray Horton is going to feel like a kid in a candy-store IMO, there's a lot of ILB/OLB/DE candidates for that defense.
Well, Dion Jordan is still under contract, yes? I personally do not think LB is a need going forward. I feel one of these ST guys who have been drafted in the last couple of years steps up. Not a fan of Misi. I happen to like the way Sheppard plays, but he can continue to improve if he learns the system and takes better angles. Jenkins is a lock. On D, I think you really have to consider any number of DB positions. There is no way going forward that you can't. While you hope someone steps up, no one has really taken that spot. You have to develop someone under Grimes, and quick. Find a stud safety. Interior lineman on O is always a need, but I would but seriously look into drafting a LT high. Just my opinion. I think, unless Albert takes a pay cut, he should be gone. I like the guy, but he can't be trusted to stay on the field. He looks a lot less healthy than I thought he would look out there at this point. I would certainly consider another tight end late unless Stoneberger makes a splash (which he may). In no particular order: LT, G, CB, DB, TE
I do think some money will open up, but I also think it wouldn't be smart to spend it all again, FAs are all overpriced, building through the draft is how this team is going to move forward, and there won't be all that much opened up, lets say they clear 20 mil in space, around 8 mil or so for rookies, it would be nice to have 12-15 mil in rollover just in case, I don't think it's a good football plan to be slammed up against the cap every year imo.
Like hopefully Tannehills. He should be making $6 million a year tops. That contract is starting to look as bad as Alex Smiths.
We need a LB. These ST guys have not stepped up. Tripp and McCain haven't made the gains the team was counting on. People were talking about how one or both of them were going to make big strides this year so it was ok not getting a starting LB last offseason. Sheppard also leaves more to be desired.
Cam Wake is done like dinner. We most likely will never see him in a dolphin uniform again. For him to play at that level again with that type of injury is highly unlikely - at least for a couple years. At his age and his cost: Trade him and move on. My favorite current player too.
What about SUH - not even close to worth that kind of money............hmmm Gee if we took the surplus we could probably have one hell of an offensive line instead of a bunch of retreads from everyone's practice squad.