PICK --------------- PLAYER - POS - HT - WT - COLLEGE Round 1, Pick 3 (3) Dion Jordan DE 6'6" 248 Oregon Round 2, Pick 22 (54) Jamar Taylor CB 5'11" 192 Boise St. Round 3, Pick 15 (77) Dallas Thomas OT 6'5" 300 Tennessee Round 3, Pick 31 (93) Will Davis CB 5'11" 186 Utah St. Round 4, Pick 7 (104) Jelani Jenkins OLB 6'0" 243 Florida Round 4, Pick 9 (106) Dion Sims TE 6'5" 262 Michigan St. Round 5, Pick 31 (164) Mike Gillislee RB 5'11" 208 Florida Round 5, Pick 33 (166) Caleb Sturgis K 5'10" 188 Florida Round 7, Pick 44 (250) Don Jones, S 5'11" 191 Arkansas State I'd give it a C grade, so basically a typical Ireland draft. He is a needs drafter, our top 3 needs were CB, pass rusher and tackle and that's exactly what he targeted with his first 3 picks. I would've preferred to stay at 12 and take Rhodes or Hayden or even moved down some to take Rhodes and then moved up to the first 3-5 picks of the 2nd to take Carradine after he fell out of the 1st round. We could've come out of the first 2 rounds with Rhodes or Hayden, Tank, and another guy like Vance McDonald or even Eddie Lacy instead of JUST Dion Jordan and Jamar Taylor. but ultimately I'm fine with our first 2 picks. but in the 3rd is when things started to go downhill lol....we had picks 77 & 82, a run on WR's began with Dallas & SD taking Terrance Williams and Keenan Allen at 74 & 76 and instead of Miami taking Marquise Goodwin or Wheaton we take Dallas Thomas? I'm pretty sure there were a couple tackles still on the board rated higher than him like UNC's Brennan Williams or Bakhtiari... Thomas more than likely would've been available 5 picks later. I mean we were planning on going Tavon Austin at 12 but we can't take Goodwin at 77? of course no surprise 2 WR needy teams immediately snatched up both speedsters back to back after we passed SMH. but the most disappointment came when we traded up for a major reach in Will Davis at pick 93, that made no sense whatsoever, we took him 2 rounds too early. moving up for Josh Boyce would have been a much smarter decision. then in the 4th you had one of my favorite safeties on the board in Shemarko Thomas and instead we add yet another LB to the defense. Sims wasn't a bad pick, and I also liked the picks in the 5th round (although I think I would have taken Cornelius Washington over Gillislee). Cut Dan Carpenter tonight. I don't know why Ireland hates drafting WR's early, but to not select a receiver at all in this draft is pretty baffling, especially after trading away Bess, I think we all wanted to add some explosiveness to the slot, we had some opportunities to do so, but we didn't. maybe Thigpen gets some work there this year? and I still don't know what the plan is at LT, I hope we trade for a veteran to play there.
So you're saying we drafted a guy we had rated lower than other available OL? That's a ridiculous suggestion. And we obviously didn't have Will Davis rated as a rd 5 player either. And he was rated as a 2nd or 3rd rounder by some places. It isn't like everyone had him as a 5th. Just because they didn't select players you would have doesn't make them bad picks. Whether they are good or bad picks is yet to be determined.
Too soon to grade any draft....start this in 3 years...maybe, if we don't change coaches or gms, we can effectively evaluate this one. All this will really do is turn it into a Irish thread...
Almost everyyhing after Taylor annoyed me. Passing on Swope for a kicker annoys me. I thought he passed on too much talent. Loved the dion Jordan surprise, the only saving grace here. Honestly, I want to move on from him. I really do. Strong offseason that fizzled going into the draft. Pass. C
Solid B from me. Addressed needs, wants, and much needed depth at key positions. Of course, it's too early to say for sure, but I liked what they did overall.
Has it ever occurred to anyone that maybe, just maybe, the Dolphins weren't interested in Swope? You can't hate on picks because they didn't take the guy you wanted. These guys study these players for months and Sherman is on our staff. If we wanted him, he'd be here.
Without knowing how the players will eventually play out on the field, in other words, essentially basing your grade on pure personal opinion, i'd give this a B- grade. IMO the only weak spot of the draft was the events in the late 3rd round where we made moves and ended taking Will Davis instead of staying put and drafting Stedman Bailey. First 4 picks would have looked much better being Jordan, Taylor, Thomas and Bailey.
Solid B, Jordan and Taylor and Jenkins and possibly Davis can be a defensive core for the franchise Reason why it is not an "A" is due to the misread of the third rd Cb situation.
Just going on what I know about our needs, the players we picked and the players we didn't, I'd give it a C.
I completely agree. Its common knowledge that GMs always draft based on media rankings, so it was stupid of Ireland to draft the guy he wanted as opposed to the one ranked higher by guys on ESPN.
Anyone who posts draft grades who doesn't spend a good amount of time watching these players on tape.........is funny. It smells of "I'm not a doctor but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night!". Especially known Ireland haters giving Ireland a bad grade. Gee who didn't see that coming.
I graded it a C too. Ireland won't get a higher grade from me until that LT and RT positions are solidified with 2nd tier FA cuts that are coming soon. Then I can reanalyze the draft from that perspective.
Added some speedy talent, needed depth, and they didn't really cause me to scratch my head, so a solid B to B+ in my book. Looking forward to camp and the 2013 season!
I truly believe passing on Bailey was a mistake. I think he will be a pro bowl receiver inside of 3 years. I really don't see a particular glaring mistake outside of that. I will say I LOVE the theme of intelligent players with a dynamic drive to improve. Talent is important, but those traits are more important IMO. Oh, and speed. Lots and lots of speed.
Some of the people who are being over critical about grading a draft, remember this is a forum where hacks can discuss topics like we are the experts. I think it should be assumed that most if not all of us are not experts and have not watched film. This is supposed to be fun and builds on the fandom by discussing the future of our team. Now, my unofficial and completely unprofessional and/or unqualified opinion: A I like that we addressed positions of need: OT, CB, RB and DE. I like that we get 3 potential starters out of this draft. I think the move to the #3 spot was a steal. And I love that we potentially got the best playmaker and best defensive player in this draft. I love that we improved a strength(DL). I'm a big believer that you play to your strengths and find ways to cover up your weaknesses. With Ordrick, Wake, Jordan and Vernon on the field, we can apply a lot of pressure to QB's in passing situations to get our D off the field. In our normal set, we have 3 pass rushers and can keep all of them fresh and winning the battles that matter in the 4th quarter.
This thread was started because of frustration over not taking Xavier Rhodes. Ireland was smart to stay away from him. He is way over rated.
Its a B+ from me, I love the Deon Jordan move. He is going to be a great NFL player. [Hall of Famer] Also love the Jamar Taylor pick, he will end up being a good starting CB for us. These two guys can flat out fly, our defense is going to be real good this year. [watch & see] We walked away with two real good player's. After that, I'm disappointed, we have a weak offense line and we only drafted one offensive lineman. We needed to hit this position harder, I wanted us to grab Barrett Jones instead of Jenkins or Sims in the 4th. Not sold on the Davis pick, but I understand the double down on the postion need. Just wish we did the same thing on the O-Line. Once again getting the best defense player in the draft saved us.
My draft grade is: Uggghhhhh...which is exactly what Tom Brady was mumbling when he saw us take Dion Jordan. He's going to be face down in dirt and draft grades twice a year for the remainder of his career.
It seems a lot of people forgot about FA pickups. Drafting a WR would have been dumb being that we don't need one. I would have been happy if we got Austin, but he's not a true WR... He's a weapon. However, Dion makes our defense elite. Wake and him will wreck havoc this season.
No offense to anyone. I personally think trying to grade a grade is completely ignorant for essentially just regular people on this board. With the caveat that you aren't someone like CK, or follow a college team closely of a player, we really don't know what we are talking about at this point. I think we can have solid opinions/bias to 1st, maybe 2nd round draft picks but beyond that its definitely premature. I even remember a team drafting a CB in the 3rd round and Eisen was trying to bait Mayock saying "But you have a 5th round grade on this guy" and Mayock saying essentially "To each his own; a lot of these players are close." When someone who studies that much tape can't really differentiate, we cannot possibly have an opinion.
I think the Dolphins are a more talented team right now than they were on December 30th. It's really up to the coaching staff and the desire of the players to be the best. Obviously, it's much too early to grade the draft class, but if 3 of these guys can take over starters snaps I could see this team with 9 or 10 wins.
I gave it an A, because Jordan is from Oregon. Also, I thought it was pretty cool we took 3 Gators in a row, and Pouncey had predicted it would happen.
I'm a Ducks fan too, but pretty impossible to see Ducks games out here in Boston. Haven't seen Jordan play in a single game live. psyched as hell about the pick though
Even you, the leader of the ISG, have to be a bit surprised/disappointed we didn't take a WR in the mid rounds..or at all
I actually had no problem with drafting Dallas Thomas, just thought we could have gotten him 5 picks later which is why I would have taken Goodwin or Wheaton at 77.
I'm not a leader of anything other than sane, unbiased, rational thought. I'm not surprised at all we didn't take a WR in the mid rounds b/c we're perfectly fine at perimeter WR as is. Ireland didn't want "just a receiver"; he wanted an Xfactor type hence Austin being the 1st round priority at 12 and Denard Robinson being a later round one. Unfortunately no other players filled that role and 31 other teams are also drafting, so wanting doesn't necessarily mean squat.
At least the kid has hops. [video=youtube;upDLmmRK0tM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upDLmmRK0tM[/video]
I think the whole idea is that people can form their own opinion and have a good time doing "what-ifs" and such. If everybody had the book and a crystal ball...it'd be pretty damn boring. How many times throughout the years have the so-called "experts" rated a player top of the class, just to have them be a bust. Nobody knows what will come of these picks, it's just fun to discuss. I haven't studied NEAR the amount of tape as the experts, but I don't think I need to in order to qualify my opinion to anyone...it's MY opinion...and I say, to me, the draft was a B. i think somebody who thinks they have control or leverage over everybody else's opinion is 'completely ignorant'...
They got my favorite payer in the draft.. Jamar Taylor is better than Vontae.. Dallas will be a starting solid lineman in the NFL. Mike Gillessie will make this team and give us a very rock solid skillset to depend on..kid does not put the ball on the ground, I can just tell that by the way he runs and holds the ball, traditional downhill, good hands and feet, and can block..def touches for that's dude...really like him backing up miller and Thomas, he will push those dudes trust me.. Sturgis is a good kicker. Will Davis has talent, competitive nature, is fast, and has ball skills.. Did they get everyone I wanted, no, but I have a rule as a fan, I'm not going to pretend I know more about what we need than our staff, even after all the hours put in,it's time for me to give our new bloods their chance to prove to us they belong, and I will wait to criticize til after I see them suit up in our uniform and the lights go on..then I have no problem. All our guys are not overachievers, they all have serious talent and speed relative to their draft value..so if they meet good coaches, we might have a draft where every player makes the team.
I like the draft because we had needs and we filled them..we took our shot on the superstar, and we got him..solid players that will have roles on this team that will be filled with athleticism and speed.
Jelanie Jenkins is my favorite pick aside from Jordan, what I've read about his skillset and seen on just watched on Youtube..we may have something really special there. Like Don Jones as well, explosive athleticism.
Its all on paper, of course, but I'd say a B since we hit on some needs. OT might still be scary come September, but we'll have to wait and see.
This isn't a sexy draft by any means but it has a chance to be a strong draft, and it proactively addressed needs we're gonna have next year due to FA and cap reasons.
