I would imagine so. The Dolphins did have a private dinner with Moses teammate Luke Bowanko, who earlier that day was saying some very positive things to the press about Morgan Moses in particular. Could be that the Dolphins are just interested in Bowanko, who looks all the world like he deserves to go undrafted. But if I'm Miami and I feel like Bill Lazor can fill us in on approximately 3/4ths of Morgan Moses career at UVA (2010-2012), then I might like to have some dinner with a guy that could fill me in on the final 1/4th as well, from a teammate's perspective.
Yes. If a player is "your guy" that you are specifically targeting, then taking him 4-6 slots higher or lower than you think he should go doesn't matter. However, if you don't like any of the value at your pick as far as filling needs (e.g., for Miami, say at #19, the bpa you are looking at is a DE), and if you see 2-3-4 O-linemen or other need positions (OL is not the only position Miami needs to fulfill though it's pretty clearly the top need) that you think are valued in the late 20's and you suspect will be there, then to trade down and pick up extra draft choices can be a very good move. The problem with the draft is that it is such a crap shoot that even if you value a player as a 1st rounder, there's no guarantee he'll do anything for your team; though obviously you have to follow your grades. But the fewer picks you have the greater risk each pick holds. The margin for error is pretty fine at that point.
Bowanko isn't going to do anything but praise his former teammate Moses, or any other former line mate, in a setting like that. If they feel they need an inside perspective in addition to all the film they have and their own interviews, then it seems to me they'd take the Cavs' OL coach to dinner.
This is not true at all. I've heard players interviewed by coaches and teams in settings like these. I've been right next to them while it happens. Just as one example, I've heard Karl Klug sell out Christian Ballard to Ravens scouts/coaches. These players are trying to hook on with the team interviewing them and they assume the team already knows some things that they're asking the player. This would be ESPECIALLY true for Bowanko who knows he's talking to Bill Lazor's team. The players tend to tell the truth because they know if they lie they don't have a hope of catching on with the team. Players talk about one another. It happens all the time. It's COACHES you generally can't trust because they can't afford to have a reputation with recruits for selling them out to NFL evaluators when it comes time.
I'm not sure Lane Johnson would really have made a particularly big difference last year. I'm not really suggesting he's a bust but he wasn't so good.
Given the need, I certainly wouldn't beef over tackle being the selection in the first round. It's sad though that the prior regime from Parcells to Ireland wasted so many picks and free agent signings "building the trenches" to have it be such a dire position of need.
Moses was on NFL AM last week. Very well spoken and intelligent. They showed some highlights of him just absolutely stonewalling pass rushers and throwing them around like bowling pins. Guy is huge and having a great scouting predraft experience. His 40 times are incredible for a man that size. They also mentioned his connection with Branden Albert as both are Alumni of Virginia, and they mentioned the Dolphins having need of him.
I think most people see Moses as a low 1st to mid 2nd round draft pick, so between those 2, I'd go with Martin. That said, this draft is so deep at tackle, I'd prefer we trade back first. Staying at #19, I'd go with Safety. Too bad we don't have a shot at Clinton-Dix... if we move back, I'd love to get Moses, just not at #19.
Point taken. I just don't find it likely to believe they went to the trouble of taking Bowanko out to dinner with the primary reason being picking his brain about Moses. They could ask him at a Pro Day interview and wrap it up in 10 minutes or so. My guess is Lazor put a bug in their ear about Bowanko as a guy to target as a UDFA, and their primary goal with the dining together was to learn more about Bowanko himself and establish a rapport or comfort level, so he'd more likely pick Miami as the team to sign with after the draft.
This audition with Kevin Pamphile may not just be a passing interest. I just watched him as a LT for Purdue matched up against 3-4 DE Stephon Tuitt and OLB Prince Shembo of Notre Dame and won on each play. He could be a late round under the radar kinda guy.
everything begins in the trenches... there is no option, we must assure the offensive line is fixed through this year's draft & free agency before we can move forward in 2014. look for two or three offensive linesmen early-on in the Miami draft.
So having Lane Johnson at one tackle spot on our OL for 16 games wouldn't have helped...ok. Guess I cannot agree with that. IMO, we'd have a better balanced roster if we had him right now instead of Jordan.
I must protest and say lets trade down and accumulate more draft picks take the best runningback and take 3 offensive linemen and a couple of linebackers.
Johnson would likely have been the LT had he come here. And for all we know he may have been bullied off the team...
Lane Johnson's performance in pass protection was pretty comparable to what the Dolphins had at LT this year.
The reasons are simple - 1) You don't have the courage of your convictions and don't want to be "that team" that over drafted a player and deal with the immediate negative fallout or 2) You have a group of guys all graded out so closely that it doesn't really matter and you can trade down and be assured that one of them will still be on the board. Certainly, if Morgan Moses is your guy and he's available when you pick it is absurd to try to trade down to get other picks with the hope that he'll still be available later on.
I know you didn't ask me, but I'll give my opinion anyway - Moses. Much higher upside than Zach Martin. You're drafting a player with the potential to be an All-Pro left tackle rather than one with the potential to be an All-Pro guard. And that's at a position he's never played before, so that potential thing I think is a bit more unlikely for Martin than Moses. I don't see anybody drafting Martin to be an OT. Unless they are drafting him with the hope that he can be a RT with the inevitable fall back safety net of moving him inside to OG. And if that's the case, I'd rather just go out and draft the best true OG in the draft in Su'a-Filo who should be available at the pick or even Yankey before I'd draft Martin with almost 100% certainty he's going to be playing OG.
Why is Moses any more of a potential All Pro tackle than any other tackle who could be available from pick 19 on? I guess he is based on his being a pro next year and beyond, and possibly playing left tackle in the NFL at some point in the future. I find it bewildering how Martin is being discounted by some folks regarding his pro potential for being Notre Dame's best OL, and thereby, by default, used as their left tackle. Darn those colleges for not always using their players at their potentially best pro position.
