Is #14 a bad spot for the Dolphins?

#14 is a bad spot for any team, in any year, because it means the team wasn't good enough to pick later, and it wasn't bad enough to improve via the acquisition of a top player.

The team should trade up for Amari Cooper in my opinion.

 

I actually think we're in a good spot because you can justify trading up if you feel someone won't fall, staying put if someone falls, or trading down to get an extra 2nd and still pick a really good player. Lots of flexibility with good expected outcomes at each. The only thing that hurts us is not having that 3rd anymore because that's the ideal pick to use for a trade-up in this draft.

 

I think there's nothing inherently wrong with #14 in this draft. Even by conservative estimates you're going to have a handful of first round graded guys left.

I do think #14 is a bit iffy for the Dolphins, though. I think there's a good chance the best players available are at inconvient positions or not great scheme fits.

You may be in a good area to try and trade down

 

As much I would love Cooper or White we are not trading up giving up two 4th rounders..no team would do that. I would happy with Collins or someone like Waynes if he fell. If not trade down and get an extra pick

 

Trading down aka "The Ireland"

 

If you don't get Cooper, White, or Waynes then trade down. One of DGB, Strong, Kendricks, and Collins will still be there. All big needs for the team. You can't lose.

 

It's also a good spot to trade down if there isn't value there. If one of the top teams needs that last liece(rb, ol, etc), they may be willing to trade picks to move up. The cost to move up goes down quite a bit after the top 10. If we could move back 5-10 spots and pick up a 2nd/3rd rounder, I'd be down with that.

 

I would be interested in Parker, Waynes or even Todd Gurley at 14. If none of those guys are there I would try to trade back later in the first, pick that 3rd rounder back up if possible, and then grab one of the other top receivers. Then you could use that newly reacquired 3rd spot on a guard.

I expect that one of those three guys will still be there though.

 

More like the Jimmy Johnson.

Didn't Ireland only trade down in the first round once?

 

There will still be some playmakers available on offense .If a lot of the better WRs are picked ahead of us we will still get a chance at Gurley if we had a mind to.I think a top end RB would do wonders for this offense .
We should still have a top end OG to pick at that spot.Also a good LB .All three positions of need.

This looks to be a fairly deep draft .

 

And that is always the caveat, that someone is in love with a guy enough that they want to make sure they get him. It does however seem to be the norm that there is a bit of movement in the first round lately.

 

Maybe Danny Shelton, Trae Waynes or Landon Collins as well...

 

We might not trade down if they're available.

 

I love this . I get it but wtf

 

If he is.. do we pick him? I'm inclined to say yes, though you could get really good trade value with him.

 

UCF receiver Breshad Perriman http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-s...-a-sub-4-2-second-40-yard-dash-184248728.html

 

#14? Not even slightly bad. Let's put this into perspective shall we - it's 14th out of 256 players.

The magic of the draft is talent evaluation, not necessarily pick location.

 

Wake, Suh, Shelton, and Vernon? Opposing QBs and RBs will have a heart attack. But I would still rather get a WR or MLB in the 1st round.

 

And what's worse is that most drafts (not all) have 4-6 'elite' players in it. You might get lucky at say 9 or 10 to get one of those guys, but not usually. Also, it's tough to trade down at that spot, again, usually the 'elite' guys are gone unless there is a team that is desperate for someone that's left....

Its a bad spot, but you have to HIT on it when you do pick... That's where this team has generally failed in the last 10 yrs with it's first round picks...

 

Here's something you can do. Take this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_NFL_draft

and just replace the "2000" in the URL with a different year, and look at the pro-bowlers in the draft (they're colored tan, or whatever that color is). You'll see that on average you probably have ~50% chance of picking a pro-bowler in the mid-teens. Picking in the low 20's is still pretty good, but once you get to the late 20's you see a real drop-off. That's just eyeballing things, but #14 doesn't look that bad historically (oh, and obviously you don't want to use the most recent drafts because it takes time for a rook to develop).

 

Most thought the giants reached for a WR @ #12 last year...... Beckham was not considered to be on the same level as Watkins or Evans. This year... Parker, Strong, DGB could all possibly wind up being as good or better than the two Wrs ranked ahead of them.

 

49ers STOLE Frank Gore in the draft when he was injured. And he was nowhere near the prospect Todd Gurley is now. I'm in.

 

Meh. He did nothing for them. They haven't even made the playoffs since 2008.

Oh wait, that's us.

 

Because Todd Gurley > Melvin Gordon, IMO

 

Injuries can happen to anyone. Todd Gurley is a far superior NFL prospect than Melvin Gordon is, IMO.

 

Trae Waynes/Kendricks

 

He can't catch the football. He has so many drops he might end up converting to safety.

This is the hype machine running at it's finest.

 

Does Gurley have an injury or an in jury history?

 

Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon are very different players, in my opinion--both deserving of high picks. I'll put it simply for anyone who hasn't watched them play: Gurley is the complete back while Gordon is the home-run threat.

Gurley would be the safe pick if it weren't for his past injuries and his tendency to miss games. I'm a Clemson guy and it was the same story with CJ Spiller, who is a very different RB, but one also cursed with the injury bug. I hated seeing Spiller (and now Watkins, too!) go to a division rival but Spiller will always have injury concerns and to be honest, I always thought he'd be a role-player after college, the likes of Reggie Bush and Darren Sproles.

The name you most consistently hear associated with Melvin Gordon's NFL future--and this is a best case scenario obviously--is Jamaal Charles. It's not just me who thinks that, it's basically everyone: ( http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...-who-is-best-nfl-comparison-for-melvin-gordon ). I think the Andre Ellington comparison is interesting. Again, I'm a Clemson guy so I watched a ton of Andre Ellington and I'm honestly surprised he's done so well at the NFL level. I thought he would be a bit too small. Gordon is bigger and to me, more of a home-run threat. I would think that Gordon could consistently match Ellington's production with the Jamaal Charles comparison being a bit too favorable.

The biggest knock on Melvin Gordon is that he might be an average RB with great college speed. When you go back and look at why Gordon rushed for so many yards (and stayed healthy doing it), you see very quickly that he had a TON of experience in front of him. His O-line had nearly 200 combined starts by the end of the season and just dominated a lot of lesser competition. Gordon was routinely running through gaping holes and getting to the 2nd and 3rd level of defenses before being touched. He got so many yards largely because he was running over smaller DBs and he stayed healthy because he didn't get a lot of physical contact compared with a guy like Todd Gurley.

Now, if Miami acquired the next Jamaal Charles I don't think anyone would complain but if we're more realistic, it doesn't make a ton of sense to add a guy like Andre Ellington when we have Lamar Miller already on the roster and the team is really more in need of a big, physical RB that can dominate during the 1st half of games and soften up the defense so that a Lamar Miller or Andre Ellington type of RB could start gashing the defense late in games. If the Dolphins did go with Melvin Gordon, it would be entirely based upon value because it wouldn't make much sense based on need. Even after drafting Melvin Gordon in the 1st round, the Dolphins would still need to go get a bruiser after the draft. Think of what the Giants had with Brandon Jacobs and how integral he was to their Super Bowl success. Think of what the Patriots have done with LaGarette Blount.

But, if you're curious as to why Todd Gurley is considered the better RB, look at the comparisons ( http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...who-does-georgia-rb-todd-gurley-remind-you-of ). On paper (assuming he's healthy) Todd Gurley is the prototypical 1st round RB. He's the guy you dream of getting.

If you believe he can stay healthy, you draft Todd Gurley in a heartbeat. If you don't, you pray that history proves you right and that you're not passing up on the league's next top RB and a guy who would've been perfect for your team.