Barry Jackson’s latest article where two long time evaluators discuss are draft picks and overall talent.. https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article212809784.html “The two evaluators say Minkah Fitzpatrick should not only elevate the Dolphins with his play, but in time he also should help lessen the mental mistakes that have plagued the Dolphins’ defensive backfield.” “The longtime executive, who met with Fitzpatrick, was bowled over by him: “Very bright kid, sharp kid. He will run their defense [eventually]. He can be a modern day Eric Berry. He’s really one of the Dolphins’ best picks in a while. Very mature. You will love him” 2) Though both evaluators appreciate Mike Gesicki’s receiving skills, the overall perspective was mixed. The scout said: “He has great straight-line speed. And because he has a big catch radius, the quarterback doesn’t have to be 100 percent accurate throwing to him.” But the executive said: “He's going to be receiver - a tight end/receiver. He is so bad blocking that it's a disgrace. No blocking ability whatsoever. No leg strength. They will put him in the slot or flex him out.” Gesicki impressed in the final week of offseason practices. And what about Durham Smythe, the fourth-round tight end from Notre Dame? “Just a journeyman tight end,” the executive said. “He can catch the ball but won't be a threat. He won't beat you down the seam or middle.”
I’d be lying if I said I didnt have concerns.. With Gisicki it’s such a complex type evaluation imo, I stated predraft that his blocking is the worst I’ve seen by a hi end tight end draft prospect like this, and unless we’re gonna exclusively use him as a big receiver my concern is liability and tells to an offense, with an extra concern of him and the team losing his and their confidence in him if he is put into position to block.At the same time I want to see what that athleticism looks like on display, I try to stay away from such one dimensional players but I’m really interested to see and hope we just use him as a big receiver all over the field.
IMO, every draft pick is going to have concerns, so at this point why worry about what anyone says. It's going to come down to "WANT TO" and how hard each guy is going to be willing to work. There are draft picks that are touted as safe picks, but end up as a bust, and there are draft picks that people ding for this and that who turn out to be pretty darn good players. Sure, I want to be able to say we hit it out of the park with this guy or that guy, but I will consider it a win if most of our picks are solid contributors. Bucky Brooks said you should be looking for doubles, not trying for the home run. Right now, I would be happy with that.
Let’s see how the transfer over to the NFL while having a blocking TE would be nice we need him to convert those third downs and move the chains more so. You can put a RB in to help. We can’t add anyone to help catch balls!
Bull**** opinions at that. While Gesicki is not a good blocker, the idea that his blocking is so bad to call it a disgrace is just a huge overstatement. I remember on a wildcat play that went for about 2 yards, Ted Ginn ran away from three different blocks. He ran towards the linebacker, ran away, ran towards the safety, ran away, and then ran towards the cornerback and whiff the block. It was an impressive display of speed and cowardice. If he would have attempted one of those blocks and slowed any of those people down a little, the play could have been a success. That, my friend, is no blocking ability what so ever.
IMO the TE blocking concerns are over-blown. In my draft assessment I preferred Goedert b/c I like well-rounded players generally and TEs specifically, but I recognize that my thinking is pretty old school. Reality is that in today's NFL there are many TEs who don't block a lick and are very effective and often pro bowl level players. Obviously Gesicki will have to prove himself as an offensive weapon, but he clearly has some elite offensive potential. Like most every other draft pick, his drive and work ethic will be the primary determinate of his success (along with opportunity and situation, but I expect he'll have both of those here).
yep. primary flex and split smythe I think will be a plus blocking tight end. technique is too good not to be. great frame too
I really don't care if Gesicki can block or not. We've needed a real pass catching threat at TE for a very long time. It seems we have one now. And all apologies to anonymous executive guy, I'm sure he can learn to block enough to stay on the field.
It’s easier to teach a big athletic TE to block adequately than it is tomteach a big slow blocker to be a downfield target. If there were no question marks about Gisecki he’d have gone in the top 10. Yes we’re taking a risk, but it is a risk with a lot of upside.
Gesicki = Zach Ertz-type move TE (think of how Gase used Julius Thomas in DENVER). Smythe = Anthony Fasano-type Y TE. I don't see why this is hard to grasp.
I think I said this before, maybe in the draft day thread about Gesicki, but it bears repeating in this discussion. What is the purpose of a block? To remove a defender from his position and keep him from the point of attack. Right? You can remove a LB from the play by running him over with a OL or a RB. But if he's got his back to the line chasing a TE down the hashes, he won't be tackling the RB will he.
I think Fitzpatrick is a day one starter on any of the 32 teams league-wide, and that's about the biggest praise you can give a rookie before taking the field. He should pan out and be an excellent player- probably the best we've drafted in years. We did overpay on Baker to have a 3 down linebacker that could do a little of everything, but that's not necessarily a bad thing in this situation. If he makes the field this year then great, it was a solid value pick. As for our TE's, I don't want to hear about how they're bad blockers. I mean seriously- we already have the best blocking TE in football...why does it matter if this guy is a dominant blocker or not? If you run off guard (which Gase prefers), then the TE is not even involved on the play half the time. What we have missed sorely is a seam buster with all the athletic TE's we've had wash out. This was a fantastic pick and the mainstream media shouldn't convince you otherwise.
I think Baker ends up a 2 down backer, he’s not ideal for 3rd 1, but he was brought in to improve our Nickel packages imo. He is the opposite of Raekwon, and will be Kiko’s Replacemt in subs before long.
I think you're right on with the trajectory there. I'm hopeful he can win the 3rd LB job from day one, and IMO, the sooner he starts taking over for Kiko when they go to nickel, the better.
I hope so. Injury or not, it got frustrating watching Kiko get lost in coverage and giving up crucial play’s.