Dolphins Roster Heading Into Draft

Below is an updated look at our football roster with current grades. The original analysis was done a month ago but since we have upgraded, OT, ILB and TE and added better depth to safety. I have updated it with new additions being added in red

QB-D
FB-C
RB-B
WR-C
TE-D / C
OT-D/ B
OG-D
C-B
DE-B
NT-B
OLB-B
ILB-C / B
CB-C
S-C
K-B
P-C

Below is how I arrived at the grades

4 McCown, Josh QB
9 Beck, John QB
8 Baker, Matt QB

Grade: D Josh McCown upgrades this grade to a D. Both McCown and Beck may play better in a new environment and with a better supporting cast. Whether they will have one in 2008 remains to be seen. Going off of last year, one has to rate them as being unable to function with poor support and as of today that is exactly what we have on the roster. How they will do with good support is also an open question at this stage. McCown’s upside could bring the grade to C if he can stay away from the turnovers and plays within himself, a big if. McCown certainly brings a toughness aspect to his game that Parcells will love. Anyone who watched him last year on the Raiders getting hit often and bouncing back up even when he was injured had to come away impressed with the guy’s toughness. Beck’s upside could bring it to a B. He will never be Romo or Favre, he simply doesn’t have the scrambling ability of those two or the improvisational skills. He will need to do it primarily from the pocket which puts him more in the Drew Brees camp for the hopeful. His short and intermediate accuracy is dead on when he has time to set his feet. Whether the off season training will improve his deep accuracy and ability to be consistently accurate on the move remains to be seen. Bramlet and Baker appear to be training camp fodder. Bottom line for this group is you have a borderline starting quality veteran signal caller who maybe can upgrade his game here and a rookie who just went through the season from hell in his rookie debut. At this stage we don’t know if we even have a starting caliber QB that could be viewed in the top 32 of the league.Bramlet was recently cut. A good sign that someone will be drafted to replace him. Training camps normally have 4 QBs

45 Mauia, Reagan FB
46 Grigsby, Boomer FB

Grade: C The grade may be slightly generous but Reagan impressed me quite a bit his rookie season considering how little Fullback experience he’s had up to this point. The Fullback position has many variations and its still unclear what type of Fullback Parcells will ultimately want. It seems that what we have in Reagan and Boomer are two classic Fullbacks who’s only purpose is to hit linebackers in the mouth. They don’t seem like the types of fullbacks you can throw to or handoff to and expect anything other than a brief rest for your starting RB. If we’re to assume that we will using the FB position as another blocker then I think Reagan shows great potential and could elevate his grade to B as a pure blocking Fullback. He still needs work on angles, hitting moving targets and understanding blitz pickups but the raw power and aggression is there. If the brains and agility are there he should develop nicely. Also, there is a chance that he could develop into a reliable passing option since he displayed good hands and effectiveness in college catching balls out of the backfield. Boomer Grigsby was probably brought in more for special teams than blocking. He failed to impress Kansas City with his transition from ILB to FB and was let go. He could be considered for the starting role if his blocking is better or equal to Reagan’s. He brings more to the special teams and we’re not carrying two Fullbacks. Of course the wildcard in this is that perhaps he goes back to ILB in our 3-4. Doubtful but you never know.

23 Brown, Ronnie RB
34 Williams, Ricky RB
20 Booker, Lorenzo RB
38 Cobbs, Patrick RB

Grade B: Let’s be clear. The potential here is an A but until Ronnie proves he’s back 100% from injury, Ricky proves he still has something of the old Ricky in him and Lorenzo proves the glimpses we saw last year weren’t a fluke this grade remains a B. If the answer to all of the above questions is no then this grade will drop to F but my feeling is that Booker will turn into a very good 3rd down back and that Ricky still has something left in his gas tank. I think Brown will be about 80% to 90% but get better as the year goes on. Personally I like Patrick Cobbs but I prefer him in spot duty and as an emergency backup who can fill in for a couple of games.

19 Ginn Jr., Ted WR
18 Wilford, Ernest WR
83 Camarillo, Greg WR
17 Perry, Tab WR
82 Hagan, Derek WR
85 Kircus, David WR

Grade C: I really think this will be a B grade by the end of the year but at this stage I think I have to give it a C. Ginn definitely showed flashes that he could become an effective weapon but will need to improve his overall game this year and start turning some of that potential into actual production. Wilford should be a great goaline target and I think will be used quite effectively as a possession receiver under Parcells/ Sparano. Some feel he can be more of a playmaker but I’ll have to see how he’s used. The interesting question is who plays slot? Camarillo is my dark horse from the group we currently have to be a guy that just might be crafty enough to be effective as a slot receiver. For Hagan its his last year to show something and to be honest, I would just cut him after the draft if we find a good receiver prospect. Tab Perry is an interesting wildcard. Nice return skills and with luck might be a decent 4th receiver. Maybe even slot. Its hard to say since he’s battled injuries his entire career. I’m not expecting anything out of the last three. Reed and Williams were both cut as was to be expected


87 Peelle, Justin TE
88 Martin, David TE
89 Ryan, Sean TE
80 Halterman, Aaron TE
Fasano, Anthony

Grade D/ C: This was a borderline F. We have no starting quality Tight Ends. The only reason I gave it a D and not an F is that we have a great blocking Tight End in Sean Ryan, a gritty overachiever in Peelle and in Martin maybe someone who just had an off year. By the way, I think Sean Ryan may actually be a better pass catcher than most expect. I think he can be effective in the passing game if he isn’t asked to do too much. Don’t expect monster numbers but he could get a couple of catches per game if Sparano decides to use him that way. Halterman is almost definitely a practice sqaud player or a future cut. Fasano brings a nice improving game to Miami. He can catch and block but isnt great at either. A better version of Peele but still improving at 24. Bottom line the tight end position is no longer bordering on F but has improved to C with a possibility that it could be a B if Fasano continues to improve

72 Carey, Vernon T
78 Wilson, Julius T
Long, Jake T

Grade D/ B: Vernon Carey gets an A grade if he plays the right side and a B grade on the left. Julius Wilson may be better suited for guard but might actually blossom into something as a right tackle. Don’t write him off just yet. He was a nasty drive blocker in college but had trouble with pass protection. He had a lot of trouble learning the playbook last year. Still with one extra year of technique training, strength training and studying the playbook maybe he can contribute his 2nd year. Lorenzo Booker was raving about him last preseason so who knows. Still going into the 2008 season with only one proven starter is a recipe for disaster.Jake Long gets the same grades as Vernon, an A for the Right and a B for the left. However big difference between the two is Vernon has done it in the pros whereas Jake has only done it in college. Let us hope that Jake will be able to handle the speed rushers he will face in the NFL. Still bottom line, is Parcells has taken the safe path and basically plugged in a good player into an empty vacuum and turned our tackle position from our weakest to arguably our strongest

65 Smiley, Justin G
68 Ndukwe, Ikechuku G

Grade D: Like the Tackle position the guard position has one reliable starter in Justin Smiley. Smiley has great feet and is good in pass protection. He’s also very good blocking in space and pulling. However he doesn’t have the best strength for the running game. Also he’s coming off a shoulder injury which is slightly worrisome for a lineman. All in all, a solid Guard that should hold down the left side guard position admirably. Ike Ndukwe is the polar opposite of Smiley. He’s just a huge mauler, a real road grader. Can he pass block? Who knows but he’s 330 pounds of beef and is indicative of the getting bigger philosophy Ireland and Parcells spoke about.

64 Satele, Samson C
7 Mormino, Drew C

Grade B: Satele was one of the bright lights of the last year’s draft and should only improve his second year. Giving up only two sacks and 2 penalties is pretty strong testament to the abilities he brings. He can move in space, is highly intelligent and improved his run and pass blocking as the season progressed. His play may have fallen off a touch at the end of the year but that’s probably due to not being used to the long season. The NFL wear and tear is a lot different than the College wear and tear. Satele has a chance at some probowls if his improvement continues. Mormino might develop into a solid backup but due to the fact he weighs 300, lacks the upper body strength of Satele and doesn’t possess the athleticism that Satele does his upside is limited. As long as Satele stays healthy this position is in good hands.


92 Denney, John LS
69 Darilek, Trey OL

Grade B: Trey Darilek is a backup center, guard and in a pinch tackle and provides good depth due to his versatility. Good player to have on your squad. Good in tight quarters but has pretty poor feet. John Denney used to be a DE. How he is as a LS I have no idea. Cant scout every position. The fact that I didn’t notice him makes me believe he’s good or at least steady. Overall it seems that Darilek provides good versatility and I’ll assume Denney is good at what he does otherwise he wouldn’t still be around
91 Holliday, Vonnie DE
94 Starks, Randy DE
90 Wright, Rodrique DE
75 Robinson, Derreck DE
98 Roth, Matt DE

Grade B: This might be generous but I feel Holliday and Starks will be solid bookends. Holliday is best suited to play a 3-4 DE since his strength is stopping the run with the occasional sack thrown in. Starks is also very strong against the run and has a nice amount of quickness for a guy his size. This is a very solid starting duo in my opinion. The depth also holds promise. Rodrique Wright has a nice burst off the ball and should be strong against the run also. Derrick Robinson is big and strong, has long arms and strong hands. The production is lacking however when he’s played but you could do worse in the depth department. Roth seems to be an undersized DE here so lets see what happens but he'll probably be dealt to a team looking for a 4-3 DE. Certain assumptions have been made here namely that Wright will be used more as a DE in the 3-4 than as NT. It’s quite possible that Parcells and company view Wright as a NT at which point the depth would have to be addressed in the draft.

95 Ferguson, Jason NT
96 Soliai, Paul NT
60 Fifita, Steve NT

Grade B: If I knew Soliai was going to be good his second year this would be an A. Ferguson has followed Parcells from his Jets days to Dallas and now Miami and is a great addition to the lockeroom with his sense of humor. Parcells called him his best draft pick ever, high praise for a 7th rounder. He’s getting up their in years (33) and coming off a torn triceps injury but should be able to hold down the fort in what is probably the physically toughest position to play in football. He is a very good nose tackle who can hold up to double teams. He’s a powerful run stopper and has a good inside pass push since he doesn’t really get sacks but can push the center backwards effectively. He also is good at batting balls down at the line of scrimmage. This is the year we should see if Paul Soliai is the real deal or not. Great size, he had horrible technique last year and poor conditioning, not a great combination. With one full year under his belt I’m expecting good things from him his sophmore season. Steve Fifita showed some promise after his NFL Europe tour and our Polynesian brother could be a nice surprise this year. Then again the promise wasn’t enough to get overly excited about. If Soliai is not ready for prime time we have to address this position in the draft.

99 Taylor, Jason OLB
55 Porter, Joey OLB
74 Moses, Quentin OLB
53 Wright, Abraham OLB
56 Anderson, Charlie OLB
93 Ninkovich, Rob OLB
43 Glymph, Junior OLB

Grade B: This is a bit shaky in that its possible Jason Taylor will be traded. Also JT wasn’t the same player we’ve come to expect last year. I don’t think he’s shot and I think if Parcells decides to keep him we’ll see a player that rebounds nicely, maybe not to the heights of previous years but better than last year. Porter probably got more abuse than he deserved last year. Classic case of bringing in a player that doesn’t fit your system. At Pittsburgh Joey lined up almost exclusively on the right side. We had him on the strong side lined up on the left side. He also almost never lined up with his hand down in Pittsburgh. Here he was asked to line up with his hand down on plays and rush from the left side. Its no wonder his sack totals were down. Still, as the season wore on he started finding his groove and still has some good football in him. Overall this is a solid starting duo that could easily grade out to an A if they recapture past glory. There’s a good chance that if Taylor is traded you’ll see Porter back on the right side where he feels the most comfortable.

Now it gets tricky trying to figure out who plays inside/outside. I’m projecting Moses and Wright to be very solid prospects since they show promise in being able to put pass rushing pressure on the QB. I think Moses could be a very special find by Mueller last season off the waiver wire and we can thank the Raiders and Cardinals for that if it comes to pass. He had some experience in coverage so his transition to 3-4 OLB shouldn’t be the most difficult. He clearly needed technique work but he flashed his pass rushing ability last year notching 1.5 sacks last year in limited duty. Abraham Wright is another pass rush linebacker who had 11.5 sacks his senior season at Colorado and has that pass rush ability to hold your hopes out for. Hopefully his knee problems don’t diminish the nice speed he has. These two have shown glimpses of promise. Lets hope they take that next step this upcoming season.

Charlie Anderson is borderline solid but he’s been showing improvement every year down in Houston so he could blossom for us. He seems to have some signs of pass rushing ability so if he continues to ascend he could develop into a good player for us. Junior Glymph is huge at 6’5” 270 and another former Cowboy that Pasqualoni and Parcells liked in Dallas. He has some good pass rushing ability but had some problems with dropping into coverage. I am not sure how that’s progressed but I’ll assume its progressed enough to give Parcells and company faith that he may be able to contribute if needed. Mark Washington can run a 4.6 40 yd dash and was a supplemental pick for the 49ers who we stole off the practice squad. He’s a tweener who is still learning the position. Probably just a body but who knows? Marcello Church will probably not last through the cuts. He was cut by the Steelers last season. Ninkovich has some pass rush ability but isn’t that good against the run.

Bottom line, I would say the depth right now is deep and loaded with potential with Moses, Wright and Anderson being the best bets to blossom.

Marcello Church and Washington were both let go but that wont hurt the grade since it was expected. Roth will be a Defensive End apparently

59 Torbor, Reggie ILB
52 Crowder, Channing ILB
58 Smith, Kelvin ILB
50 Miles, Edmond ILB
Ayodele, Akin ILB

Grade C/ B: Reggie Torbor will be a solid addition and should be able to play both outside and inside in the 3-4. Since we have more need at inside, that’s where he’ll play. He can run, cover and blitz and has gotten better every year while on the Giants. He still needs work on his coverage but if he’s inside it should offset. We may be getting him just as he’s about to peak. Channing Crowder really needs to step up and maybe playing inside full time under Pasqualoni will be just what he needs. He’s been frustrating to Dolphin fans but has been a steady tackle machine. Still, he misses too many tackles and takes some really bad angles to the ball carriers at times. I expect Torbor to play the strong side inside position with Crowder playing the weak side. Edmond Miles was a special teams star and though undersized at 230 could make it as weak side inside backer. He has great hustle and good instincts. I really liked Kelvin Smith at Syracuse but he’s a slow overachiever. Whether his athletic limitations prevent him from making the squad will be up to Pasqualoni who recruited him at Syracuse. Ayodele actually improves this unit. He is solid all around though probably better versus the run. He is great at neither the run or pass but weak at neither also. The reason this improves is we are almost guaranteeda steady and solid performance out of our inside backers along with depth. You dont need superstars here but you need people you can rely on and we finally have the depth and quality to be able to do that

25 Allen, Will CB
22 Lehan, Michael CB
21 Goodman, Andre' CB
41 Thomas, Joey CB
30 Jones, Nathan CB

Grade C: This position could easily be a B or a D. Will Allen is getting up there in age but is still solid. A good blitzer he was good in coverage and is willing to mix it up. Lehan was pretty steady last year and could be a solid number 2 CB. Need to make sure last year wasn’t a fluke though. Goodman was banged up but seemed to play adequately overall. Joey Thomas hasn’t really done anything up to this point in his career but our coaching staff knows him from Dallas so there’s gotta be something there. Nathan Jones is our special team ace and hopefully can be our dime package back. He’s a good blitzer also. All in all we have steady players in the secondary but noone that is going to put fear into an offense. We have three cornerbacks that are probably better suited as number two corners and two question marks.


37 Bell, Yeremiah SS
32 Allen, Jason FS
24 Hill, Renaldo S
28 Davis, Keith S
29 Daniels, Travis S
47 Bryan, Courtney S
Crocker, Chris

Grade C: I actually think the potential is there for this unit to be a B maybe even an A but due to the uncertainty regarding Bells’ injury and Allen’s continued growth it could just as easily fall apart and become an F. Yeremiah Bell was on the verge of becoming a difference maker before the Achilles injury. That’s a tough injury to come back from but if he can, we have a playmaker back there. Jason Allen finally started showing some of the abilities that caused Saban to draft him although not enough to justify the pick as of yet. He still made too many mistakes but I think its safe to say that the cornerback experiment is forever over. If he can cut down on the mistakes this guy could be good. Hopefully the second season of playing the same position will show that leap of improvement we all want to see. Renaldo Hill is a solid backup and a steady starter if called upon. His pass coverage is adequate but it can be exploited. He plays the run well and can make the pick when given the opportunity. Keith Davis is a thumper but cant pick off a pass to save his life. Travis Daniels had too many problems reading and reacting as a CB and I’m not sure if the change of scenery is going to improve that. Cameron Worrell really isn’t starting material and probably wont be around this season. Bryan doesn’t have great speed but is young. Still he should be gone by the time training camp ends. Tuff Harris and Jereme Perry are two other camp casualties in waiting. I think after the top three of Bell, Allen, Hill there are some serious question marks. Worrell, Harris and Perry were all let go but so what. Crocker was brought in and he's better than all of them. We added qualtiy depth and took out depth based on bodies. Good exchange. Crocker is pretty savvy in pass defense but can get burned. Pretty good run support

3 Feely, Jay K
16 Rayner, Dave K

Grade B: Feely was pretty good for us last year and a definite upgrade over Mare. Rayner is a guy that has never lived up to his potential and its doubtful he’ll unseat Feely.

2 Fields, Brandon P

Grade C: One of Cameron’s worst mistakes was letting Donnie Jones go. Fields has greater potential but I doubt there’s one punting category that he was better at than Jones. Still for a rookie campaign he did alright.



So bottom line is we cleaned up three of our four weakest positions going into the draft; TE, ILB and OT. We can really concentrate on BPA from here on out but continue to watch for WR, CB QB, OG to be addressed at least once in the draft. If we trade Jaason Taylor today that also becomes an instant draft pick

 

Very true. I think most people can overlook one positional disagrement and not have it clutter the rest of the positions. Still it does seem if Tuna and company want to get at least one QB Flacco or Henne unless that's just a smokescreen. It may surprise you to hear but if Flacco isnt there I think it would be a mistake to draft a QB until 6th round earliest when Bernard Morris wouldnt be a bad pickup