Free Agents/ Breakout Season Candidates

John Jerry will be a good guard in a man blocking scheme IMO.

 

Cincy's Vincent Rey at linebacker please.

 

restricted. Dakoda Watson is more likely.

 

Is Toby Gerhart a FA? That dude runs harder than anyone the Dolphins have on their roster.

 

Al Woods would be one of my top guys as well. He won some Steelers people over down the stretch this season - maybe not as a full-time 'don't draft a NT' kind of guy, but he was definitely solid. Sadly, I doubt the Phins will get a shot at him. He loves it here in Pittsburgh, just had a kid as well, I believe.

- Jason Worilds has the best chance at jumping into the top-10 at his position. Pittsburgh just started figuring out where to play/rotate their OLB rushers at the end of the year, and Worilds got in a serious groove.

- Stevie Brown could launch himself big time coming off injury.
- Manny Sanders was playing great ball down the stretch this year. He'll be a big contributor for whomever he ends up with (I think he'll thrive if he stays with the Steelers, who are going to run no-huddle almost entirely).
- Does Alterraun Verner count? He'll be considered a star by this time next year, imo.
- Linval Joseph is going to turn some heads with the contract he'll ultimately get, imo. Could be more than Starks/Soliai given his age.
- And you just KNOW one of the RBs is going to go off as the feature guy on some new team. My bets would be on James Starks and Anthony Dixon.

 

Moreno has pretty low mileage... He didn't even really play much in his career until last year. All purpose RB too. Can run, catch, and block.



Evan Dietrich-Smith, C, Green Bay Packers. Obviously the GB connection. He's young and still improving as a player. Cheaper alternative to Alex Mack. Kicks Pouncey to G where his athleticism can be on full display.

 

you're saying Watson is more likely to break out than Rey?

 

no, I thought you listed Rey as a guy Miami should target.

 

Identity player, need those in this market.

 

I like Toby. Decent power back but struggles with fumbling.

 

I would be shocked if Asamoah doesn't hit FA as he lost his starting position to Schwartz halfway through the year (not due to bad play, but how well Schwartz was doing). I think he would be a nice fit in Miami offense and hope Hickey makes a hard play for him.

Tackles are a little harder and could end being pricey, but one player I think the Dolphins could make a play for is Marshall Newhouse (GB)....I think he could be had at a good price and could take over one of the tackles spots....that if they don't go all in on Albert (as some reports have suggested, Philbin wanted him last season).

As for the guys on the team...Grimes and Soliai are the only two the teams "needs" to make a play for. the biggest sticking point is age and for Big Paul....his motivation, but I wouldn't be opposed to a 3 year deal for either as long as the team could cut ties with either after year two with little to no cap hit.

 

Toby. Great catching the ball, can pick up the block. Was not aware of his fumbling issues. He would be solid, not a threat, but solid.

 

I would only sign Soliai if the was an out after two seasons...the guy has some value and is a space eater. The biggest issue is if you let both go....you have two guys to replace and finding a guy with Soliai's size and experience at his position is one of the harder things to do as a GM. Then again, having a smaller guy who can penetrate could open things up on the defense.

If I had any faith in one of the two rookies to step up and take over on the CB positions then I would have no problem moving on from Grimes, but as neither have even shown any promise I wouldn't make that gamble.

 

Maybe not for Miami, but Dane Sanzenbacher has that Danny Amendola like breakout potential

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It's possible. I wouldn't bet on it but he has always had potential if he could get his head on straight and get serious. Sometimes these OLs just keep aging well until they're too old...but they're not where you want them to be within the first two or three years and so they weren't necessarily good draft picks, but they end up good free agent acquisitions.

 

You think our GM is going to say, "no we aren't going to franchise him because we don't his wife getting pissed"?

Seriously?

 

I haven't really begun my round of tape watch on free agents. You guys are giving me some great names to start with.

I like doing it. I honestly sometimes find it easier than scouting college players.

So I guess I'll be taking a close look at Al Woods, Garry Williams, Toby Gerhart, Vincent Rey, Dekoda Watson, Jason Worilds, Linval Joseph.

 

I was a huge, huge fan of Stevie Brown a year ago and even would have considered sending a RFA offer sheet to him and giving up a 2nd round pick (not like we did anything worthwhile with those picks anyway). I would absolutely pursue him HARD in free agency. Believe in the player, even if he's coming off an injury. It's not like that injury is a career killer anymore.

Another safety I like a lot is Major Wright of the Chicago Bears. I've been a big fan of his since he was coming out in the draft.

I would also consider giving Kurt Coleman a lower money deal and see if he couldn't improve on some of the things that were a problem in Philadelphia, while continuing to show some of the strengths (he creates turnovers).

I think Sam Shields would be a win as a corner. He's already established so I guess he's not in the spirit of this thread.

But E.J. Biggers was a guy whose tape with the Bucs impressed me. The Redskins for some reason made him a free safety. That didn't work. This is a guy that Dennis Hickey will be familiar with though and I think Miami might be able to get him on the cheap.

I agree about Alterraun Verner.

I also think Dekoda Watson could be a likely candidate for Miami. This is someone that Mark Dominik specifically noted that Dennis Hickey pounded the table for and he's become a good versatile sub player. He could end up more than that, too. I was a big fan of his coming out of the draft. I could see the Dolphins dumping Philip Wheeler and signing Watson in his place.

I'm not nearly as anti-Soliai as some in here seem to be. Opposite, really. I don't want to lose Randy Starks but I'm pretty sure Randy Starks wants to lose Miami, so I've come to grips with the idea of losing him. I wouldn't want to lose both of them.

There has been a lot of speculation about trading Dion Jordan to the Eagles for their 1st round pick. It's not based on much. We know that Tom Gamble is a believer in Jordan as a 3-4 OLB. The talk seems pretty persistent. You have to understand that Jordan was a Jeff Ireland call (and perhaps Brian Gaine?) and the elements that made that call are now gone. We don't know what Dennis Hickey thought of Jordan. We do know that Jordan has massively disappointed the coaching staff. You don't need inside information to be able to tell that (although it helps).

One thing I heard on the inside last year was that the Dolphins were really high on Michael Johnson as a potential free agent acquisition. The Bengals precluded Miami's bidding by putting the franchise tag on him. He's now coming off that tag and who knows if the Bengals will be able to re-sign him. He's not in the spirit of this thread in any way. He's a potential high cost acquisition. But I could absolutely see the idea being backed heavily by both Joe Philbin and Kevin Coyle that they need to ditch Dion Jordan and get what they can for him, and take on a Michael Johnson in his place. I'm not espousing the wisdom of this, I'm looking at what's realistically possible.

Most of my attention thus far for free agents has been directed at offensive linemen...for obvious reasons.

Anthony Collins is a guy that I isolated and even created videos for your perusal about way back in 2012. He signed a 2 year, $2.5 million deal to stay with the Bengals and I thought it a big mistake for Miami never to get into the bidding. Well, now his bidding is going to be much higher than that. But how much higher? I think when you've isolated a winner, to some degree you stick with it and don't just move on because he broke out the way you thought he would. There's more meat on the bone with Anthony Collins. He's not going to get "I'm a proven top left tackle" money. He's going to get a mid-sized contract. Buy him for that and I don't imagine being very sorrowful about it.

Geoff Schwartz is another in the same vein. Another guy several of us actually really liked as a potential free agent acquisition in 2013. He signed a 1 year minimum deal with the Chiefs and Miami never got in the bidding, which was a mistake. I figured Jon Asamoah would be the top paid guard free agent this year, partly because it's such a bare market...but this guy Schwartz actually supplanted him on that line in KC. Again, I doubt you go from having a 1 year minimum deal one year to making $7 million a year the next year. His value has undoubtedly risen...but there is probably still meat on the bone here.

I had originally isolated Rodger Saffold as a possibility because he's so versatile and may have actually found a natural home at right guard (according to PFF's grading). But now that Jake Long tore his ACL I think there is a possibility the Rams focus on keeping Saffold.

The Rams had lots of injury protections in Jake Long's contract. Since he ended the year on injured reserve, it's possible they can cut him painlessly. At this point with his medical folder being so thick, he can't expect much money as no team will sign him with the idea of counting on him to start. That would be true in Miami as well. There's no way Miami could count on him to start. They'd have to have essentially a Plan 1A with Jake Long as Plan 1B. But you know...this guy was EXCELLENT in St. Louis this year, and if his career isn't over then the team he's most likely to sign a low money deal with would be the Miami Dolphins. That's the truth. And if you can get him on a very cheap contract I'm sorry, I don't care what you think about it, that's like finding money in your couch cushions.

I would keep an eye on Jared Veldheer's price tag, since he's also coming off injury.

Our new offensive line coach just came from the Houston Texans. That means he's very familiar with free agents Wade Smith, Ryan Harris and Andrew Gardner (formerly a Dolphins draft pick). The most likely of these would seem to be Ryan Harris...formerly a 3rd round pick of the Denver Broncos in 2007, drew positive PFF grades with the Broncos in 2008, 2009 and 2010 (very strong positive grade in 2008) but didn't play in 2011 and resurfaced with the Texans in 2012, once again drawing positive grades before drawing some marginally negative PFF grades in 2013. He's a right tackle all the way and Miami needs a right tackle. It's something to keep in mind.

At tight end, Jeff Cumberland will be a guy that draws Miami's attention I think. This was formerly a guy on my favorites list as a UDFA or late round pick. He's got true wide receiver athleticism on a 6'4" and 250 lbs frame, having run an absurd 4.45 at his pro day at Illinois (which everyone knew was coming because at Illinois he was a WR convert). I don't know that anyone will ever confuse him for a good blocker, but he worked his way up with the Jets from UDFA status to eventually playing 650 snaps per year in 2012 and 2013, which is a starter's workload. He's only produced 1.37 yards per pass snap in 2012 to 2013 but the Jets have had woeful QB play. He did produce 7 touchdowns to his credit in those two years. I like that he created 4 missed tackles on 26 catches. Among the 46 tight ends with at least 20 catches, that ranks #10 (Charles Clay ranks #6 btw). He had the #4 ranked yards per target in that group as well.

I could be wrong but I think of tailback as sort of a source of pride for Dennis Hickey. It's the position where I think he has the best track record of getting it right. Therefore, I think he's going to want to draft it as opposed to acquire it. I don't see a Toby Gerhart in Miami's future necessarily. But our new OL coach has some experience with Deji Karim. And perhaps more importantly, Hickey has some experience with RB Brian Leonard and FB Erik Lorig...both of whom will be on the market.

Leonard in particular will appeal to a Joe Philbin because he does damage in the passing game as both a pass catcher and pass protector. Additionally, the Bucs gave Leonard three carries this year in short yardage. He gained 3 yards on 4th & 2, and then twice gained 2 yards on 3rd & 1. In Cincinnati from 2011 to 2012, he had 7carries in short yardage and converted 4 of them. He gained 6 yards on 3rd & 2, he gained 2 yards on 3rd & 1, he gained 5 yards on 4th & 1, he gained 3 yards on 3rd & 1...and then he failed to convert on three different 3rd & 1 situations. In his defense, one of those failed 3rd & 1 situations led directly to the 4th & 1 attempt on which he gained 5 yards.

The caveat there though is that Leonard could have been in Tampa due to Schiano's influence rather than Hickey's preference, as Schiano coached Leonard in college.

 

Worst case they would franchise him and say "If you want to hold out and miss a year of your career, thst is your problem."

 

I don't like either. I think Biggers is similar to Carroll, if Carroll continues to play like last season. I'd rather have Carroll.

I think Wright is over rated and has been since he was drafted. Again, id rather have Clemons.

 

...Cameron Wake?

 

I believe Joe Philbin will push for John Kuhn.

But he's now got to work together with Dennis Hickey and I could see Hickey trying to convince him that Brian Leonard is a better version of John Kuhn. He might even be right. Leonard has legit athletic ability and that's why he's got such a history catching passes and gaining yards. He's 7 out of 10 from 2011 to 2013 in short yardage. That's about league average, which is to say way better than Daniel Thomas. Leonard will never get confused for being a good ball carrier, I don't think...but neither is Daniel Thomas or John Kuhn.

 

Well, he should be a target until we know what Cincy tenders him for.

 

If he's a restricted free agent then there's like a 0.1% chance that he becomes relevant to Miami. No offense man. I haven't watched him so I haven't had the chance to get excited about him as you have but if he's restricted AND he's good then there is about a zero chance.

 

Homer.

Man, I would have loved to have gotten league average for short yardage plays. Those plays can be huge. Keeps the O on the field, 3 more plays, field position, etc. I hate to think what we did short yardage.

 

I love Michael Johnson but I can't see any way that trading DJ is a realistic possibility.