Well, tonight marks two weeks until the actual draft and Ireland said at his presser that their draft board has been assembled since February, so from here on out things will boil down to chatter and visits
#12. Derrick Morgan
#43. Roger Saffold
#73 Dorin Dickerson
#110 LeGerrette Blount
#173 Daniel Teo' Nashem
#174 Mike Neal
#179 Arthur Moats
#212 John Conner
#219 Brandon James
#252 Adam Ulatoski
UDFA's
Jeron Mastrud/J'Marcus Webb/Matt Marcorelle
The Saffold pick is a bold one, but I think I "know' how Sparano likes things, the Guard position has been a wound for 2yrs now, it will not make it to three years.
And for whatever reason, they really like John Conner, Mastrud would be competition for Haynos, Neal would offer some passrushing upside at DT, Moats seems iffy to me, but it was Moats or Tracy.
Or my real darkhorse, Walter Dublin, 6'3 270, he had played 2 seasons of pro ball and just turned 21, I'd love to have him in Miami if for nothing else as a Special Teams player with his mix of size and speed.
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Xeticus, keithjackson, GMJohnson and 1 other person like this.
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Not sure, and here is why, there are so many "good' DT prospects that guys like Neal will slide, he is not a run plugging NT, and only 16 teams run the 4-3, meaning his market is limited at his natural position.
Which 4-3 teams would he be on the radar of? Heck, Fat Albert Haynesworth can be had for a #2 pick, the market is a bit glutted at the moment.
And I was really torn between "problem solving Saffold" and home run hitting McClauster, Adam Caplann has him as a #2 pick and compares him to Philly's Westbrook, so he would probably be gone by #43 anyway. -
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None taken, they are called "mock' draft because they mock the person who creates them, 10 correct picks out of 350 or more players who have declared for the draft?
What are the odds on getting all 10 correct? ?Put it this way the NCAA field of 64, with 5rds had -0- people out of literal millions who got it completely correct with known theoretical choices, in the draft there are literally 5 choices or more for each pick...and we have no idea who those 5 choices are...:D
I suspect there will be puking 13 days from now either tex, I also suspect that people are underestimating how committed they are to having the best Oline the possibly can.
I like the Saffold pick, how can/could Iupati be considered at #12, but Saffold not be considered at #43?
I also don't understand "why" people gush over Jimmie Graham being so athletic, but ignore Dorin Dickerson, he has far more football experience, Morgan, Teo' Nesham and Moats adds youth and athleticism to the Lb corps, Neal fills the DT who can passrush role and will fill out physically.
Blount offers a back with size who runs more strongly than Hiliard, James would be the kick returner as well as filling some roles on Offense, and Ulatuski is the sort of project Offensive Lineman that Ireland has taken in the past.
And they seem to really like John Conner, partially because he can play HBack imho, and as a FB he can be stashed on the practice squad. -
Out of curiosity, how do you (or anyone who does) go about constructing a "team only" draft? Do you do an entire draft and only show our picks? Or do you round up a group of players likely to be there for our pick and choose the one you think we will choose?
Generally when making a mock myself I tend to do it for the NFL as a whole. Always just been curious how people do this particular mocking style. :)
I actually dont mind the Dickerson or Blount picks. Im not a fan of Morgan at all though, and while as a prospect Saffold is solid, I feel we have to many holes on this team to be taking a depth pick in round 2. However, I wouldnt mind it so much if we, for instance, trade off Smiley for a mid rounder, and then make the call to plug Carey at LG.
I honestly dont really study late rounders to much (im a first 3 guy for study, though I eat up draft time as a whole) so for me personally its just the first two picks that I was having a beef about. :up:keithjackson and padre31 like this. -
Graham's athletic ability translates to the field and you could the light bulb go on with him from game 1 to the last game.......he has issues obviously, his hands are way inconsistent but he makes some catches that let you know he can catch, his technique is inconsistent as a blocker but he does at times make you go "wow"...all in al Graham although very inconistent flashes skills that make you think a guy with those skills that has played one year of football might be special......Dickson is an All Pro Hall of fame flag football player IMHO...when the pads go on all that fantastic AA, and he is a great athlete disappear...IMHO...he does not block a lick, likes to push people when sealing generating no movement and will get destroyed at the NFL level doing that, he has an obvious affinity to run upfield and come backs and does not look real fond of the middle of the field, gets stood up getting off the line, does not hand fight real well, get bent back on the rare occasions he was an inline POA blocker....he failed as a linebacker because he did not like to knock heads, he shows the same affinity for contact as a TE and likes space...........on the positive side....great vertical athlete, good hands, nice vertical speed, tracks the ball well.....to me he is not an undersized TE that may grow into a bigger role because he is not physical enough....IMHO he is a 4/th WR and ST player that will produce best when in motion or covered and can take advantage of drags, picks and cross unders..............but hell that is just my opinion.........he could be an all pro...it's the draft................
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#12. Trade down, then trade pick for Marshall or combo of picks for this year and next
#43. Burnett / Allen / Jones - S
#73 Carrington / Alualu - DE
Additional pick: Lane / Lang - OLB
#110 Joseph - NT
Additional pick: Cooper / White / Williams - WR; Chaney / Dillard - ILB
#173 Peek / Quarless / Graham - TE
#174 Easley / Barnes / McGaha - WR
#179 Eskridge / Vaughn - S
#212 Linkerbach / Barker / Young - T
#219 Cook / Tepper / Smith - G
#252 Sheffield / Galette - OLB (just for you Padre ...)
UDFAs will be any leftover OLBs, TE, WR, T/G, DE -
I like the Blount, Te'o-Nesheim, and Ulatoski picks.
Morgan has always put his hand in the dirt. That is why many say he is better suited to a 43 defense. Could he play standing up? Maybe. However that is a risky move at #12.
From what I have read Saffold is a finesse guy who is better at pass pro than run blocking. I believe we are much more likely to go after a mauler like Marshall Newhouse in the 4th round.
I know the Dolphins have "expressed an interest" in Dickerson but he is undersized. Jeff Ireland and Bill Parcells do not usually go together with "undersized" unless you are talking about a kick returner or third running back. That seems to be the only exception. If I had to guess I would say we pass on Dickerson because of that.
I am not a fan of Mike Neal. :no: Leave it at that.
Arthur Moats is a possibility but I don't know much about him other than we have expressed an interest.
I don't see us using a draft pick on John Conner when we already have Lou Polite. If he goes undrafted I could see us bringing him in.
Brandon James? No way. You must be a Gator fan. :lol:
Adam Ulatoski is a strong possibility. However there are several offensive linemen who are just as likely. Chris Marinelli, Drew Davis, Jeff Linkenbach, Alonzo Durham, Mike Tepper, Sergio Render, Cord Howard, Thomas Austin, and Reggie Stephens. Its really impossible to predict which guy we will draft. -
Thanks...I really did mean Dickerson though. I actually think Dickson has a better shot...but neither of them thrill me as a player personally.
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Because Saffold at #43 would "solve' the Guard issues that have plagued the Oline the last two season and he can play T.
Agree about the Safety, that is why this is two weeks out, as the draft approaches I'll whittle it down and make some changes.
Dickenson is the compromise, assuming J Graham goes off in Rd 2, where I think he will, in the 50's, that leaves Dickenson as the only Te/WR type who could break open the middle of the field and menace the seam. And they spent a #3 on Turner, and I'm not sold on the idea that they give up on him so quickly.
3 OLB's simply because 1 will be a Day 1 starter, one will compete with Anderson Moses and Folsom, and one will be stashed on the practice squad for depth. -
I construct mine by recalling last season's games and then asking myself "what did we need, were was the weak spot during the games, where would it have been really really helpful to have more talent at?"
ILB=Signed Dansby
G=Incognito, but LG is still a problem
S=just removing G Wilson will improve the secondary, seriously, they could plug any decent player into that position and achieve improvement
Te=We missed DMart badly a Te who can bust the seam was sorely missed
TBH, we needed better Cb play, but experience for Davis and Smith should improve the quality of play.
:cool:
The Saffold pick comes from Sparano's Philosophy, the Oline sets the tempo the game, the Oline must own the line of scrimmage, everything they do comes from that philosophy that is why (imho) they expend so many resources on the Offensive Line, it is the foundation of the team from Sparano's point of view.
I think Blount fits the Dolphins style, power running large backs, I still cannot get over 240 pd Lex Hilliard playing 3rd down back, that is crazy, but that is how they do things but Blount is a better player than Hilliard imho.
I love the later round picks, bargain shopping, a dutch auction and superior scouting all meet in the so called throw away rounds.
Ditto UDFA's, players everyone passed over, I love that stuff.texanphinatic likes this. -
Good job w/ the mock, interesting read. But I have to confess, I cant imagine us going thru the entire draft without addressing WR or S. Those two positions were the primary cause of several of our losses, if we dont address them, Im seriously going to wonder if our front office guys have thier heads on straight.
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What I do is get an overall ranking of every player from a reliable site like NFLDraftScout.com. I don't pretend I can rank 300 players in any better order than they do. Having a fairly good idea where players will fall is half the battle IMO. Then, I look at our needs, prioritize the needs based on my own personal feelings and the moves or lack of moves the team makes in free agency. If you recall, free agency in 2008, outside of Smiley we ignored the OL. We signed a few front 7 defenders. Still, some guys here steadfastly believed Dorsey or more likely Chris Long would be the pick. Our free agency activity screamed that we were taking the LT 1st overall.
Last yr, other than scrap heap signing Eric Green, we ignored CB. We were severely lacking in numbers and talent at those spots. That should have told us that CB was going to be a priority on draft day, and it was. The odd decision, as has been pointed out around here ad nauseam since then was ignoring OLB and taking Pat White
This year we upgraded LB and also added a OG who could be an upgrade. We tried to sign two FSs, but were outbid. This position therefore would appear to be one that is addressed early, like round 1 or 2. The FO has spoken often about the need of a player(s) who can get us chunk yards. That says to me adding a big play weapon on offense or two, is going to be a priority. Lastly, if the season began tomorrow, the SAM backer would either be Quentin Moses or Brian Johnston. The fact that they won't attempt to sign JT till after the draft if at all, screams out that the SAM backer spot is going to be addressed early IMO. All that needs to factor into a mock draft. IMO, a NT who could rotate with Soliai is something that will be addressed in the first 4 rounds too. So, to me, an offensive playmaker, a FS, a SOLB and a NT in some order would be the first 4 picks as likely as anything else. So, I'd look at an overall board and see who is slotted in every round from about 5 picks ahead of us to 15 picks after, or so, and look at who I would take, based on the most obvious needs. Then, do the same in every round. Also, try to recall players whom we've shown an extra interest in, interviews, workouts, etc and include them when possible.
Here is my last mock draft I did, using those guidelines.
1. Earl Thomas FS Texas
2. Terrence Cody NT Alabama
3. Jimmy Graham TE Miami
4. Brandon Spikes ILB/OLB Florida
6a. Zac Robinson QB Oklahoma St.
6b. Emmanuel Sanders WR SMU
6c. Mike Williams WR Syracuse
7a. Austin Spitler OLB/ILB Ohio St
7b. Keaton Kristick OLB Oregon St
7c. Roy Upchurch RB Alabama
I already need to change it because J. Graham is now ranked in the 2nd and Cody is usually shown as ranked more than 5 spots above 43.Anonymous, texanphinatic and dolfan22 like this. -
I never questioned Rodger Saffold at 43. I was wondering why take another G with the 252 pick?
Dorin Dickerson would be an interesting pick and would probably be a move TE/H Back rather than on the line Y, which is ok because we got two who can play as on the line Ys.
Derrick Morgan would be seemingly a very safe pick, address a dire need at SAM, and could likely be an early starter. I personally like Everson Griffen better, but he does not get any love that early for some reason.
You do need a safety in the first 4 rounds though IMO. :yes: -
Because Ireland has a really strong tendency to draft OL and Db's in the later rounds the position doesn't matter, could be G, T, C/G but there will be an olineman taken later in the draft.
He is the compromise pick, imho they actually like their Wr's, but we need chunk plays, enter a athletic Te who can go deep, Graham will be gone (imho, GM's just drool over that much athletic talen) by Rd 3 that leaves Dickerson.
Pitta is a great weapon, but not the deep threat Dickerson is imho, his skill set more closely matches what we need.
It's the curse of the #12 pick, Griffen would be fine, but he's not a #12 type of talent, the #12 is sort of a inbetween hop, not top 10, but not that later #1 draft position where just as good OLB prospects are to be found.
1 more week, 1 more mock, I could easily see Earl Thomas at #12.
BTW for folks who do their own Dolphins mock drafts, when you get to rounds 4-7, if you have a choice between two players, always take the taller player.
6'3 even trumps a slight difference in speed. -
Here is an updated one I did, using NFLDS rankings. The only player I have going somewhat lower than their overall rank is Spiller. I put the overall current NFLDS rankings after their school.
1. (12) C.J. Spiller, RB, Clemson (nflds 7)
2. (43) Linval Joseph, DT, East Carolina (nflds 60)
3. (73) Chad Jones, SS, LSU (nflds 78)
4. (110) Aaron Hernandez, TE, Florida (nflds 114)
6. (173) A.J. Edds, OLB, Iowa (nflds 200)
6. (174) Robert Johnson, FS, Utah (nflds 194)
6. (179) Travis Goethel, ILB, Arizona State (nflds 191)
7. (212) Shay Hodge, WR, Mississippi (nflds 210)
7. (219) John Conner, FB, Kentucky (nflds 223)
7. (252) Danny Batten, OLB, South Dakota State (nflds 280)
That's 8 starters within 2 years and 2 solid reserves right there. :up:
I could not believe they had Edds 200th overall. Also, Hernandez 114 overall. -
I think he has #12 talent, it's just his question marks that cause him to slide. I'm hoping he falls to 43 myself or at least him, Jerry Hughes or Jason Worilds.
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That would be one hell of a 6th round.