Now that that the draft is over, a lot of people have taken the time to look at every team’s picks and in some cases, assign them grades for their efforts. Let me start off by saying that I think assigning teams a grade for their picks immediately after the draft is a ridiculous idea. What exactly are these grades based on? Well, that answer depends on who you are asking, since everyone seems to have a different criterion. If you are going to assign a team’s draft class a grade, wouldn’t it be smarter to do so after at least one season? That way you have a chance to see what impact, if any, the players drafted made not only on the team, but on the league as well. Undrafted picks could be a part of that evaluation as well, considering that last season, more undrafted players played in at least one game than players who were chosen in the second round of the draft or later.
I personally think the Dolphins did a pretty good job of addressing the team’s needs in this draft; sure they passed up on some big name players, but the draft is about getting the player you want, not the big names, and the Dolphins were able to do just that. They moved back early in the draft in order to get that second round pick and they moved up later on when they thought another team might get the guy they were after. They went in there with a plan and from the looks of it they were able to achieve everything they set forth to.
Multiple sources have revealed that the one player the Dolphins were really after was Koa Misi, who was selected in the second round with the pick obtained from the Chargers. Depending on whom you ask, Misi was drafted to be a starter or a backup. I think Misi will start and replace Porter. This guy is strong and fast, and has all the qualities needed to be a sack machine. He will need help making the transition into the NFL, but I think he should be ready by the time the season starts, since he comes from a program in Utah that is a very high caliber program.
Koa Misi was drafted to fill one of the holes we have on defense, and he should be able to do it very well. I personally was very pleased with this pick; we will find out by the end of the season, whether or not Sergio Kindle would’ve been a better option based on the impact each one of them makes on the defensive side of things in their respective teams.
John Jerry, out of Ole Miss, was drafted to be a potential replacement for Justin Smiley who the team was actively trying to trade during the draft, so I expect him to be a starter next season at some point as well if we face injuries in the offensive line. He is a versatile player who can play both tackle and guard, although he is better suited to play guard. The criticism on Jerry is that he is a little slow and relies more on his power than on his speed, which could be beneficial to the team in certain plays. With an offensive line made up of players like Jake Long and Richie Incognito, I believe this is a player who will become proficient in the next couple of seasons. Our offensive line is by no means weak at the moment after all but it did see some injuries this past season and adding depth to it is a smart move.
AJ Edds, a linebacker out of Iowa was a smart addition to the team, with him, we add depth to that linebacker position which we needed to do; but most importantly, he will make a contribution to our special teams. I know sometimes special teams and any needs in that area get over looked, but we have to remember that special teams are also a part of the game and they can indeed cost you a win sometimes. Remember last year’s game against the Jets in the Meadowlands?
Nolan Carroll, a cornerback out of Maryland, is expected to compete at the cornerback position. Some people were wondering if this might be our answer as far as safeties go but that doesn’t seem to be the case. This pick of course had many wondering about the possibility of moving Sean Smith to safety since he did play that position at college. Although that is a possibility if there was ever a need for it, Smith is better suited to play at CB than at safety and he is a better prospect at that position than Carroll is, still, Carroll could prove to be a good option in some nickel or dime plays.
Reshad Jones, the safety out of Georgia, is considered to be a top pick by many and in my opinion, was the best deal the Dolphins got this whole draft. I expect Jones will compete for the position with Culver and Clemons and wouldn’t be surprised to see him as our starter next season. I know a lot of people were interested in acquiring Taylor Mays, but apparently the front office didn’t think he would be a good fit and had actually been thinking of picking up Jones before the draft came around.
The two guys we picked in the sixth (Chris McCoy) and seventh round (Austin Spitler) are not guys that I know too much about, at this point in the draft teams go after who they consider to be the best available players, and if there is anything this front office has proven they can do is pick up good rough and undrafted talent so I think it would be interesting to see what these guys bring to the table, as well as all those undrafted guys that we have picked up so far. Those undrafted players include safety Jonathin Amaya out of Nevada, nose tackle Travis Ivey out of Maryland, guard Andy Leavine out ofFIU, wide receiver Marlon Moore out of Fresno State, nose tackle Vince Oghobaase out of Duke, cornerback A. J. Wallace out of Penn State, wide receiver Roberto Wallace out of San Diego State, and cornerback Ross Weaver out of Michigan State.
One thing the Dolphins made clear this draft was their interest in strengthening the defense, seven of the eight players drafted and even five out of the eight undrafted agents signed are defensive players. They also added players with leadership qualities, a lot of the drafted players played in teams which had winning records and were captains in those teams and that’s definitely not something you can ever have too much of in the locker room.
As I stated before, I don’t believe in grading drafts but I know a lot of people out there pay attention to these grades and that there are still some fans that have their doubts about this draft class. So our draft class wasn’t all that “flashy” not too many big names picked up, right? How much more flash do you want during the offseason? Don’t forget that we did pick up Dansby and Marshall after all and considering Marshall came at a price of a second round pick, that names deserves more points than any other name in my book.