Dolphins draft priorities

We say this every year but QB

Offensively Miami needs a running game and more talent up front

Defensively we need a premier pass rusher

Do we know where our first round picks fall?

5th, 18th (for Fitzpatrick), and yet to be determined, for the Texans pick. The sooner the Texans are eliminated, the higher the pick will be. Will be 21st pick at best.

With that # 5 pick, right now my top targets are:

QB Tua Tagovailoa, if he's expected to recover
CB Jeffrey Okudah
S Isaiah Simmons
DE A.J. Epenesa

If Tua's prognosis is poor, I might consider trading down a few spots and still get one of my 3 targets.

I wonder if Tua can make it to the combine? If he can then we will see what he is gonna be like. But for now Miami needs a better OL. No point in having a great QB if the OL is horrible. another thing Miami needs is a some edge rushers and better players in the secondary. Miami secondary impressed against the Pats but they are too inconsistent.

If Miami is looking for another WR I go after Justin Jefferson from LSU or the dude from Liberty. Also I pick up another QB if Miami goes after Tua. No need to get a player that might be okay if he isn't 100%

rightchea wrote:I wonder if Tua can make it to the combine? If he can then we will see what he is gonna be like. But for now Miami needs a better OL. No point in having a great QB if the OL is horrible. another thing Miami needs is a some edge rushers and better players in the secondary. Miami secondary impressed against the Pats but they are too inconsistent.

If Miami is looking for another WR I go after Justin Jefferson from LSU or the dude from Liberty. Also I pick up another QB if Miami goes after Tua. No need to get a player that might be okay if he isn't 100%

I wouldn't go OL at #5. I think we'll sign a couple of free agent linemen and draft a couple later...possibly one in the first round, but definitely not #5.

I also wouldn't draft a WR till late. That position proved to be the strength of the team.

Even if Tua is healthy for the combine I see him skipping the workouts. Standard for the top QB prospects that want their body of work to be their selling point

CarsonChris wrote:Even if Tua is healthy for the combine I see him skipping the workouts. Standard for the top QB prospects that want their body of work to be their selling point

And for any other first round QB prospect I'd be in favor of it, if only to revel in how foolish the so-called experts sound whenever they act like those guys skipping the combine is going to be this huge black mark against them only to see said QBs get taken in the top 5-10 anyway.

But Tua's situation is different. I would say it is vitally important for teams to see him workout to prove he's not the NFL version of a cripple. At some point folks need to actually see visual proof that you're physically just fine instead of just hearing from your hired PR shill.

I doubt Tua will be doing any workouts this offseason. Most likely he's not going to play at all in 2020. The best thing he can do is stick to the rehab program and not rush anything.

JMP wrote:I doubt Tua will be doing any workouts this offseason.  Most likely he's not going to play at all in 2020.  The best thing he can do is stick to the rehab program and not rush anything.

No way am I spending a top 5 pick on someone who won't even be playing next season. Might as well just hold off and draft a QB in 2021. The Harbaugh Era 49ers used to draft guys in that situation all the time, acting like they were so smart for "redshirting" them, and as a result they crashed and burned in record time right after he left and maybe even a little before. This isn't college, NFL roster spots are far too valuable to waste them stashing players away for a season.

I see Tua with the first pick, and from there after, I want 2 DL and 2 OL. I want one of the stud RB's coming out. I know RB is not a glamour position anymore, but there are probably 5 difference makers at RB in the draft. We need to take one of them. I want at least 2 DB's. That should cover the first 3 rounds. From there on, BPA.

It's looking more and more likely that Tua will stay at Alabama. He will make his decision public on January 6.

JMP wrote:It's looking more and more likely that Tua will stay at Alabama.  He will make his decision public on January 6.

If Tua stays and the Fins still take a QB at 5 with Burrow gone, I seriously might just quit this team for good.

DolFan 316 wrote:

JMP wrote:It's looking more and more likely that Tua will stay at Alabama.  He will make his decision public on January 6.

If Tua stays and the Fins still take a QB at 5 with Burrow gone, I seriously might just quit this team for good.

depends on who they get. We understand that everyone wants Burrow or Tua but remember 2012 when no one wanted Miami to pick up Tannehill and everyone wanted Marcus Mariota. Look at it now Tannehill has Mariota's job. So lets not be too hasty when it comes to getting a QB. There are a lot of QB coming out this year and I not for reaching at any position, Miami can still find themselves a starter without Burrow and Tua

rightchea wrote:There are a lot of QB coming out this year...

No. There's really not. You'll see soon enough.

Remember how great the Mayfield/Darnold/Rosen/Allen QB draft was supposed to be? In reality, not so much.

Quite a few sure things turn out not to be, and QB's emerge that evaluators turned out to be wrong about. Wilson (3rd), Prescott (4th), Cousins (4th), Jackson (last pick of the first round and 5th QB taken), all guys that you can win with. And every QB, no matter how talented, is going to have to have coaching that he clicks with.

I wouldn't rule out taking any QB in the right spot, but agree completely that I don't want to see a big reach.

Herbert is not a QB I've ever been enamored with, but he has all the physical tools. That INT early yesterday was horrible, but he made some nice plays with his legs and had some drops. If they think he can run the offense they have in mind I don't have a problem with it.

Fromm looked good last night, although Big 12 defenses suck in general. He does look like an Alex Smith type. You can win with him, but can you win it all?

Like Herbert, Eason looks like he has all the physical tools but it inconsistent.

Love would not be ready for at least a year or two and I worry about the maturity level with him. That's one thing Herbert has going for him; of course, so did Tanny.

Hebert checks all the right boxes. Including arm strength, leadership, completion percentage, and athleticism.

I worry Tua is the fools gold of this draft if he comes out. His line gave him so much time to throw. So many big plays are wide open. He’s injury prone two years in a row.

QB, of course. Every year IMHO (not necessarily a 1st rounder every year, but...). Even if you have a Dan Marino starting. Keep the QB pipeline full. You develop a QB and he puts on a show in preseason, you can trade him to some team that doesn't develop QBs and doesn't keep the QB pipeline full. Like the Pats did Jimmy G. and J. Brisset.

The O-line - Every year, we say this. Every year, they try something that doesn't work. Until they get an O-line coach that can DEVELOP some of these 3rd rounders or below, into decent starting material, the Phins are always gonna be in need of O-line help IMO.

Pass rusher - Not just an Olivier Vernon type, but a Jason Taylor type IMO. Someone that the other team has to account for on every pass play. This could be a stand up LB type as well. Terrell Suggs for example.

A LB that can provide this no-name defense with an example, a mean nasty son of gun that plays hard and gives it everything right up until the whistle blows. If he is a pass rusher OLB, so be it.

With three 1st round picks, the Phins SHOULD BE ABLE to get one of those players. Two would be a blessing beyond all hope of fulfillment IMO. But we can still HOPE!!!

We should get a better idea of the direction after the free agent period. Maybe.

I like that, FF: QB with pick 1, pass rusher with pick 2, and OL with pick 3. I can be on board with that, depending on how the draft plays out.

If Tua doesn't declare, I think Herbert and Love are both in play at 5. It may be too high for either (especially Love), but it is what it is...this team MUST get a QB, and if they find a guy that fits what they want then they need to pull the trigger.

I really wanted Fromm to be the guy early this season. But the more I watched him, the less I liked him. I could see taking a flyer on him in the 2nd or 3rd if we don't take a QB higher.

JMP wrote:If Tua doesn't declare, I think Herbert and Love are both in play at 5.  It may be too high for either (especially Love), but it is what it is...this team MUST get a QB, and if they find a guy that fits what they want then they need to pull the trigger.

This is the kind of panic mentality that leads to awful drafts. There's absolutely ZERO reason to take ANY non-Burrow, non-Tua QB at #5 PERIOD. If anything I would trade down from that spot and let some other team make that mistake. Might as well just take Eason in the 2nd or 3rd. He won't be a star either, but at least he won't be any worse than Herbert or Love. And if the Fins don't take him I guarantee the Pats will.

DolFan 316 wrote:

JMP wrote:If Tua doesn't declare, I think Herbert and Love are both in play at 5.  It may be too high for either (especially Love), but it is what it is...this team MUST get a QB, and if they find a guy that fits what they want then they need to pull the trigger.

This is the kind of panic mentality that leads to awful drafts. There's absolutely ZERO reason to take ANY non-Burrow, non-Tua QB at #5 PERIOD. If anything I would trade down from that spot and let some other team make that mistake. Might as well just take Eason in the 2nd or 3rd. He won't be a star either, but at least he won't be any worse than Herbert or Love. And if the Fins don't take him I guarantee the Pats will.

It would be a panic mentality if we only had 6 or 7 picks. But we have 12, and will likely end up with more when all is said and done. We have the luxury of taking a shot at one of the QBs and will still have enough ammo left over to fix the rest of the roster. I don't know if any of these QBs will be good - chances are better that they'll suck, based on percentages - but you have to take the chance. Like the old New York Lotto commercial: you gotta be in it to win it.

I agree with JMP...to a point. You only pull the trigger if the potential franchise ability is there in one of the QBs. You CANNOT draft a QB just to be drafting a QB.

A Bust QB is one of the worst positions to have a BUST in IMHO. Not only does it mean you have wasted the pick, when you possibly could have had a potential pro bowler instead at another position, but generally, if a team invests in a high pick QB, they give him lots of chances, even when it is apparent he stinks on ice, and that means they bypass chances in the next draft to get a better QB or a better QB prospect. the whole Rosen experiment by AZ aside...

A bust QB has ramifications far beyond just the wasted draft pick. The last thing the Phins need is to pick a BUST QB in round 1 this year IMHO.

I guess we are just going to have to trust Grier and Flores, but the more I look at this draft, I think it could potentially be the MOST IMPORTANT draft for Grier and Flores long term future with the Phins! Get this draft wrong, and it may be impossible to recover!

Who they don't draft may be more important than who they do draft!!!

EGAD!!!

If Miami likes Love than I think we can draft him with our third pick in the first round. That puts pass rusher or FS at 1 and lineman 2nd with QB third.

finfanatic wrote:I agree with JMP...to a point. You only pull the trigger if the potential franchise ability is there in one of the QBs. You CANNOT draft a QB just to be drafting a QB.

A Bust QB is one of the worst positions to have a BUST in IMHO. Not only does it mean you have wasted the pick, when you possibly could have had a potential pro bowler instead at another position, but generally, if a team invests in a high pick QB, they give him lots of chances, even when it is apparent he stinks on ice, and that means they bypass chances in the next draft to get a better QB or a better QB prospect. the whole Rosen experiment by AZ aside...

A bust QB has ramifications far beyond just the wasted draft pick. The last thing the Phins need is to pick a BUST QB in round 1 this year IMHO.

I guess we are just going to have to trust Grier and Flores, but the more I look at this draft, I think it could potentially be the MOST IMPORTANT draft for Grier and Flores long term future with the Phins! Get this draft wrong, and it may be impossible to recover!

Who they don't draft may be more important than who they do draft!!!

EGAD!!!

Well yeah, it's not just drafting a QB for the hell of it - you have to have conviction that the QB you draft in the 1st round can, at some point, develop into your long-term franchise QB.

But drafting the "wrong" QB isn't as devastating as it used to be. Look at the Cardinals - they drafted Rosen and then dumped him the following year so they could draft Murray. Aside from pissing away a big chunk of money, I think they are very happy with the outcome. Fact is, the way rookie salaries are set up these days, it's easier than ever to walk away from a "bust" if you choose to do so.

The other thing to consider here is Coach Flores. He has shown that if something isn't working, he will fix it right away. If we draft a QB in the 1st and he doesn't work out, Flores isn't going to hold onto him for 7 years...he's going to act quickly and make a change.

Bottom line: the Dolphins have the excess draft picks and excess salary cap to do whatever they want to do with the QB position this offseason. There is nothing holding them back, and fear of failure should not be an issue.

CarsonChris wrote:If Miami likes  Love than I think we can draft him with our third pick in the first round.  That puts pass rusher or FS at 1 and lineman 2nd with QB third.

That works for me...but I just have a feeling that Love will skyrocket up the boards when teams get their hands on him. Physically, Love and Herbert are tops in this class, and both are supposedly really smart and genuinely good guys. I think both go top 10 when all is said and done, even with their "warts". Hell, Daniel Jones went #6 last year!

finfanatic wrote:I agree with JMP...to a point. You only pull the trigger if the potential franchise ability is there in one of the QBs. You CANNOT draft a QB just to be drafting a QB.

A Bust QB is one of the worst positions to have a BUST in IMHO. Not only does it mean you have wasted the pick, when you possibly could have had a potential pro bowler instead at another position, but generally, if a team invests in a high pick QB, they give him lots of chances, even when it is apparent he stinks on ice, and that means they bypass chances in the next draft to get a better QB or a better QB prospect. the whole Rosen experiment by AZ aside...

A bust QB has ramifications far beyond just the wasted draft pick. The last thing the Phins need is to pick a BUST QB in round 1 this year IMHO.

I guess we are just going to have to trust Grier and Flores, but the more I look at this draft, I think it could potentially be the MOST IMPORTANT draft for Grier and Flores long term future with the Phins! Get this draft wrong, and it may be impossible to recover!

Who they don't draft may be more important than who they do draft!!!

EGAD!!!

PREACH IT, BRUTHA!!! TESTIFY!!!