Final Draft Thoughts

I think that for the first time in who can remember how long, if ever, the FO was determined to fix the trenches and stayed true to the plan. It was painfully, or should I say, joyfully obvious, that GM Chris Greir and HC Brian Flores, had a plan (BUILD THE TRENCHES) and were going to stick to it.

Yes, a Dobbins, Swift or a Cam Akers would have been a sexy pick and would have immediately filled a big need, but the team's brain-trust had a plan. I thought they were going to trade a 4th or 5th to Jax for Fournette, and I would have been ok with that, but we got Breida the Cheetah from the 49ers for a 4th. Pair him with FA Jordan Howard and we suddenly have a par of RB's that are NFL level, maybe even high-level, we'll see, but HUGE improvement in run game.

As for the OL, how long have we been asking, pleading or demanding that we bring in a BMNSOB ((Big, Mean Nasty, SOB) for the OL? Too long. But we not only brought in one, we brought in pick after pick of some bad MOFO's, it looks like. Yes, maybe, drinking the koolaid a little here, but this is what we have wanted forever. LOAD up the picks on OL. Realize that it ALL starts up front. For, much too long, we have paid lip-service to "fixing" the OL. This time we used draft capital after draft capital to bring in as many as we could. Will they all succeed? NO, but, if we hit on 2 or 3 of these guys, along with the FA's we already brought in, we are looking at a dominating OL.

As for the DL, I like Strowbridge and Weaver as situational-rotation guys for the pass rush. Rayquan Davis hopes to be a run-stopper in the middle. He was up and down at Bama. Red flag to me is if nick satan couldn't get him to play at a consistent level, then you may have an issue. Is he the next Jordan Phillips? We'll see.

I like the Iggy pick at CB. Not even going to try and spell that. This is a passing league. You can never have enough cover corners. I think Jones, the S from Texas could compete for a job early. I know they like McCain, but I still say he is too small for the pounding at the safety position. I would prefer moving him back to slot and go with the rookie. But, Flores'' defense loves to move players all around, so we'll see how many snaps he takes at which position.

We picked a long snapper. I guess we need one. Pepper, the guy who replaced Denny seemed to do ok, not that I studied the ins and out of long snapping.

The 7th pick from Navy could be interesting. Maybe we are trying to get our version of Julian Edelman here. An under-sized college QB that can fill many roles, (Wildcat, slot, return guy). Practice squad at least, but someone to keep an eye on.

Overall, not going to give it a grade. Who cares about that? I just like what I see from this organization for the first time in decades. They seem to have a clear direction and plan as to getting there. No more big FA bells and whistle signings. Just build it the right way. Draft wisely and fill in responsibly with trades and FA.

When does the season start? I'm all in.

I will also say I'm glad we're holding on to Rosen for now. His value couldn't be any lower right now. If he has a good training camp in Gailey's system, we either have good competition or an asset we can turn for a much better pick than he would have brought yesterday.

First off, mad respect to Scotgif for showing all the offseason additions in one graphic, you are helping raise the vibration of all humankind      

Reshad Jones was a 5th round pick. Could 3rd round pick Brandon Jones be just as good at the same position? Hmmm...

Why is Robert Hunt listed as being from 'Lou-Lay"? Wasn't that the name of Milla Jovovich's character in The Fifth Element?

Seriously, that school needs to make up its mind and go with either Louisiana-Lafayette or just plain Louisiana like I thought it was now.

Wilson at 26 over Igbinoghene at 30 (cut and paste is your friend) would've REALLY been the proverbial cherry on top (sighs).

Also, let's hope Solomon doesn't treat opponents very Kindley. I'll show myself out now (dodges flying tomatoes).

Great post, scot.

About the CB and safety:
The more I hear about these guys, the more I like them.
--Iggy was supposedly the top press corner in the entire draft - and the Phins play press coverage almost exclusively. He can play every CB position and he has shut down some of the nation's top receivers.
--I was a bit worried about the Jones pick when it was made, but the more I hear about him the more I like him. He's a total film junkie - as an example, before the draft he studied at least 4 games from every NFL team so he could be prepared for pre-draft interviews. The guy constantly works to get better, and off the field he is a stand-up person (see the story on NFLN about how he befriended a kid with cancer.)

Keep in mind that in this defense, everything comes from the secondary - it's really the most important part of the D. Last year we used between 5-8 DBs almost 70% of the time, so we need a lot of good DBs. Having a strong back-end allows Flores and the defensive coaches to get creative with blitz packages and pressure packages.

I'm giving this draft a grade: A. We got a franchise QB and filled almost every major hole on the roster. There were no throwaway picks, and I can clearly see the plan for each player that was selected. Can't really ask for more than that.

DolFan 316 wrote:

Also, let's hope Solomon doesn't treat opponents very Kindley. I'll show myself out now (dodges flying tomatoes).

As painful as that joke is, it's also pretty damn funny.

I really like the draft. I don't know the players like many of you do but can go off of reactions and what I read to form opinions. Bottom line, we got what should be a franchise QB and overall this was the draft the Fins needed. Now it's up to the coaches and players to work hard and develop.

Very nice post, SG1.

That really paints the picture well.

The Phins braintrust LOOKS to have covered all their bases in free agency and in the draft. Still, we know not all these draft picks are gonna be any good some will turn out to be as bad as gas station sushi, and some of the free agent picks will flounder.

Still, the Phins seemed to have stuck to the plan and got the types of guys they wanted. Remains to be seen if this will work out, but so far I am encouraged. If Tua makes us all think of Russell Wilson, the draft will have been a success.

DolFan 316 wrote:Why is Robert Hunt listed as being from 'Lou-Lay"? Wasn't that the name of Milla Jovovich's character in The Fifth Element?

Mad props for working The Fifth Element into a football post, DF. Chris Tucker absolutely STOLE that movie as DJ Ruby Rhod IMO.

I'm going to be more positive this year. I like the coach. Like the FA moves (except Flowers because he sucked so bad as a Giant. Like the draft. To me until Tua is healthy and ready to play Miami does not have a QB. Fitz is garbage.

That why Fitz is a journey man. If he was great he would have been on just one team and not so many. But at the same time he doing as much as he can do to help this team and that is good for me

I'm ok with Fitz as a placeholder for a couple of years. He's got a great attitude and is a leader. He can start for you for a year or two and young QB's can learn a lot from him.

I love Fitz. He worked his ass off for Miami last year. He may not have the talent to be a franchise QB but he flat out gave it all last year.

Yeah, Fitz sure isn't the best QB in the world, but you can't match his heart...dude has the heart of a lion and never heard the word "quit". He'll be an excellent role model and mentor for Tua, on the field and in the locker room.

I expect Fitz to be here a very long time. I fully believe (as long as he doesn't object to a move from Tampa to Miami) he will become a QB coach here after he's done playing in 1-2 years. The organization loves him and he seems really happy here.

With his intelligence, work ethic, leadership and the experience of playing in the NFL so long, he would be an excellent choice.

Taco was cut today....I was hoping they cut Harris and not Taco

rightchea wrote:Taco was cut today....I was hoping they cut Harris and not Taco

No chance Taco was staying after all the free agent and draft additions. And he was inactive for 3 of the last 4 games...I'm thinking he wasn't part of the long-range plan.

Harris may last a little longer, but will be gone before the season starts IMO. Maybe they can somehow get a late-round pick for him.

I will be surprised if Harris wins a job. A lot of competition on the roster for his role. If he wins a job, it's an upset and he's shown huge improvement from last season....

Mildly surprised that Taco didn't at least make it to camp.

I agree that Fitzpatrick would make an excellent coach after he retires.

I don't see him going into coaching. I see him doing something else with that Harvard brain of his

I like Fitz too, have for a long time. There is a reason he's both a journeyman QB and called "Fitzmagic." He's wildly inconsistent. He was perfect for the Fins last year as well as the upcoming season. I don't think we can expect him to be as good this year, but he's a perfect bridge to Tua.

Killah Sith wrote:I like Fitz too, have for a long time.  There is a reason he's both a journeyman QB and called "Fitzmagic."  He's wildly inconsistent.  He was perfect for the Fins last year as well as the upcoming season.  I don't think we can expect him to be as good this year, but he's a perfect bridge to Tua.

On paper, he should actually be better than last year, with an improved OL and running game. But of course, there will be a lot of poor play mixed in regardless - that's just how he is. I love Fitz - he's so easy to root for. Total throwback, the way he goes full-on every down.

JMP wrote:

Killah Sith wrote:I like Fitz too, have for a long time.  There is a reason he's both a journeyman QB and called "Fitzmagic."  He's wildly inconsistent.  He was perfect for the Fins last year as well as the upcoming season.  I don't think we can expect him to be as good this year, but he's a perfect bridge to Tua.

On paper, he should actually be better than last year, with an improved OL and running game.  But of course, there will be a lot of poor play mixed in regardless - that's just how he is.  I love Fitz - he's so easy to root for.  Total throwback, the way he goes full-on every down.

I have to agree. To be honest everyone should be better this year. With better protection, Miami WR should have a better chance of getting open. My worry is the coaching. There was a lot of changes that happen for a group of guys that were just around for one year. unless they didn't like the way Flores talked to them, there shouldn't have been so much movement

https://www.instagram.com/tv/B_lRm1_DERy/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Check out this hype video. I am not usually one to drink the koolaid, but this has me hype!

rightchea wrote:

JMP wrote:

Killah Sith wrote:I like Fitz too, have for a long time.  There is a reason he's both a journeyman QB and called "Fitzmagic."  He's wildly inconsistent.  He was perfect for the Fins last year as well as the upcoming season.  I don't think we can expect him to be as good this year, but he's a perfect bridge to Tua.

On paper, he should actually be better than last year, with an improved OL and running game.  But of course, there will be a lot of poor play mixed in regardless - that's just how he is.  I love Fitz - he's so easy to root for.  Total throwback, the way he goes full-on every down.

I have to agree. To be honest everyone should be better this year. With better protection, Miami WR should have a better chance of getting open. My worry is the coaching. There was a lot of changes that happen for a group of guys that were just around for one year. unless they didn't like the way Flores talked to them, there shouldn't have been so much movement

Flores clearly wasn't satisfied with the offense. Zero running game, poor pass protection, and apparently it was a difficult offense to learn. Flores didn't like the way things were going, so he made a change. I love it...be decisive and don't dick around.

scotgif wrote:https://www.instagram.com/tv/B_lRm1_DERy/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Check out this hype video. I am not usually one to drink the koolaid, but this has me hype!

Nice hype. If half those dudes turn out to be half as good as that hype, the Phins are set.

JMP wrote:I love it...be decisive and don't dick around.

Yeah, one thing you can say about Flores, he ain't afraid to pull the plug and make a change. And if you are in charge, you have to be that way.
And everyone else has to know that. It seems like the players know it for sure.