Looking Back At...

The '02 Dolphins draft. Why this one? Because it's the only other draft in team history in which they didn't have a pick until the 3rd round.

SO...what happened to the first two picks, you ask? The first was traded for Puff Daddy...I mean, Ricky Williams. The second rounder being lost was a result of a ridiculous trade with the Eagles (seem familiar?) in which Wanny felt the dire urgent need to give them this pick in the previous draft so he could take...Morlon Greenwood in the 3rd and Otis Leverette in the 6th. No, I'm not making this up. It's all right here at this *fantastic* site Hal introduced me to. The Eagles used this pick on CB Sheldon Brown, who wasn't anything special but did start for most of a decade, making him worlds better than the CB Wanny felt he had to have in the previous year's first round Jamar Fletcher. Yeah.  

https://www.prosportstransactions.com/football/DraftTrades/Years/2002.htm

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BrowSh20.htm

How did the Dolphins do when they finally did get to pick somebody? Um...well...3rd rounder Seth McKinney did play four years with the team, starting most of the final two and being thoroughly below average before playing 3 more seasons elsewhere. But 4th round TE Randy McMichael became the franchise leader in receptions and yards at the position when he wasn't smacking his wife around.

The other three picks were complete throwaways. 5th round safety Omare Lowe did play 6 seasons in the NFL, but only one with the Fins and only stated one game his entire career while bouncing around between five other teams. His career looks great compared to fellow 5th rounder WR Sam Simmons (one season with the Fins and out of the league with zero receptions) and 7th round RB Leonard Henry, who despite averaging an insane 7.8 yards per carry his senior season at East Carolina   could only manage 3.1 YPC in his one-season appearance for the Fins (and the NFL) in '04. And that's it.

So judging by how this draft turned out, I expect Grier to land one decent starter with character issues, a below average O-lineman to go along with all the other ones, and a 7th round RB (he loves drafting those) whose college career looks great but will be a complete flop who languishes on the practice squad for 2 years before sucking in year 3. And whoever he picks at WR probably won't work out either.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/mia/2002_draft.htm

Yes, the Potentate Of Pessimism has returned, baby!      

Few could be as inept as Wanny and (while he was here) Spielman at trades.  Grier is worlds ahead of them in that regard. FWIW, Spielman did improve as a GM in Minnesota, once he got away from Wanny.

JMP's question on the other thread brought all those memories back.  That Lamar Gordon trade is quite possibly the worst I've ever heard of.  A high third round pick for a guy who averaged 1.8 yards per rush.  Jeez, I think I could probably average 1.8 yards per rush, for however long I could survive out there.....

DolFan 316 wrote:7th round RB Leonard Henry, who despite averaging an insane 7.8 yards per carry his senior season at East Carolina   could only manage 3.1 YPC in his one-season appearance for the Fins (and the NFL) in '04.

i remember Henry in college. he was excellent. i wonder why he never worked out in the NFL?

HalCHorn wrote:Few could be as inept as Wanny and (while he was here) Spielman at trades.  Grier is worlds ahead of them in that regard.  FWIW, Spielman did improve as a GM in Minnesota, once he got away from Wanny.

JMP's question on the other thread brought all those memories back.  That Lamar Gordon trade is quite possibly the worst I've ever heard of.  A high third round pick for a guy who averaged 1.8 yards per rush.  Jeez, I think I could probably average 1.8 yards per rush, for however long I could survive out there.....

Here's the REALLY sad part--Gordon's not even the only Fins RB to average 1.8 yards a carry for a season! There's also Kalen Ballage, who somehow managed to do it on over twice as many carries as Gordon had! In fact, Ballage became the first NFL player since 1950 to have under 2 YPC with over 70 runs!

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BallKa00.htm

https://dolphinswire.usatoday.com/2019/11/30/miami-dolphins-rb-kalen-ballage-facing-dubious-mark-in-2019/

True. But I'll still give Ballage the nod over Gordon:

1) 4th round pick vs. 3rd round pick
2) Gordon's 1.8 was over his entire, thankfully brief Fins career; Ballage averaged 5.3 the year before the bottom fell out (true, on just 36 carries) and therefore his 'Fins career was a Henry-like 3.0 YPC total.
3) St. Louis got 5 year starter O. J. Atogwe out of that deal with us (Frank Gore went one pick ahead of it in 2005, BTW) who picked off 25 passes and had 5.5 sacks in his 7 year career. That trade was ridiculous to begin with and got even worse as the years rolled on.

i know this started as a draft incompetence thread, but all this looking back and RB talk has got me missing one of the Dolphins' most historically underappreciated RBs. only 4 RBs have been able to lead the Miami Dolphins in rushing for at least 3 consecutive seasons. 3 of those RBs are pretty easy to guess. Larry Csonka (duh), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Ronnie Brown. so who is the 4th?

Ricky Williams - no
Mercury Morris - no
Jim Kiick - no
Terry Kirby - no
Tony Nathan - no
Sammy Smith - no
Lamar Miller, Lamar Smith, Devin Williams - no, no, no

who?

MARK HIGGS!!!!!!!! 91, 92 and 93. and remember that stretch when Miami couldn't produce a 1,000 yard rusher between Delvin in 78 and Kareem in 96. Higgs came oh so close with 905 in 91 and 915 in 92. all hail the almost great, but very, very good Mark Higgs.

Higgs was actually one of Degarmo's favorite Fins, so I'm all for giving him props

Yeah I loved Higgy running the ball!

I can remember even Shula referred to him as Higgy!

I can never talk or post about Phins RBs without thinking about David Overstreet. Just very sad.

Overstreet

Overstreet was a first-round selection of the Miami Dolphins in the 1981 NFL draft. He was selected ahead of future NFL Hall-of-Famers Mike Singletary, Howie Long, and Rickey Jackson. Overstreet and the Dolphins couldn’t reach a contract agreement, so the running back went to the Canadian Football League for two seasons where he played for the Montreal Alouettes.

In his first season in the CFL, Overstreet rushed for 952 yards, but his second season was marred by injuries. He agreed to a deal with the Dolphins in 1983 and put together a solid season, averaging 4.6 yards per carry in 14 games. He never got the chance to play again after that 1983 season.

Higgs was likely responsible for the '90 team not losing to the 1-15 Pats, who were awful even by the standard of 1-15 teams. If not for his blocked punt scoop and score, that game is almost certainly a loss IMO. It was the first time I'd heard of him, and the Fins have never won a game with a turnover margin worse than the -5 for this one.

I always picture the way Overstreet died as being very similar to how the bad guys died at the end of the car chase scene from Bullitt, but that's probably just me.

Speaking of Puff Daddy, will the NFL start allowing legalized weed use? With the opioid issues I would think that this would be an alternative. Plus the hood rats do it anyway.

Overstreet was the Back that was going to Help with giving us a Homerun Threat in the Running Game that Marino Never had.

finskev wrote:Overstreet was the Back that was going to Help with giving us a Homerun Threat in the Running Game that Marino Never had.

Yep, I think Overstreet was exactly what we needed at that time. Such a shame.

I believe his son is a DB coach with the Bears now.