a bit of draft advice

by mercury22nathan Tue Feb 13, 2018 9:38 am

just a bit of draft advice from Mando...

One piece of advice: If the Dolphins are at No. 11 and on the clock, and New England or Philadelphia calls to trade up into that spot, hang up the phone!!!!

Neither of those teams have the Dolphins’ best interest in mind. Both those teams have a history of doing smarter things than the Dolphins. Both those teams have beaten Miami in trades the past two years -- the Eagles apparently on the Jay Ajayi trade and the Patriots in a 2016 draft day trade.

In that 2016 trade, the Patriots got Miami’s fifth-round selection (147th overall) in exchange for two sixth-round picks (196 and 204 overall) and a seventh-rounder (250th overall).

Fine.

Except the Patriots took that fifth rounder Miami ceded them and promptly dealt it to Seattle. They got a seventh-rounder in 2016 ... and a fourth-rounder in 2017 in that exchange.

So the Patriots used the Dolphins’ 2016 fifth-rounder to add a 2017 fourth-rounder. This while the Dolphins picked up two 2016 sixth-rounders. Yeah, not great.

That 2017 fourth-rounder the Patriots eventually got turned out to be Deatrich Wise Jr. He had five sacks for New England as a rookie in 2017. The two sixth-rounders Miami got turned out to be defensive back Jordan Lucas and part of a draft trade up to Minnesota that eventually yielded receiver Jakeem Grant.

Grant still has promise but it turns out the Dolphins had to trade three picks to get to him in the sixth round.

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/armando-salguero/article199787609.html

my take-away from all of that: the Pats' 4th rounder had 5 sacks as a rookie while the Phins' got only 2 sacks out of Charles Harris...and it cost the Phins 3 picks to select Jakeem Grant?!?!

no wonder the Phins can't seem to improve through the draft!

by finfanatic Tue Feb 13, 2018 2:30 pm

Yep...the poor ownership decisions, the bad coaching, the embarassing screw ups like Bullygate....all of it could be overcome if the drafting was simply NOT GOOD...instead of the abysmal we have seen.

While a few of the picks lately seem to have some ability to play, which is a far cry from the past, it seems like there is no concrete DIRECTION to the team's draft strategy.

Maybe we are FINALLY up to the level of monkeys flinging poo, and these monkeys will occasionally fling some poo onto a a decent pick?

by **JMP** Tue Feb 13, 2018 3:19 pm

Bottom line: it's simply not good enough to continue drafting players that are either average or below average starters, role players, or non-NFL players. We need legitimate IMPACT players. The Dolphins' drafting has been so bad for so long, that we as fans do backflips when they land an average starter like Xavien Howard...and then we act like he's an All Pro just because he doesn't suck.

This front office does not understand the value of draft picks, and they don't know how to evaluate talent - at all. It's just mistake after mistake, and we're left to decide which of the turds might be a little shinier than the rest.

And when we do accidentally hit on a decent player in the draft, like Lamar Miller, Olivier Vernon, Jay Ajayi and (soon) Jarvis Landry - we let them go after a few years and get lesser value in return. Just an endless cycle of ineptitude.

by DolFan 316 Wed Feb 14, 2018 7:24 am

Armando didn't take his statement far enough. The Fins shouldn't pick up the phone from ANY team. Actually, there shouldn't even BE a phone in the room during the draft. And just to be safe, someone should set off an EMP so none of their mobile phones work either.

Here's something that'll make you cry into your pillows at night. (I know because I did once I realized it.) Remember that one draft where we all agreed that the Fins should absolutely, positively NOT take Lane Johnson? And instead they traded up for Dion Jordan? And then Johnson wound up being the best player in the top 10 of that draft and now has a ring? I remember Crying or Very sad

by **JMP** Wed Feb 14, 2018 9:38 am

DolFan 316 wrote:Armando didn't take his statement far enough. The Fins shouldn't pick up the phone from ANY team. Actually, there shouldn't even BE a phone in the room during the draft. And just to be safe, someone should set off an EMP so none of their mobile phones work either.

Here's something that'll make you cry into your pillows at night. (I know because I did once I realized it.) Remember that one draft where we all agreed that the Fins should absolutely, positively NOT take Lane Johnson? And instead they traded up for Dion Jordan? And then Johnson wound up being the best player in the top 10 of that draft and now has a ring? I remember

Oh, don't even get me started on the 2013 draft. We could have stayed at 12 and had our choice of Sheldon Richardson, Star Lotulelei, Kenny Vaccaro, Kyle Long, Tyler Eifert, Xavier Rhodes, DeAndre Hopkins, Alec Ogletree, or Travis Frederick - all of whom were taken in round 1 after pick 12. In the trade to move up for Jordan, we also gave up pick 42 - which could have been used to select Kawann Short, Jamie Collins, or some guy named Le'Veon Bell.

So yeah, no phones for the Dolphins. They can't be trusted.

by **JMP** Wed Feb 14, 2018 10:27 am

BTW - my post above isn't intended to be a "we should have taken player X" argument. It's to show just how poor the Dolphins evaluated that 2013 draft class. Instead of staying at 12, where they could have taken any of the 9 players I listed that went on to have good/great NFL careers, they traded up to get a player that wasn't even that good in college and who had already had a reputation as a pot-head. And they gave up a 2nd rounder in the process, a pick they could have used, again, on any of a number of players that have had great NFL careers. Just terrible evaluation.

by CarsonChris Wed Feb 14, 2018 10:30 am

DeAndre Hopkins was my favorite receiver in that draft

by DolFan 316 Wed Feb 14, 2018 10:32 am

It's not even that, Jmp. I can understand wanting a pass rusher. I can even understand wanting to trade up for one. But the Fins couldn't even do THAT part right. The guy they should've taken was Ziggy Ansah, not Jordan.

by **JMP** Wed Feb 14, 2018 11:18 am

DolFan 316 wrote:It's not even that, Jmp. I can understand wanting a pass rusher. I can even understand wanting to trade up for one. But the Fins couldn't even do THAT part right. The guy they should've taken was Ziggy Ansah, not Jordan.

Just a colossal fail on every level.

by Sponsored content

a bit of draft advice

a bit of draft advice

Re: a bit of draft advice

Re: a bit of draft advice

Re: a bit of draft advice

Re: a bit of draft advice

Re: a bit of draft advice

Re: a bit of draft advice

Re: a bit of draft advice

Re: a bit of draft advice

Re: a bit of draft advice