I spoke about this on The Gridiron Studs Show yesterday. Shame on you if you didn’t listen but I forgive. Here’s what I think the Dolphins should do in the draft this weekend:
1. Trade out of of the #12 spot. Move to the lower 3rd of the 1st round and pick up an additional mid round pick.
2. With that late first round pick DRAFT: Jonathan Banks CB out of Mississippi St. Banks brings to the table what the Dolphins need in their secondary and that is playmaking. Dee Milliner and Xavier Rhodes are solid cover guys but Banks shows up on the stat sheet. 15 Career interceptions with 3 or more every season for four seasons (4 as a freshman). Double digit passes defensed his last three seasons. 321 career interception return yards with 3 for TDs and 5 forced fumbles. Milliner and Rhodes don’t come anywhere close to those numbers. Dolphins need turnovers and playmaking in the secondary ASAP.
3. With the 42nd pick in the 2nd round, go after the top offensive lineman still left on the board if you have not secured what you need through a trade at that position. Get a guy you can mold into what you want. He has other good guys around him.
4. With the 54th pick in the 2nd round draft either RB Stepf Taylor (Stanford) or RB Andre Ellington (Clemson). Running backs who have displayed a resume of production in college are the way to go. Three years or more of getting it done is the recipe. Maybe they get old fast for your organization because they had too many carries in college but they got the ball because they produced. When their end comes in the NFL, you have to go find another one. Taylor had over 1,000 yards rushing for three straight years. Had over 25 catches for three straight years and had over 1,400 yards from scrimmage three straight years. That’s a proven product. Ellington’s numbers not as impressive as Taylors but he had production as well. 600 yards as a sophomore and then back to back 1,000 yard seasons as a junior and senior. These two backs compliment Lamar Miller’s skill set quite nicely.
5. With the 77th pick in the 3rd round DRAFT: Kawann Short DT Purdue. Yep, you’ve never heard of him but I can guarantee you opposing coaches in the Big 10 knew who he was before and after they played the Boilermakers. Dolphins don’t need another pass rushing end more than they need some pressure from the interior of their defensive line. Short lived in opponent’s backfields while at Purdue. His resume displays this. Three straight years of six sacks or more. Three straight years of double digit tackles for loss including 49 for his career. On top of that, he batted down 17 career passes, intercepted two and forced two fumbles. You can work on getting a superstar edge rusher opposite Cam Wake next year not many in this year’s draft.
6. With the 6 to 7 remaining picks (considering the extra they should get for trading down in the first round), the Dolphins should go after the best players on the board. Their picks are scattered from rounds 3 through 7. They should also consider drafting a QB in that 4th or 5th round where they have three picks. Getting a Landry Jones (if available) or a Zac Dysert, guys who showed a history of production but lost favor because of their senior year could be a gold find. Dolphins don’t know what Tannehill will do. Never know what one of these guys may be able to pull out if put in position. They have shown that they can put up numbers and lead a team. Outside of that, the mid to late rounds are about picking up good football players and not so much about filling some need. Players are like collateral. If you have good ones you can leverage them later to fill your needs. The goal should be getting good football players at this point.
Chad Wilson is a college football recruiting expert and creator of the GridironStudsApp which allows high school football players to gain exposure to college football coaches and fans. Wilson is a former college football player for the University of Miami (92-94) and Long Beach St. (’90-’91) and played briefly for the Seattle Seahawks (’95). He is also a former youth and high school football coach for over 15 years most recently for 5-A State of Florida Champs American Heritage. He runs All Eyes DB Camp a defensive back training company located in South Florida IG: @alleyesdbcamp. Wilson’s oldest son Quincy plays in the NFL for the New York Giants and his younger son plays cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals.
