Will back-end of the Dolphins Draft end up smelling rosy or stink it up?
Late round picks in the Dolphins Draft would be a major lift for Miami.
Will back-end of the Dolphins Draft end up smelling rosy?
The Dolphins spent much of the free agency period upgrading their defense, by trading or signing players such as Maxwell, Alonso, Williams, Branch, Abdul-Quddus, and Jones. So coming into the draft they were looking to add more players to the offense in order to help make their offense more dynamic.
Since Miami traded out of the 4th and 5th round, they had to wait until the 6th round to make their next selection, after Leonte Carroo in the 3rd round. With their first pick of the 6th round, they selected Wide Receiver Jakeem Grant from Texas Tech. I know pay per head bookie fans were originally scratching their heads about why we decided to take another wide receiver, however, this was a terrific value pick in the 6th round. For starters, this was a player that Gase was especially intrigued by, and had him personally come in for a visit during the pre-draft process. Grant reminds me of Darren Sproles, with practically the same exact tiny size of 5’6” and 170 pounds and lightning quick speed (there are some “reports” out there that he ran an incredible 4.1 hand timed 40 yard dash). Grant had 4 career kick off returns for Touchdowns in college, and should immediately bring a dangerous and explosive element to the return game. Lastly, he had 27 career touchdowns and 3286 receiving yards, which was a Texas Tech school record, and this is where Michael Crabtree went to school. This is a player that is going to have a few specifically designed plays for him on offense and will give defensive coaches nightmares trying to match-up against his speed and elusiveness.
With the Dolphins second pick of the 6th round, they selected Safety/Cornerback Jordan Lucas the captain from Penn State. Lucas played two years at Cornerback, but since Penn State did not have any one to play safety, Lucas change positions in order to help the team. Miami will look to move him back to cornerback, and probably let him battle it out for the nickle position. During his time at Penn State he tallied 119 tackles, 3 interceptions and 4 sacks. He is a team player, and was another great value pick in the 6th round.
In the 7th round the Dolphins had two selections and decided to use their first one on a QB named Brandon Doughty from Western Kentucky. There were a lot of analysts that did not like this pick, however, I do not see any problem at all in taking a shot on a QB in the 7th round He does have some potential and maybe Gase the QB whisperer can mold him into an NFL QB. Doughty put up gaudy stats in Conference USA, throwing for 12,855 yards, 111 touchdowns, and 34 interceptions, but is still very much a work in progress. There were a few prospects out their that might have ended up a better long term contributor, but this was a home-run swing to find the most crucial position very late.
Dolphins Draft brought in Thomas Duarte as a possible H-Back
Lastly, the Dolphins used their last pick on Thomas Duarte a Tight End from UCLA. This was another great value pick that added a dynamic 6’3”, 225 pound tight end tweener that has great hands and runs pro style routes. He needs to work on his blocking, and hit the weight room to had some bulk and strength, but with some hard work, he has the skill set to be a matchup nightmare against teams in the redzone. In his time at UCLA he caught 97 passes for 1626 yards and 17 touchdowns. He could end up as a real value if he can fit into the H-Back role – a role that was sorely missed last season.
With these last 4 picks I felt that the Dolphins did a great job of getting value by selecting 3 dynamic offense players that have added a ton of touchdowns throughout their career and that have unique skill sets that can add value to Miami.
That’s the key word “CAN”.
This draft, just like the off-season, will demonstrate if the Dolphins brain trust is as smart as they think they are. Given the “Money-Ball” approach that is sweeping the NFL, this back-end of the draft could really infuse Miami with cheap talent and be a major catalysis to their turnaround. Go Fins!!!