In the third round of the NFL draft the Dolphins decided they could not wait, and they had to trade up if they wanted to draft their targeted player for that round. They moved up and drafted North Dakota State Left Tackle Billy Turner who is 6’5” and 315 pounds. He has an NFL pedigree with both his father and half brother having played in the NFL. He started almost every game of his 4 year career, and help North Dakota State win 3 straight I-AA National Championships, and was the captain in his Senior Year.
He consistently dominated his competition, and did not allow a sack the entire season. When he played against Division 1 Kansas State he had no problem handling better competition, and showed he could hold his own when he played in the Senior Bowl. There has been mixed reviews on his foot work, but most sports gambling fans would say he is quick on his feet, and always aggressively plays through the whistle.
Turner will obviously not be the starting left tackle, because the Phins already have former pro bowler Branden Albert, however he has the versatility to easily be able to play at either guard position. I am told that he is most likely going to be competing with Nate Garner and Dallas Thomas for a chance to start at the left guard position. He is a high character young man and will have every opportunity to crack the starting line up. If he can win the starting job, then phins fans have to be excited that in the first three rounds we were able to draft two starting lineman. Regardless if he starts or not, the Dolphins’ offensive line has significantly improved, which actually is not saying much since it was so terrible last season. But any improvement counts, and will clearly help Tannehill in the passing game as well ass Moreno and Miller in the running game. The biggest need on the team has been addressed this off-season, and if these two rookies can do the job, then Miami may have finally solved their line issues that have plagued this team for almost a decade.