Can Rookies Prince and Cox help fix the Phins O-line woes?
Dolphins GM Chris Grier added Tackle Isaiah Prince and Fullback Chandler Cox late in the draft to bolster a Miami offense with a long history of poor blocking…
… But can these two bottom end picks make the team, much less have any real impact?
Of the two, Cox is likely to bring production earlier. Prince has some strong flaws in his game and will need a couple of seasons to ‘ungreen’. Reality is though, both could end up on the Practice Squad as make the team.
Beyond the hope of Phins Fans, most late-round picks don’t make it…
From the excellent article “The Chance of a Bust in the NFL Draft” (here), “You can see from about round 6 (pick 160) and later, the percent chance of failing on a draft pick is over 70%. With such a low hit rate, NFL teams should focus their decision making on players that fit their current schema and can be a strong contributor on special teams.”
Therefore, I expect Cox the most likely to stick by getting light duty in 2019 on Special Teams and as a blocking back on run and pass downs. But, while Prince has flaws he also has some exceptional attributes… and could end up the much better pick. He just needs to make early strides in a few key areas.
Chandler Cox could bring the Fullback position back to Miami
Cox could be Miami first full back since Lousaka Polite. Yes, there was Charles Clay, but he was more of an H-Back. The H-Back role will be manned by Smythe or O’Leary. Cox, if he sticks, will be a dedicated Fullback. Interesting note: Every AFCE now has a Fullback.
Guess the death of the position is greatly exaggerated?!
Here’s DraftAnalyst.com evaluation of Cox
The pros: “Hard-working fullback with solid ball-handling skill. Explosive at the point, keeps his head on a swivel and always looks for someone to hit. Does enough to get a pad on defenders and disrupt their angles of attack. Stays with assignments, sees the blitz and squares into defenders. Effective pass catcher out of the backfield who snatches the ball away from his frame with his hands and turns it upfield to pick up extra yardage.”
The cons: “Possesses average strength as a blocker.”
Miami will have H-backs and a Fullback to make a very physical offense
After watching some tape on Cox I agree with this assessment. His blocking was all out effort, but very few K.O.s. His Pro Day lift of 18 reps of 225lbs along with the tape gave a load of credence to Draft Analyst.com’s assessment.
This lift number is somewhat concerning… But this is an easily correctable flaw. In my stint in Junior college, I played at 185 and I could push 225lbs 16 times. Either Cox isn’t being trained right, or he has genetic limits. He’s a dogged worker at a top program, so it surprised me to see such a low number. But, again if it’s just a diet and program thing, Cox could blossom and be a real find.
However you slice it, DraftScout.com ranks Cox as the No. 4 fullback in the draft and thought he’d get selected as high as the sixth round. So Miami made a good decision to draft Cox because he fits their schema: tough, smart, team focused and can play Special Teams
The interesting part about his signing is his skill set cross those of Smythe and O’Leary. Can the Dolphins carry all three on the roster?
Prince has elite and unteachable tools… but some strong flaws too
Prince is smart, strong, big, experienced, has the right mindset, and tree limb 35 1/2” reach. He is so close to the elite makeup… But he has the tall man’s kryptonite: poor knee bend that creates terrible leverage.
Balance, leverage, play strength was always a concern with Prince… and he knew it better than anyone. You could see in his play he overcompensated with outside leverage focus… which ended costing him the inside. The good news is he flashed enough that development and time could get him right enough to start.
Again, Prince has the right mental makeup. His combine interview had many gems, but the key one was ‘I just want to be the best version of me’. That sounds like it came right out of Brian Flores’ mouth. The wisdom and maturity Prince showed in this clip offer a ton of promise he can overcome his flaws.
But, the reality is he must improve these flaws or the NFL will send him out of the league with rocket boosters on his tail. Here’s a smattering of plays from the 2018 Ohio / Michigan game. Most of these plays he’s going against Chase Winovich who is now a member of the Patriots.
Given his level of trouble with Winovich an elite edge player would destroy Prince
Princes stats as provided by PFF:
This stat line makes a good bet with the pay per heads that Prince isn’t ready for the big stage… yet.
DraftScout.com graded Prince as a middle round pick and assessed Prince’s weaknesses as such:
- Wasted motion getting out of snap and into block fit
- Straight-legged playing style creates imbalance
- Below average in creating leverage
- Tries to use helmet to dig up under opponent’s pads
- Inconsistent angles to second level
- Body control can come and go due to pad level
- Narrows base width and opens turns shoulder too early
- Feet too often unsettled into pass punch
- Still working to eliminate hitch when throwing hands
- Fails to unlock hips to anchor
Most of these issues can be mitigated or overcome. Look at what the Patriots did with Trent Brown. Of course, they have legend Dante Scarnecchia.
Maybe a true vet like Dolphin new Offensive Line coach Pat Flaherty can work some magic of his own?!
Go Phins!!!
P.S. My Facebook issue “appears” to be resolved… I’m going back now to answer missed replies.
P.S.S. Here is the full Ohio / Michigan game if you want a full look at Prince… and also to see why the Dolphins passed on Haskins.
