Grier & Flores added character and talent that needs coaching
Phins fans need to accept this reality: Chris Grier and Brian Flores have their way of building a team and they’re sticking with it no matter what! High Character is and will be the foundation of every choice the Phins make in personnel additions. They believe that players with high character will put in the work hard without hand-holding, accept the coaches’ teaching, and put the team first. And love or dislike the Phins 2020 Draft so far, they have stuck with their plan and drafted high character players with excellent potential that needs some TLC.
Let’s hang on to the hope that Tua will be okay!
Yes, you can bet with the best bookie software sites that drafting Tua was a huge gamble due to his injury history. But Miami would never have had an opportunity like this at #5 unless there were injury concerns. While it was a riverboat roll for sure, the payout will be big if Tua can stay healthy and nothing is written in stone. Flores and his staff could help Tua learn to stay healthy… with a little luck added in for good measure.
It’s wait and see until 2021…
…. In the meantime, Grier and Flores can mitigate the risks of Tua by drafting quality players with their other 14 draft picks.
Austin Jackson or Joshua Jones?
I was higher on tackle Joshua Jones at #18 than Austin Jackson. And after they drafted Tua if figured he’d be the pick because he is a Right Tackle and Jackson is a Left Tackle. Tackles can flip sides, it’s not the end of the world, but it is an extra hump to get over. I also like the competition Jones faced compared to the competition Jackson faced in college.
As I see it, it’s a toss-up between the two. Both are raw but highly talented players. Jackson has a slight edge in potential while Jones seems a bit more seasoned against quality opposition. Jones also did have a knee injury his junior year, so that could have been another factor.
I think the great story of Jackson sacrificing his bone marrow for his sister at the cost of his season was a big plus for his character. Jackson is the better athlete and his need to get stronger is a very fixable issue. At only 20 years old just aging will help him out. And if you add an NFL training program and his character, I think he’ll be up to speed in no time. Jackson is mature, talented, and will only get better. It will take a little time, but this was both a good and needed pick.
Part of me is hoping that the Phins take Jones too in the 2nd Round.
Miami needed another corner at some point in this draft
Cornerback Noah Igbinoghene has Olympic bloodlines with his mother and father, who also installed high discipline into him. I wouldn’t say he’s an elite of the elite athletes, but he’s physical, an excellent athlete, and can play man coverage, which is a ‘fav’ of Brian Flores. The pick received a lot of love from everyone for a reason. Again, he fits the high character and talented but raw mold.
This wasn’t a luxury pick as some say because Miami needs more corners. Xavien Howard will be suspended for his domestic abuse case and then he still needs to prove he is fully recovered from knee surgery. On top of all this, Howard needs to show he can stay healthy. Howard missed the end of his best season in 2018, played terribly for five games in 2019, and could miss anywhere from 1-4 games for suspension in 2020.
If Howard doesn’t improve his consistency a ton this year, Miami can get out of his contract in 2021 for only a $4 million hit or a $2 million dollar hit in 2022. Grier is smart to stock the shelves at cornerback just in case Howard doesn’t get it together. And even if he doesn’t, NFL teams spent 71 percent of their defensive snaps with five or more DBs. So, you can’t have to many good players in your secondary.
Also, Grier traded back from the 26th pick to the 30th with Green Bay and picked up a 4th Round pick along with Igbinoghene, so you can’t be this deal with a stick.
How will Grier and Flores finish off the draft?
The Phins have 12 more picks to find some gems along with signing UDFAs. Hey, that’s how we found Preston Williams and Patrick Laird. So there is plenty of ammo left to fire. Then, of course, we’ll need to see how the players develop.
Let’s remember that last year we ‘weren’t going to win a game were the worst team in NFL history’… until we weren’t. Flores has earned a small measure of trust from Phins fans, so let’s take a wait and see attitude. Go Phins!!!