The Dolphins came into last season with a lot of question marks in their line backing group. Well after last season, other than Jelani Jenkins (who stepped up for the injured Ellerbe and proved he could be a productive starter in this league) not many questions were answered, especially the question of who is our fix at middle lineback because the jury is still out on Misi. As of now we have Spencer Paysinger, the career special teamer from the Giants, penciled in at the weakside linebacker, and two 2nd year players Jordan Tripp and Chris McCain as the 2 back up linebackers. To say that we are thin at the linebacker position may be the understatement of the year.
Miami clearly needs to find some help in the linebacking position, and most sports gambling fans are thinking they will draft at least one, if not two linebackers in this upcoming draft. One possible inside linebacker that Miami could draft is Miami Hurricane Denzel Perryman, who is 5’10” 242 pounds and ran the 40 in 4.78 seconds. Perryman is projected as a late first round or early second round pick, who may slide into the second round only because of concerns with his height.
Perryman is an instinctive, quick and physical linebacker, who has played extremely well against the run. However, he also does well playing zone coverage on passing downs, which makes him a valuable three down linebacker. Last year he finished the season with 110 tackles, with 9.5 tackles for a loss, 3 forced fumbles, 5 passes defended and 1 interception.
He would immediately be able to start as our middle linebacker, and allow us to put Misi back at his more natural outside linebacking position. If the Dolphins truly like Perryman then he may be the perfect player to gamble with in regards to trading back in the first round and selecting him later in the first round, and at the same time acquiring more draft picks. What does the rest of the Miami Dolphins enthusiasts think about selecting Perryman in the upcoming draft?