Possible Mid-Round Guard
It is obvious that the Dolphins biggest area of concern is the offensive line. Most football gambling fans are betting on the Dolphins selecting at least one tackle and one guard, the big question is what round. A tackle is definitely more valuable then a guard, but if all the top tier tackles are taken then it may be wise to use the first pick on the best guard in the draft. If they do not pick any offensive lineman in the first round then it is a fair bet that, 1 or 2 offensive lineman will be selected between the 2 and 5th rounds.
Here is a list of offensive lineman that have either worked out for the Dolphins or the Phins have taken a significant interest in; David Yankey, Brandon Thomas, Gabe Jackson, Xavier Su’afilo, Joel Bitonio, Trai Turner, Jon Halapio, Cyrus Kouandjio, and Seantrel Henderson.
The bottom line is that if they want Xavier Su’a-Filo, and Cyrus Kouandjio they will most likely have to use their first round pick, because most football gambling fans will say that they will not be on the board when the Dolphins pick in the 2nd round. Joel Bitonio, David Yankey, and Cyril Richardson are most likely going off the board in the 2nd and 3rd round. Brandon Thomas, Gabe Jackson and Trai Turner are most likely going off in the 3rd and 4th round. Lastly Jon Halapio and Seantrel Henderson are probably going off between the 3rd and 5th rounds.
For the mid-round guys lets start by process of elimination. Brandon Thomas very recently tore his ACL in a private workout, and the Dolphins have a terrible history of drafting banged up players, so I would say he is definitely not worth the risk, but it is the Dolphins so one might even assume he will be the pick. Seantrel Henderson was not even a full time starter for the Hurricanes and he didn’t even have the stamina to finish his work out in his pro-day. There are too many red flags on this player, and this is a deep draft, so there is no reason to draft a project player. However once again the Dolphins for some idiotic reason really like him, and have even taken him out to dinner. Wow, my two definitive players to stay away from actually seem like the prototypical players the Dolphins would and have drafted. I would rank Trai Turner higher than the above two, but he is very raw, and still needs a lot of work on his pass protection skills, so for a team that has trouble protecting the QB, he does not seem like a good fit.
The two mid-level guards that seem to be the best of the bunch are Gabe Jackson from Mississippi State, and Jon Halapio from Florida. Jackson excels in run-blocking, and has held his own in pass protection. He is a very big boy weighing in at 336 pounds, and could be a decent selection in the 3rd round. The other quality guard is Jon Halapio, who unfortunately has had his fair share of injuries, but he is a tough hard nosed lineman, that also excels in the run game.
To be honest none of these middle level guards are that impressive, and if we really want to address the offensive line position then it would be wise to pull the trigger early on a lineman and hope to land Su’a-Filo, Yankey or Bitonio. If the Dolphins can some how trade back in the first round and pick up a late first and another second then there is a higher probability that the Dolphins can get plenty of starters from this draft, since it is one of the deepest in years.
