Tight End Troy Fumagalli In Phins’ Draft Sights
Big spends in Free Agency on the Tight End position have been a repeated bust.
It’s time Miami invests a high pick in a quality Tight End
The Phins requested an interview with Wisconsin’s Tight End, Troy Fumagalli. The best bookie service currently ranks Fumagalli as the 3rd highest rated TE prospect in the ’18 draft. Most “draft gurus” have him going somewhere between the 2nd and 4th rounds.
Gase’s Offensive Scheme Requires Two TE Sets to Succeed
It’s no secret the Dolphins are desperate to add a pass catching Tight End. Gase’s Offensive scheme works best with tandem TEs …even better with two ‘complete’ TE’s. ‘Complete’ as in can catch, block well, and do double duty as a Red Zone threat. Of course, whose scheme wouldn’t thrive with quality TEs? Can Miami please get at least one?.
It’s not like the FO hasn’t tried. We’ve struck out twice with Tight Ends since losing Clay to Buffalo in 2015. Unfortunately, neither expensive Free Agents Jordan Cameron or Julius Thomas worked out. Just this past season, Thomas reminded many Phins fans (painfully) of “Lurch” from the old Adams Family TV comedy. Despite those past failures, acquiring a high caliber, cost-effective TE for 2018 remains an essential key to our offensive success.
Miami Has Little CAP Space, No Trade Assets …and Landry Looms
It isn’t going to be easy. Cutler, Timmons, Thomas, and Bushrod among others seriously hurt our CAP carryover …and all of them have to be replaced. Then we have our own Free Agents to resign …or not. The Landry, Suh and Tannehill contracts alone will suck the air out of the room. Thus the oft failed FA path is out. The Dolphins need inexpensive, new blood at TE …not to mention LG and LB among others. As a result, a high quality TE will likely necessitate a high round draft pick …the only avenue that the FO has left.
Fumagalli is a Complete Tight End …and NFL Ready
He’s a big boy, at 6’6” and 248 pounds. Not only is he big, he runs pretty well with a 40 yard time in the high 4.6 range. In fact, this past season he caught 46 balls for 547 yards and 4 touchdowns …and that was with him missing time with a leg injury. He’s one of the best blocking TE’s in the draft and looks every bit a three down TE in the NFL. One curious bit about Fumagalli is, he only has nine fingers! Surprisingly, it hasn’t affected his receiving skills. PhinsNews believes there’s a lot to like about Fumagalli.
Here’s another well made video by Cut Up Corner with a great look at his blocking skills:
Here’s second video by Highlight Creator, and while it has some hype factor, you get a clear look at Fumagalli’s receiving skills.
There here are two other TE’s rated slightly above Fumagalli in Hayden Hurst from South Carolina and Mark Andrews from Oklahoma. Both players are projected to be selected in the 2nd Round. So if Miami wants one of the three, they might not have the luxury of waiting untill their 3rd selection.
Frankly each of these three Tight Ends should be on the Dolphins radar. Unfortunately, given Miami is razor thin on the Offensive Line, lacks depth at QB, and is missing a quality cover Linebacker… that’s not possible. The question is what position do they roll the dice on with later round picks? Miami first needs to be wise in FA to help soften their needs come draft day. What are the rest of the Miami Dolphins News fans thoughts about selecting Fumagalli or one of the other top TE’s?
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I am right on board with you and the LG spot. I would love to see them go out and get Norwell. Then they could trade back recoup a second and/or third, thus getting a RT in the later first or second round, while still having enough amo to get your TE and LB/DE.
I don’t think Nelson is going to be there at 11. So if this FO waits and hope he falls to them and it doesn’t happen? Norwell seems to be the play. Let Norwell be their 1 BIG fish free agent and the other FA’s could be for depth while looking for your TE/LBer in draft.
I do like your suggestion about getting a LBer (one of the better cover LBers) via FA would just be icing on the cake. I would still draft a LBer high.
FA will tell all. If this FO waits till the draft to address the LG spot, I hate to say it, but we could have a repeat of “17 for this O-Line. Even though, they did finish the season on a high note!
I so want one of the top TEs and one of the top OLBers. That would require using their 1st on a LBer and 2nd/maybe 3rd for your TE. Remeber, should we grab one of the top LBers, we would teaming him up with McMillan which would be a young, FAST, athletic LBer core for several years to come.
I’m down with that… and I think Davis can play RT and if Asiata drops 10-15 he could fit in a RG… or Larsen… or a later pick.
I to am for a trade down and try and get a second or third round pick in exchange. In order for Miami to get another second rounder, they must trade back to the teams in the 20-32 range, in which may get a second and third round pick back (25-32).
Either way, Miami could still most likely get Guard Will Hernandez (second rated guard) or Wynn, Price all that should be day 1 starters. Miami could also get a DE such as Key, or a “Sam” LBer such as M.Jefferson, Harold Landry, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, Hubbard.
So the trade down scenario seems the logical way to go. If it were me I am targeting one of the top 2 TEs; Andrews, Goedert in the second while doubling up on TE later in the forth (Mike Gesicki, Adam Breneman, Troy Fumagalli, Hayden Hurst) or even sixth round (Dalton Schultz, Ethan Wolf, Durham Smythe). TE must be addressed in the draft, and not waiting until the sixth round, etc. Get one of the top TEs early and look to grab another in the 4th or 6th rounds. The extra pick would still give us 4 picks in the first four rounds while doubling down on TE’s and finally (hopefully) having a legit TE threat or 2, at the very least a good red zone/seem threat and a good blocking TE as well.
Steve sold me on a trade back… this is my caveat. If Miami nails Norwell then certainly trade back! But if not… to me it’s a little more sticky. Hernandez may be a LG…maybe not. He’s might be a little too big. So far in my study Wynn and Price are certain out of the gate starters at LG… Nelson will become a quality LG, but might have some hickups early. I’m going to do a serious study on him, but he relies A LOT on strength in his PB… that’s won’t cut it at the NFL level. I think his technique and feet will catch up, where I’m not certain of Hernandez. Wynn is a master a technique… that’s the key to unlock success in the NFL. I really, really like him. Price I think will be best at C, but can ply LG as a stop gap and be successful. I really see the LG spot as in a bubble of hyperbolic growth of salary and importance. This started a few years ago, but teams are just starting to wake up to the fact. Miami was caught with their pants down in the offseason at the cost and that’s why they went bottom barrel… the music stopped and they didn’t have a chair. I can see a scenario where teams want to say money and still get talent at the spot and grab LG earlier than most think. I still think most fans are stuck in the old mindset that quality G’s, especially LG’s, are like toilet paper… I disagree. I’m not saying there aren’t other LG’s out their later that can perform.. but can this FO find them? Two statistical facts are irrefutable: lower the round the lower rate of success and Miami FO has a low rate of success when it comes to evaluation of OL talent. In combination, they make for a bad brew the farther this FO moves from Norwell and the aforementioned. Now if they trade back to they go LG? If so okay… but I have a feeling they roll the dice on #2 pick…
Re-Drafting The Last 15 First Round Picks Of The Miami Dolphins
Keith Scheessele 01.11.17 NFL
Re-Drafting The Last 15 First Round Picks Of The Miami Dolphins
15. 1998 FLOZELL ADAMS
Original Pick: John Avery
14. 2001 – DREW BREES
Original Pick: Jamar Fletcher
Jamar Fletcher, a two-time All-American cornerback from Wisconsin would spend three years with the Dolphins, appearing in 41 games, and was never a full-time starter. After Fletcher was chosen at #26, seven of the next ten picks were future Pro Bowlers, and there’s a couple of shoo-in Hall of Famers. As Miami has spent the better part of the last 15 years searching for its next franchise quarterback, in my redraft I’ll take Drew Brees, who was selected by the San Diego Chargers just six picks after Fletcher.
13. 2004 – CHRIS SNEE
Original Pick: Vernon Carey
12. 2005 – AARON RODGERS
Original Pick: Ronnie Brown
2004 was a disaster for the Dolphins. Embroiled in a controversy regarding marijuana use, lead running back Ricky Williams elected to retire from football, and Miami bottomed out with a 4-12 effort. The Dolphins started the season 0-6, and finished with a losing record for the first time since 1988.
So it’s unsurprising that with Williams out of football, Miami aimed to improve the backfield in the 2005 Draft. With the second overall pick the Dolphins were in a good position to pick up a playmaker. It’s hard to say that they whiffed, Ronnie Brown was the best running back chosen in the first round, the other two being Cedric Benson and Cadillac Williams. So with the benefit of hindsight, I’m going with a quarterback in this redraft.
Alex Smith was the number one overall pick in the ’05 draft. And while there has been no shortage of criticism for Smith’s bland style of quarterbacking, he’s carved out a nice NFL career for himself, and has led the Kansas City Chiefs to the playoffs this season. I’ll take the next QB called in the draft, Aaron Rodgers, the #24 overall pick of the Green Bay Packers. The Dolphins certainly have a lot of company among teams who missed out on the future Hall of Famer and Super Bowl champion.
11. 2006 – ANTONIO CROMARTIE
Original Pick: Jason Allen
Miami bounced back in 2005 with new head coach Nick Saban at the helm. The Dolphins again missed the playoffs, but went 9-7 and finished the season on a six-game winning streak.
In the 2006 Draft Miami focused on the defensive side of the football. The Dolphins took Jason Allen, a Third Team All-American out of Tennessee with the 16thoverall pick. Allen spent four seasons in Miami before being released in November of 2010.
10. 2007 – PATRICK WILLIS
Original Pick: Ted Ginn Jr.
The 2006 Dolphins again missed the NFL playoffs. This is going to be a familiar theme, so get used to it. Nick Saban left Miami after the disappointing season, taking the recently vacated head coaching position at Alabama. Cam Cameron got the job, and with it the #9 pick in the 2007 Draft.
That pick was used on Ted Ginn Jr., a wide receiver out of Ohio State. Ginn would never be especially impressive with Miami, his three seasons with the Dolphins were plagued by dropped passes, and he made the biggest positive impact in the kick return game. Still, Miami shipped Ginn to San Francisco for a 5thround pick in 2010.
Four of the next six picks would later be named to a Pro Bowl.
9. 2008 – JAKE LONG
Original Pick: Jake Long
8. 2009 – CLAY MATTHEWS
Original Pick: Vontae Davis
That summer the Dolphins used the 25th pick in the draft to take Vontae Davis, a cornerback out of Illinois. Davis spent three underwhelming seasons in Miami before he was traded to the Indianapolis Colts for a second round pick in 2012.
Davis would eventually turn into a top cornerback in Indianapolis, though top cornerback in Indianapolis, though the player selected after him made an immediate impact. The Packers chose Clay Matthews from USC. Matthews was named to the Pro Bowl as a rookie and for five of the next six seasons. He won a Super Bowl with Green Bay in 2011.
7. 2010 – ROB GRONKOWSKI
Original Pick: Jared Odrick
Re-Drafting The Last 15 First Round Picks Of The Miami Dolphins – TheSportster
https://www.thesportster.com › football
Continuation:
6. 2011 – MIKE Pouncey
Original Pick: Mike Pouncey
Tony Sparano’s Dolphins went 7-9 for the second consecutive season in 2010, a continued slide into the dark abyss of irrelevancy that would come to define Miami’s teams for several years. The quest to transform back into a .500 team began with the #15 pick in the 2011 Draft.
The Dolphins used that selection to acquire Mike Pouncey, a center from Florida. Pouncey was a two-time First Team All-American with the Gators and entered the NFL Draft following his junior year.
Pouncey is still with Miami today, and although he only played in five games last season before missing the rest of the year due to injury, I’m sticking with him in this redraft. He’s a three-time Pro Bowler who has earned that distinction at two different positions. Given the other players available at this point in the 2011 Draft, the Dolphins actually didn’t do that bad.
5. 2012 – LUKE KUECHLY
Original Pick: Ryan Tannehill
An 0-7 start to the 2011 season meant an early exit for Tony Sparano, and Todd Bowles took the reigns for the rest of the season with the Dolphins ultimately finishing 6-10. By the time next summer’s draft came around, Joe Philbin was in charge in Miami.
And his first selection certainly made headlines. Miami went with Ryan Tannehill as the #8 pick in the draft, the first time the Dolphins have selected a quarterback in the first round since Marino in 1983. Tannehill started all 16 games as a rookie, and remains Miami’s starting QB today.
The Tannehill selection has been criticized by many throughout his career, though it’s certainly not worse than picking Robert Griffin III second overall in the same draft. Tannehill looked destined to exit Miami after the 2016 season, but under new head coach Adam Gase, his work has helped lead the Dolphins to the playoffs. It’s a fair assessment that his work has been inefficient enough, however, so I’m taking the next guy in the 2012 draft, Luke Kuechly of the Carolina Panthers. Kuechly was instantly impactful and was named a First Team All Pro each of his first three seasons with the Panthers.
4. 2013 – EZEKIEL ANSAH
Original Pick: Dion Jordan
The Tannehill pick did not produce immediate dividends in 2012. That Miami team did take a small step in the right direction though. The Dolphins finished 7-9, though by the time the 2013 NFL Draft came around, the team had significant holes on both sides of the ball. Miami’s offense ranked 27th in the NFL in 2012, its defense 21st.
Miami elected to address its defensive needs with its first round pick in 2013, choosing Dion Jordan, a defensive end from Oregon third overall. Jordan has played very little for Miami since he was drafted, he’s made 46 tackles in a Dolphins’ utackles in a Dolphins’ uniform, and missed the entire 2015 season due to a third failed drug test.
Most of the names called in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft would be an upgrade from Jordan. As far as defensive ends go, you don’t have to look far. Two picks later the Detroit Lions selected Ezekiel Ansah from BYU. Two years later he racked up 14.5 sacks, most in the NFC, and was named to his first Pro Bowl.
3. 2014 – HA HA CLINTON-DIX
Original Pick: Ja’Wuan James
In 2013, Miami looked to be headed in the right direction. The Dolphins started the season 8-6 and appeared to be playoff bound before dropping the final two contests of the regular season and missing the postseason for another year. The Dolphins picked 19th in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Miami went with Ja’Wuan James an offensive lineman out of Tennessee with its first round pick. As a rookie James started all 16 games in Miami, and the first seven of the next season, before missing the rest of that year with a toe injury. James again started all 16 games this season.
James wasn’t a bad pick by Miami, but if I get a do-over, I’m picking Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, the #21 pick in 2014. Clinton-Dix was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time this season and was named a Second Team All-Pro.
Continuation:
2. 2015 – MARCUS PETERS
Original Pick: DeVante Parker
Another 8-8 year and a sixth straight season out of the playoffs was the story for Miami in 2014. The Dolphins were 7-5 on December 7th and proceeded to lose three of their final four games to clinch another postseason absence.
With the 14th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Dolphins picked up DeVante Parker, a wide receiver from Louisville. In his rookie season, Parker hauled in 26 receptions for 494 yards and three touchdowns.
Parker was a fine pick given the Dolphins needs at the time, but if I’m Miami I’d love to have Marcus Peters of the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs drafted Peters four picks after Miami took Parker, and his impact early on with KC is staggering. He was named to his second straight Pro Bowl following the 2016 season, and it took all of two years for him to be named a First Team All-Pro.
1. 2016 – LAREMY TUNSIL
Original Pick: Laremy Tunsil
It was more of the same for the Miami Dolphins in the 2015 season. 6-10 overall, out of the playoffs, and of course a head coaching change. Joe Philbin was fired, Dan Campbell served as head coach in the interim, and Adam Gase earned the full-time gig before the 2016 season.
The first test for Gase was a mighty one. Thought by many to be the top pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil slid back after a video was released appearing to show him smoking a substance out of gas mask just minutes before the picks were announced. He was available to Miami at #13 and he did not slide any further.
I’m sticking with Tunsil. The rookie started 14 games for an offensive line that paved the way for a Dolphins ground game that ranked 9th the NFL in rushing yards. Jay Ajayi was the league’s fourth leading rusher in 2016, and Tunsil had a lot to do with that. Time will tell if this was a savvy selection by Miami’s rookie head Coach.
3 out of 15 Miami Dolphins 1st round picks were keepers based on who the Dolphins overlooked in the draft.
Yeah, our talent acquisition side is by far the worst and most consistent failing. I do think Harris will be good one though… of course, you could still say Watt is better. Terrible when you look at it in an overview.
Wisconsin’s Tight End, Troy Fumagalli w
Mark Andrews has been consisently at the top of every one draft board.
Dalton Schultz Stanford TE Best Blocking Tight End in the PAC 12 5-7 rounder
https://youtu.be/SfX6cIgMnEc
South Dakota has a top TE
https://youtu.be/-RnPzeF_xYI
Watch “South Dakota State TE
https://youtu.be/S8XIc9WLYOI
Ethan seems to be the best fit for the Dolphins. I believed he will caused real damaged to the defense.
Ethan Wolf Tennessee TE
https://youtu.be/7ZlogjJgvy4
Ethan Wolf Career Highlights (2014-2017) | HD, m.youtube.com/watch?v=dFR1roxw4o0
Can we used an H-Back.
Jaylen Samuels H-Back North Carolina State
www.youtube.com/watch?v
There are more good Tightends
Not listed from the 2nd round to the undrafted.
You’re right about Wolf. He has the size (6’6” 260lbs) and skills… good school with solid competition I believe. Good call on him. Thanks, I’m working hard this year to expand my knowledge base of the draft, especially mid to later rounds… so all the help is appreciated.
I think Gray will play the H-Back role. I like him as the swing TE…
Thanks Admin!
Don’t know much about Gray.
I mean our MarQueis Gray
Trading down may help Fins pick up an additional 3rd round pick. But they will lose out on LB’s Smith & Edmunds. Not to mention losing out on the top LG, Nelson.
Decisions, decisions……………..
honestly,from watching a load of film on Edmunds and Smith… they are no doubt excellent talents that would help Miami tremendously, BUT one thing that stood out was both their tendency to slow down on plays and Smith especially, to not consistently stick their nose into things. I get it. I sure as heck not saying they aren’t good players… But, Vea, Davenport, James, and Nelson are far more physical and have a much higher motor… and that’s what Miami needs so much. Edmunds seems to me a better pick, but lesser need. Steve sold me on the trade back… but if James is there… he’s pretty special… but then there’s the injury from last year. As you said ‘decisions, decisions…’
More and more I like the trade down. The Tannehill injury status, plus his record so far, makes him an open question. Besides which, Gase the QB whisperer is sold on him but he was also sold on Cutler, which makes me question just how much his opinion on TH is actually worth. I love Nelson at #11 but am pretty sure he won’t make it to us, especially if Denver picks up one of the FA QBs. Neither do I believe Mayfield will be there, his stock has been rising. Short of those two, the value is in trading down to the 20s and picking up another 2nd rounder. That would allow us to pick up Price or Hernanez to fix the LG and then a LB and possibly Mason Rudolph at QB in the 2nd. Smith or Edmunds at #11 would likely fix the LB problem but at a comparatively high cost vs the possible tradedown value/results.
I have to check out Rudolph… I like White a lot.