When analyzing the results of the NFL draft this year and the Dolphins’ roster, it can be noted the Dolphins will have 3 players from the 2013 Draft that will basically be Rookies as well. So other than just keeping an eye on James, Landry, Turner, Watkins, Lynch, Tripp, Hazel, and Fede, sports gambling fans will be taking a close look at 3 players from Miami’s 2013 Draft class as well.
In the first 3 rounds of the 2013 Draft, Miami selected 4 players and 3 of which were injured before they even started practicing with the Phins. Dion Jordan, Jamar Taylor and Will Davis were all selected by the Dolphins to help improve the Defense. Jordan had a banged up shoulder and was nursed through training camp by the coaching staff. This ultimately led to Jordan falling behind in the competition for reps and resulted in a limited amount of playing time. What is even worse is that all year, the coaching staff hinted that they did not know how to utilize Jordan’s unique skill set. Now that Jordan is entering his second season, and he appears to finally be healthy, and will have a full mini-camp to get his reps in, there will be no excuses this season. Personally, I thought in his limited action, he held his own, and made a few decent plays. It actually reminded me of the first season that Cameron Wake was on the team, and even though he played sparingly he made some impact plays when he was on the field. One thing that is for certain, after this season, we will know if Jordan is a bust or a player in this league.
Taylor and Davis were pretty much banged up the entire year, and they were both rarely even active for game day. Between both players played a total of 110 defensive snaps and allowed 12 of 14 passes to be completed against them for an average of 17.3 yards per reception. So the reality is that when they did play they played very poorly. Both of these players have had the chance to heal their injuries and are expected to participate in mini-camp with no restrictions. It would be nice if one of these corner backs actually pushed Finnegan for the starting job, but unfortunately there is not a lot of encouraging signs from either player.
If one of these Sophomore players can step it up and be a consistent performer, then it would be like we had an additional Rookie pan out for us this season. If none of these players can figure it out and produce plays this season, then the 2013 draft will go down as the worst draft of Ireland’s tenure.