Insider draft review
You know that every single coach in the NFL spent the last two days saying how happy he was with the players he got. You shouldn't believe half of them.
You should believe Nick Saban.
When Saban drafted DB Jason Allen in the first round, there was no one on the board he would have loved to have more. The Dolphins had a conviction on Allen and no one else at that point. Given Saban's history last year, I like the idea of him picking a guy he has a conviction about.
Would he have loved to have nose tackle Haloti Ngata? No doubt.
Kamerion Wimbley or the Cromartie kid as has been suggested in some other news outlets? No way.
I spent some one-on-one time with Allen on Sunday morning and he said the things I love to hear from a rookie pick. "I need to get to work to do a lot of improving to become the player I can be in the NFL," he said. "I have a lot to learn. But I come in thinking I'm going to be a good player for this team and eventually start."
I hate to hear it when guys you're paying $10 million to understate themselves or their goals. They better reach for the stars if they hope to soar at all. So that was cool.
The rest of the picks? I love that Miami got, not one, but two WRs. Derek Hagan seemed very sharp on his conference call, enough to recognize his shortcomings of not showing good hands at the Senior Bowl.
I believe you must recognize your errors and shortcomings before you can correct them. You have no idea how many players I've dealt with that didn't have the ability to see themselves objectively so they couldn't fix what was wrong or lacking in their game. Jaime Nails comes to mind.
Anyway, I like that both Hagan and Devin Aromashodu have played top-tier competition in college and both played in a pro-style offense. I believe one of the reasons many rookie receivers struggle so much their first year is they haven't faced top-caliber competition in lower division leagues or haven't played in the pro set.
The reason UF receivers struggled so much in the NFL after being so great in college is they no longer where playing in the Fun and Gun thing Steve Spurrier used. The pro-style is simply a big adjustment.
And while the top-tier conferences -- the Big 10, the SEC, the Big 10-12 -- offered great comp., they were running leagues for so many years. Their receivers had to get used to playing in a pro-set instead of the wishbone while guys like Mike Irvin or Brett Perriman or Brian Blades could play right away.
It was, I believe, because they came from a pro set offense that played top-flight comp.
Anyway, that's my unscientific theory why some receivers take a while to find their NFL footing.
The two D-tackles? The Dolphins took a shot with both and the most important thing you should remember is both are projects. Both have obvious drawbacks, but both also have one or two traits that give them a chance to produce.
Fred Evans can dunk a basketball at 305 pounds. He just has incredible explosion and that's big for a nose tackle. Yeah he went to a tiny school but he originally signed with Illinois to play in the Big 10 and he killed Texas A&M in a game last year.
Rodrique Wright is an insurance guy who may not play this year. He's got a reputation of not playing with urgency, but maybe part of that is the shoulder injury he had that the Dolphins discovered. I think he'll be stashed on injured reserve and we'll see him again in 2007.
As for fourth-round pick Joe Toledo ... sorry don't know enough yet to form an opinion. Just being honest.
OK, tell me what you think and whether you agree or not. I wonder why I just wrote that. You guys tell me what you think whether I ask or not.
You should believe Nick Saban.
When Saban drafted DB Jason Allen in the first round, there was no one on the board he would have loved to have more. The Dolphins had a conviction on Allen and no one else at that point. Given Saban's history last year, I like the idea of him picking a guy he has a conviction about.
Would he have loved to have nose tackle Haloti Ngata? No doubt.
Kamerion Wimbley or the Cromartie kid as has been suggested in some other news outlets? No way.
I spent some one-on-one time with Allen on Sunday morning and he said the things I love to hear from a rookie pick. "I need to get to work to do a lot of improving to become the player I can be in the NFL," he said. "I have a lot to learn. But I come in thinking I'm going to be a good player for this team and eventually start."
I hate to hear it when guys you're paying $10 million to understate themselves or their goals. They better reach for the stars if they hope to soar at all. So that was cool.
The rest of the picks? I love that Miami got, not one, but two WRs. Derek Hagan seemed very sharp on his conference call, enough to recognize his shortcomings of not showing good hands at the Senior Bowl.
I believe you must recognize your errors and shortcomings before you can correct them. You have no idea how many players I've dealt with that didn't have the ability to see themselves objectively so they couldn't fix what was wrong or lacking in their game. Jaime Nails comes to mind.
Anyway, I like that both Hagan and Devin Aromashodu have played top-tier competition in college and both played in a pro-style offense. I believe one of the reasons many rookie receivers struggle so much their first year is they haven't faced top-caliber competition in lower division leagues or haven't played in the pro set.
The reason UF receivers struggled so much in the NFL after being so great in college is they no longer where playing in the Fun and Gun thing Steve Spurrier used. The pro-style is simply a big adjustment.
And while the top-tier conferences -- the Big 10, the SEC, the Big 10-12 -- offered great comp., they were running leagues for so many years. Their receivers had to get used to playing in a pro-set instead of the wishbone while guys like Mike Irvin or Brett Perriman or Brian Blades could play right away.
It was, I believe, because they came from a pro set offense that played top-flight comp.
Anyway, that's my unscientific theory why some receivers take a while to find their NFL footing.
The two D-tackles? The Dolphins took a shot with both and the most important thing you should remember is both are projects. Both have obvious drawbacks, but both also have one or two traits that give them a chance to produce.
Fred Evans can dunk a basketball at 305 pounds. He just has incredible explosion and that's big for a nose tackle. Yeah he went to a tiny school but he originally signed with Illinois to play in the Big 10 and he killed Texas A&M in a game last year.
Rodrique Wright is an insurance guy who may not play this year. He's got a reputation of not playing with urgency, but maybe part of that is the shoulder injury he had that the Dolphins discovered. I think he'll be stashed on injured reserve and we'll see him again in 2007.
As for fourth-round pick Joe Toledo ... sorry don't know enough yet to form an opinion. Just being honest.
OK, tell me what you think and whether you agree or not. I wonder why I just wrote that. You guys tell me what you think whether I ask or not.
posted by Armando Salguero at 1:00 AM
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13 Comments:
“You guys tell me what you think whether I ask or not.”
That’s true. AND the anonymous guy rips you while the Canadians all hate you. So is the life of our favorite Dolphin blogger …
Now, on to my thoughts:
I agree with Mike. Patience is key. And while I’m not too crazy about every single pick, we have to trust that Nick knows what he’s doing. I like that he drafts kids he either knows (Jason Allen), recruited (Rod Wright) or is familiar with (Devin Aromashodu). It’s all part of the master scheme.
I would have liked to see us draft an OLB somewhere. But, hey, In Nick We Trust. Like Mike said above, we’re headed in the right direction.
(p.s. on our site, we have scouting analysis and grades on this year’s draft class if you’re interested.)
I think Saban’s approach to the draft is right on. I also like the fact that he refused the temptation to give up any picks from this years or next years 2007 draft thereby banking valuable picks that the dolphins have been squandering in the last few drafts (I’m referring to the past regime). In essence, Saban took what came to him, remained discipline in not getting caught in the draft hype and ended up with high quality players who, with some work, will contribute. Keep in mind that with this year’s # 2 the dolphins got Culpepper and Harrington (probably) with next year's #6 solidifying the QB position for year to come. In total, a great “under the radar draft” when you throw everything in the mix.
=Will=
California
Well said Will,
"I also like the fact that he refused the temptation to give up any picks from this years or next years 2007 draft thereby banking valuable picks that the dolphins have been squandering in the last few drafts (I’m referring to the past regime)."
Do you realize that the last regime's aquisition of AJ Feeley cost us, in essence, both our 6th round pick (to get rid of him to the Chargers) and our 2nd round pick (because we needed a REAL quarterback).
We are definately in the right hands with Saban.
There is no worse argument to make regarding the evaluation of our draft than to say "we have to trust what Nick Saban is doing", or "If Nick Saban likes him, then he MUST be a good player". The fact of the matter is, putting blind faith in our coach, or boss, or POTUS, or whoever, is naive, especially considering the fact that for all of his college credentials, Saban hasn't really proven himself in the NFL yet...
I'm not saying we had a bad draft, or that we shouldn't feel good the direction that our team is headed, or that Saban isn't a good coach, but I am saying that the whole whatever-saban-does-is-fine-by-me rhetoric is kind of annoying and totally illogical.
Now that I got that out of the way, I wish the Dolphins had traded down and gotten extra picks, even if they were in next year's draft. I think the difference in grades/talent between Jason Allen and some of the other players chosen behind him (eg., Greenway, Lawson, Cromartie, Holmes, Carpenter) was small enough that we could have definitely traded down and still gotten a player at about the same talent level as Jason Allen (or have gotten Allen himself a bit lower). Trading down and acquiring extra picks in future drafts (a la Bill Bellichek) is absolutely the way to build and maintain a winning team for the foreseeable future
Swine, I'm sure Saban wanted to trade down but they had nothing to offer. No 2nd round, no 5th or 6th either and Saban is only going to part with a 6th or 7th next year, from what I've read.
And the whole "anything Saban does is fine with me" thing comes from the fact that we finally have a coach Dolphin fans are truly excited about. Given the past staff, we have a guy who has done no wrong up to this point. It's not Blind Faith -- it's enthusiasm.
That's where that comes from. From a fanbase that is looking at things on the positive side for once. It's been a long time since we've had that down here. I don't think it's illogical at all.
I'm down with that Rollo. Regarding the trade down thing, usually when you trade back you're receiving extra picks for moving down, not giving them up, so it wouldn't have mattered (theoretically) that we didn't have a 2nd, 5th or 6th rounder.
To be honest, I remain a bit confused as to why we were unable to trade down, assuming there was interest from other teams.
You're right, Swine. I didn't think about that.
I heard (or read, cant remember) that Saban tried to make a trade-down move. The Fins were in talks with the Broncos. But I think what happened was St. Louis offered the Broncos something better and so they traded with them (and Denver got Cutler).
I like the picks for the most part. I probably could have done without Toledo just cause they re-signed McIntosh and signed Pearson and drafted Alabi last year. So the back ups looked like they were set and pretty decent. But if Toledo turns out good than that's already better than the decent guys they got as back ups who will never be good.
Jason Allen i like a lot cause he's just a football player #1. He's got good size and speed but even if he was slower and a lil smaller i think he'd still make plays just cause he's smart on the field and relentless.
The WR's i like cause both got size and speed and have had lots of production. And when i've seen them play they always played good so that's reassuring.
The DT's i don't know the one from Texas State, but Wright is a big time talent. He's an underachiever, but what he's achieved is still a lot better than most of the DT's in the draft. People just always expected dominance consistently instead of in spurts. But dominance was there, just not as much as there could have been. For a 7th round pick i think that's a home run. He can be special.
On the surface, this draft looks average. For the immediate future, it looks like only Allen has the potential to crack the starting line-up. He sounds like he has a good work ethic and the right attitude so it's a good '1start. I like his size at 6'1" as does Coach Saban. Hwill battle Wes Welker and
wow, culebra, that was quite inspirational. You should be a writer for the WWE.
i wanted Jean-Gilles for the RG spot, but don't feel it was a reach for Hagan who after the season was thought to be the 2nd best reciever behind Holmes.
I think Jean-Gilles would have been able to start from day 1 on the line and told my brother during the first round i was hoping he somehow fell to the fish in round 3, but didn't think that would actually happen. Was surprised they passed on him. Especially him dominating LSU guys while Saban was there.
Why doesn't your mentor, Drew Rosenhose, post here? Is he the guy that posts as SWINE? You owe your career to Drew, so you should put him on the mast-head of your blog.
I thought the draft went well. James Allen was not a sexy pick, but Saban knows him better then I. I can't believe people think that Haggans was a reach in the third round, the man was only the thrid leading reciever in Pac-10 History!! I like production over potential. I'm also a fan of the Toledo pick, I think his background as Tight End shows he's a good athlete, I expect him to be a back-up this year as he learns the ropes, but an interesting project indeed. Finally the 7th Round picks seem to be good picks considering how low they were picked, Evans is 305 pounds and can dunk a basketball, Rodrique Wright has shown flashes of dominance and Aro"mouthful" is a speedy reciever who may contribute immediately on special teams.
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