Dolphins Draft Picks of the Good Variety

The NFL is famous for its drawn-out draft holdouts, which often cripple salary caps after long periods of strife. The system flat out sucks.

Fortunately, the Dolphins have done a great job of signing their draftees. According to Phinsider, only three are left unsigned: Phillip Merling, Chad Henne, and Kendall Langford.

The good news, though, is that the players seem to be expressing an interest in showing up to camp. Here's what Chad Henne said:

"I know my agent approached them probably about two or three weeks ago...to get it started. I'm sure they're going to get it done before training camp, because they want me in camp and I anticipate being in camp."

It also helps, apparently, that Henne employs the same agent as Bill Parcells. A match in heaven?

Phinsider on Anthony Fasano, Phillip Merling

A couple days ago, we passed on Phinsider's review of Chad Henne and Akin Ayodele. Today, we present their thoughts on Anthony Fasano and Phillip Merling.

The Fasano review is quite favorable. Here's an excerpt:

"In my view, the acquisition of Fasano was a great move by the Dolphins because he's a low-risk, high-reward kind of player. The Dolphins only spent a 4th round pick to get both Fasano and Ayodele. And Fasano is only getting $975,000 total over the next two seasons. So there really is no downside to his acquisition."

The Merling report sounds promising as well:

"Regardless, it seems more and more like Merling is not here to be an eventual replacement to Jason Taylor or Joey Porter at outside linebacker. And I didn't think he would be considering he isn't really fast enough to. He's more of a run-stuffer, which is great because that's something the Dolphins desperately need. In fact, most draft analysts believed that Merling was the best run-stopping defensive end in this entire draft, making him an ideal fit for a 3-4 defense."

With each passing day, I'm growing more and more confident in the Dolphins' chances next year. When you consider the cupcake schedule and breadth of improvements, the word "Playoffs" doesn't seem so out of the question. That's pretty remarkable.

YOUR thoughts on the Dolphins draft....

As for MY view of the draft:

J Long - Safest pick but also the biggest need! Does not make mistakes (penalties/sacks) and that is a Parcells kind of guy.

P Merling - Was projected as a 1st rd pick w/o the hernia. He is the first of MANY Dolphin picks this year that beg the question: The problem is figuring out where he fits? DE?OLB? THAT is where I have to trust Parcells.

C Henne - Good value! I hope both he AND Beck become quality QB's so we have some depth (or, better yet, trade fodder for the future). Tough kid with intangibles but he doesn't stand out in any area.

K Langford - Another pick that experts love but is he the next Jason Taylor or the next Matt Roth? Sounds like he can rush the passer but does nothing to anchor the end against the run.

S Murphy - Are we supposed to believe he is our starting LG? I think Miami wanted Greco and settled for Murphy. This pick surprised me because he is known for his finesse, not power, which makes him the Anti-Parcells guy! Also, am I supposed to be impressed that his father is Dale Murphy?

J Parmele - I like this pick because I don't trust our R&R Team (Ricky & Ronnie) to be fully healthy by training camp. I was surprised we got rid of Booker, since he was a PLAYMAKER whenever he got on the field, but we needed a third every down back. I believe that Parmalee has the ability to get the 3.5-4.0 yards/carry until the starters are healthy. (I don't believe Brown will be 100% till 2009.)

D Thomas - Major project that hit a fast food worker for slow service? It's the 6th rd but this just doesn't seem like a Parcells guy (bad character/major project).

L Hilliard - New Fullback or poor man's HB? (BTW, I thought Parcells didn't like small school players: 4 picks were from smaller schools)

L Dotson - NT project? 7th rd pick that I am not going to pretend that I know anything about.

I guess, in summary, what I am saying is that I like this draft only because I want to give Parcells the benefit of the doubt. I want to believe that this jumble of players will strengthen our roster. I wish we had traded JT and got some decent value (either in 2008 or 2009 draft) and I hope we sign a couple of impact college FA (DJ Hall, Highsmith, Robertson, and/or Henderson).


Matt

With the 32nd pick, the Miami Dolphins pick...

Phillip Merling, DE, Clemson

Why he's #32: Many people had Merling as a mid-first round pick, but his injury problems dropped him this far. He has good size (6'4", 276) and he's fairly quick (4.71 40 yd dash). However, he isn't very strong (only 17 reps) and stands up a little too much for my liking. But, in terms of playing well in games, he's the opposite of Glenn Dorsey. Merling recorded 7 sacks last season - 1 against FSU, 1 against VTech, 2 against Wake, 2 against BC and 1 against Auburn. He had similar effectiveness in his tackles for a loss, again recording most of them in Clemson's biggest games.

Why the Dolphins needed him: Jason Taylor is about to be traded.

Why I Like the Pick: Merling was an absolute steal at #32. He has a lot of upside and will need to be coached up some after coming back from sports hernia surgery. I only "like" this pick instead of loving it because he's another Jason Allen in that we have to wait for him to get healthy before we can do anything with him, and we could've had a more immediate impact player like Brandon Flowers or Devin Thomas at the same position. It's a good pick, but it's tempered by a little disappointment at the same time.