Just a Thought...

As the Dolphins continue to draft, I can't help but wonder where the 'fins are going to get their points from. There's the so-far unimpressive John Beck or Chad Henne calling the plays. Ronnie Brown should be back, but healthy? He remains to be their one, lone threat. Ricky Williams will be back, for a few weeks anyways until he remembers he's Ricky Williams and disappears into the Amazon. Ted Ginn, Jr. is their biggest threat at WR, and he didn't exactly stand out in his rookie year. Behind Ginn on the depth chart is Greg Camillaro, Derick Hagan, David Kircus, Tab Perry, and Ernest Wilford. Not exactly a yellow brick road to the endzone.

I think its clear Parcells wants to build up front. But even if you give Beck (or Henne, or McCown) 10 mississippi's, if no one's open he's gonna be in trouble. I'm a little nervous that defenses will simply stuff 8 or 9 in the box to stop Ronnie and force the Dolphins to beat them through the air. I would have loved to seen Miami take an Early Ducett or Mario Manningham or Andre Caldwell in the 3rd round. We'll see what is left for the 'fins in the last few rounds.

Three trends so far that could favor the Dolphins

Trend #1: DTs and DEs are flying off the board. There's a lot of teams in the bottom of the first round that need DEs. We could very well see a last-minute Jason Taylor trade.

Trend #2: CBs are falling fast, and with no WRs taken so far, a lot of teams are going to be looking that direction instead. Few thought that Devin Thomas or Limas Sweed would fall this far, I expect them to be taken up soon. We could very well see a guy like Antoine Cason or Brandon Flowers fall to us at #32.

Trend #3: As mentioned in Trend #2, WRs are falling. This shifts everyone back, so a guy like my Sleeper pick, Andre Caldwell, could fall to us even into the 3rd round at pick #64, leaving #57 for a guy like Chilo Rachal.

12:01 AM - Draft Day Begins

As ASponge mentioned, I'm going to blogging about the first round of the draft all day today, so keep checking back here to see my rants and ramblings. Most of the coverage is going to focus on Miami's picks, but I wanted to kick-start the day with a my predicted top Bust and Steal.

BUST - Glenn Dorsey - Somehow, Dorsey's injury problems are being swept under the rug, a luxury that not many players get to enjoy. Yes, he has great size at 6'2" 297 lbs. Yes, he has strength (225 27 times) and good speed (5.14 40). But, I want everyone to think about that for a second. Where were these strength and speed numbers pulled from? His Pro Day, where numbers are often inflated, and a running assumption that he's been primed for the NFL by the SEC. Now, I'm a die-hard SEC fan, and would argue that as true for just about any other player, but there's one thing that people seem to forget about Dorsey. He disappeared against major SEC teams. In his senior season at LSU he had 7 sacks and 12.5 tackles for a loss. Here's those stats broken down by game: Miss St (1 Sack, 2 TFL) V-Tech, (0,0) Middle Tenn St. (1,1.5) South Carolina (1,1) Tulane (0,0) Florida (1,1) Kentucky (0,0) Auburn (0,1) Bama (1,2) La.Tech (1,3) Ole Miss (0,0) Arkansas (0,0) Tennessee (0,0) and Ohio State (1,0). Puts it a little into perspective, doesn't it? With the exception of his 1 and 1 against Florida, Dorsey accumulated most of his stats either against scrub schools, or from the bottom of the SEC. Also, remember how good LSU's lines just about always are. If there really is such thing as a "system QB," then I think that Dorsey is a "system DT."

SLEEPER - Andre Caldwell - Obviously, being a Gator grad makes me a little biased here, but I just cannot understand why Bubba isn't getting more attention. For one, his "injury" that people stigmatize him for was a freak accident on a kick return. How does that make him injury prone? Caldwell also turned in the 2nd fastest WR 40 time (4.37) at the combine, and displayed good hands in drills. But, what really sets Bubba apart from everyone else is that he has to be the most well-rounded WR in the draft. We've seen him run out of the backfield, he's even thrown a few times, and he's a very good blocker. The NFL player that always comes to mind when I think of Caldwell is Hines Ward. They're both similar weights (Caldwell is 6'1" 200, Hines is 6'0" 205), they both have great hands, and they both not only are good at blocking, but really enjoy blocking. Is Caldwell going to be a 4-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl MVP like Ward? Let's not give him too much credit. But I do think that he is going to be a very solid contributor for some team. Personally, I'd love to see the Dolphins take him at #57. A great blocking receiver like Caldwell on the outside can really open up the field for Ronnie, Ricky, and especially LoBo.

That's all for now, much more to come as the day rolls on. Make sure to follow along with the live-updating comments (basically a chat) at The Phinsider in addition to your coverage here at The South Florida Fan.

Here's hoping for a great draft! Now I'm off to get some sleep.

More Dolphins draft tidbits

As recently reported on espn.com, the Dolphins are seeking a 1st round pick for DE Jason Taylor. Apparently Jason has been seeking a trade, and the 'fins have a list of players they want who may not be available come 2nd round (Florida DE Derrick Harvey, Auburn DE Quentin Groves, Michigan QB Chad Henne and Delaware QB Joe Flacco).

It seems as though Parcells is looking to go young. Personally, if they can pull of a trade, I think it would be an amazing deal for the 'fins. They'd then have 2 first round picks (one being Jake Long) and the first pick in the 2nd round. The Dolphins defense was old 3 years ago... Channing Crowder has been a nice touch, but he's still a couple season away from being a solid MLB. Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor have been the face of the Dolphins D for 11 years (Thomas started with Miami in '96, Taylor in '97). I think Harvey or Groves would be a great 2nd pick for the 'fins, even at the cost of losing a veteran captain like Taylor. Preferably Harvin; as a Gator alum, I'd love to see Crowder and Harvin together. Then maybe in round 4 or 5, they could pick up Bubba Caldwell!