So it’s time to review the 2016 draft from last week, now that the dust has settled and I am over my grieving period about the loss of Jamar Taylor.

So first up is Laremy Tunsil.   Right off the bat, we get a taste of controversy, due to the infamous mask-bong video.   But once the smoke cleared (pun fully intended), we find ourselves with a helluva player.

I took some time to digest this pick. His football skills qualified him to be the top overall pick.   That’s a consensus from every single draft analyst out there.    We got perhaps the best overall player in the draft.  The negative about him is his moral character.

But as a few of my commenters pointed out, a player’s morals and off-the-field nonsense shouldn’t be a deciding factor.   We’re not drafting Boy Scouts here.   We’re drafting men whose job is to destroy the enemy in front of him.  In that case, who cares if the dude smoked a bowl a few years ago.   Tell him to knock it off and get busy on the field.

Joe Philbin seemed obsessed with character.  It got us nowhere.  When Bush, Long, and Dansby met with Joe Philbin to discuss their opinions, Joe got rid of all three of them eventually.   Clueless Joe wanted a team where no one questioned him or challenged him, and again, that led us nowhere.  Now we have a huge alpha male with a chip on his shoulder.    After a week of speculation, I am happy with the choice of Tunsil.  Grade: A+

In the 2nd round, we chose Xavien Howard.   (man, can’t we ever draft a Mike or John anymore?)   It was great to draft a DB.   We had to.  Our secondary is the worst part of this team, and the need was clearly there.  Howard has the tools to succeed, but the knock on him is his inconsistently.   I don’t mind that at all, and let’s hope it can be corrected.   He hasn’t signed a contract yet, and already he has tied Jamar Taylor for career interceptions.  Grade:  B

The next choice was Kenyan Drake, a 2nd-string running back from Alabama, where he was coached by Lying Nick.   We had a self-imposed need for a running back because management decided to toss Lamar Miller away.  So I guess this could be a decent pick.   I cringe every time I hear people talk about Drake’s special teams play.  Because when you play on special teams, it means you’re not quite good enough to be on the real team.   So did we draft an RB who isn’t good enough to be an RB?  Time will tell.   Grade: B

 Still in the third round , we took Leonte Carroo.   (seriously, my God, doesn’t ANYONE have a normal name anymore)?     Okay, here’s where my irritation is growing, because we didn’t need to draft a WR.   Especially not in the third round.  Especially trading up to get to this pick.    Carroo is a cocky player who can go up and get the ball.    But we have a few of these on the WR crew already, and all indication is that Matt Hazel will step into the role vacated by Rishard Matthews (another mistake letting him go).

Yes, we need some depth at WR and some backups for if the starters are hurt.   But it seems a waste to take one so early in the draft (or at all) when we have needs in other key positions.   Grade:  D.

4th and 5th round picks:  None.    Management made a lot of little positional trades to stockpile later picks, leaving us with nothing to do most of the day Saturday.  Did we need a WR that badly that we gave away the chance to take someone else in the 4th or 5th rounds?  Grade: F.

In the 6th round we went with yet another WR.  I’m not even writing his name.  I mean no disrespect to the young man, but it doesn’t matter who we selected.  The point is we took ANOTHER wide receiver when we had no use for one.  Stupid selection.  Grade F.

Our second Round-6 pick was safety Jordan Lucas.   Here Miami gets a higher grade because they again picked a position of need.   Another DB who has the same amount of career interceptions as Jamar Taylor.  He might not pan out, but I love the move of stockpiling the DBs.   Grade: B

Next up, in the 7th round, was local QB Brandon Doughty.  Finally the Tannehill haters have something to be intrigued about.    He;s not going to supplant Tannehill AND Moore, so why waste a pick on him?  Why not take a crack at an unknown DB or LB instead of wasting your penultimate pick on a guy who will assuredly be cut?  Grade:  D-

And finally, Thomas Duarte a TE from UCLA.   Now this one is intriguing.    The more I studied this pick the more I like it.    I feel this could be the hidden gem.   It all depends on Adam Gase’s usage of tight ends.    I think Jordan Cameron will be solid in a new system.   Dion Sims is the likely backup.   Jake Stoneburner showed promise as the 3rd tioght end.  So where does Duarte fit in?   Seems like a wasted pick, but still I’m hearing nothing but good things.   It could be a sleeper.    I’m going to grade this pick as a B+ because I think the team might actually have their eyes on something.

Overall Grade:  B-  

Wasting three picks on positions we don’t need really bothered me.   Taking Tunsil really pleased me.    Taking some arrogant guys who want to pop someone in  the mouth?   Priceless.  Let’s hope Coach Gase fosters that mentality instead of banning it like Clueless Joe.

 

35 Comments

  1. I think Tunsil completely changed the draft strategy because he not only fills the OG need but backup OT. That opened the door to take a few chances later on and they choose a mix of BPA targets and filling needs. They seemed to look more for game changers than bodies so this could bode well or blow up. I was surprised with the WR picks but they will be more explosive for it and give Juice a break on special teams. It is also a futures pick as it will give them more options next year so they obviously have a plan which is nice to see.

    Drake is a change up from Ajayi and has little mileage. Big play machine. Everyone seems high on him and he’s better than the other guys on the roster so let’s be optimistic.

  2. I think Drake and Ajayi will be a great tandem literally lightning and thunder respectively, Howard can be great and will probably start but he has amazing ball skills with i think 10 INTs

    I’m pretty sure we picked the WR in the round 6 to return kicks and punts. And Thomas Duarte was great at UCLA.

  3. Rutgers wideout might get a lot of playing time this year stills really isn’t that good

  4. @ Zach
    Stills was good when he played with a real QB.
    931 yds w/Brees the prior year but only 440 yds w/TannePuke.

  5. Maybe being under a new coach, with a new scheme, mind set and a different foot ball staff and thoughts have to lead to something good. And the draft we got help on the OL, we got help at RB, we got help at KO, and PR to help Landry break records , wee got help at DB the kind that we need ( some good talent walked away from us, Jamar Taylor ain’t one of them ) plus they changed their drafting process a little bit than what we are us to, so maybe this is the start of putting together a quality team that will compete in the AFC, NFC and finally get us a winning record, and if so we can get the play offs, and if so we can get the super bowl!

  6. Jay PFF gave the Fins the best offseason in the AFCE so far. Draft A-. Will it come true who knows but it’s a good sign.

    Fans are down on the D but its hard when the offense stunk so I guess the plan was to fix the O and see what they have on D this season. We’ll know more about Tanny as they gave him some weapons and oline should be better with Tunsil. Can’t wait!

  7. FlyerFinFan ,
    It wont change till the crap owner is long gone. You can take that to the bank.
    Terrible owner, crap GM, crap QB, and novice HC = 4-12

  8. @Jay

    4 – 12 I think not but until we see how the OL will hold up in a real game (That mean games not played in the pre-season or a parking lot) we wont know what side of .500 this team will end up on. I agree that we needed a few DB and CB to shore up the Dfense but the offence did leave them out on the field an awful lot last year. You can only have so many consecutive 3 and outs before the defense is exhausted.

    The head coach is a wild card but he has experience around him so I’m not all the worried about that. It’s tannabaum and ross that keep me up night because both have a failing record

    1. TannePuke has a failing record too. And the HC is an experiment. I agree with you about the 3 n outs on offense hurting our defense and I expect more of the same. Our QB , RB,s and TE are all way below average.

      1. The owner is obviously not the greatest but he is willing to spend which some won’t do. We have to be happy about that as that’s the main contribution of an owner. I haven’t seen Kraft sack a QB or catch a pass….

        New HC at least knows what he wants and isn’t afraid of a player speaking out and being confident. That’s already 100 times better than Philbin.

        QB’s should be better with a better oline and more weapons the WR’s are the best that the teams had in a while. I expect Parker to light it up this year… If Tanny doesn’t do better in this environment then you will know until then give the kid a chance to prove it.

        RB’s is a bit of a wildcard but Ajaji runs hard and looked good. Everyone loves Drake so we’ll see. You don’t need a name RB the league proves this year in year out.

        Cameron was good with the browns and Sims was fine until hurt. With a better coach and OC I think they’ll be fine. Intrigued by the Duarte as well expect some 2 TE sets give it back to NE.

        Good news on EarthWake as well he must be healthy which is a good sign. He is a big key to the D that was missing last year.

        I’m not expecting a SB win this year as the depth needs to be better but they are headed in the right direction.

  9. I forgot to mention that yes Kraft has an edge as he allows his coach and team to cheat whenever possible. Can’t compete with that I guess….

    1. Kraft also doesn’t meddle like Ross does and makes great hires no matter what the cost. The reason he is a champion. Ross hires the cheapest GM’s and coaches he can find and the results show it.

      1. He got lucky with BB…and part of his success has been due to cheating.

  10. In what decade do we get a franchise QB?

    1. What will you say if Tanny produces with a better oline? Not saying it will happen but if it does…

  11. Honestly I think I have a better chance of hitting the Super Lotto than crappy TannePuke has a chance to “produce” but if it does happpen I’ll say YAHOO!

  12. And BTW “produce” in my eyes is W’s and playoffs. Yds and TD’s and % are totally meaningless (except to fantasy players.)

    1. How Many Ws per season for the YAHOO?

  13. Umm 10-11 wins would show me they’re on the right track and have turned a corner and that I am now wrong about their direction. I’d be happy to admit I’m wrong if we see that.

    1. Sounds fair. I still think that they need one more offseason to build their depth but If injuries don’t kill them 10 wins is possible. Either way I’m not sure you can put all of that on Tanny.

      1. Well, there’s a reason that QB’s are the highest paid position. They are normally the field generals, the leaders and most influential players to the W’s and L’s on the squad by far. Franchise QB’s almost always have winning season after winning season no matter what team they’re on. They assume responsibility. They even influence and lobby the coaches and GM’s to get better players where they see they see fit in order to win.
        TannePuke does none of that…. He plain sux. He is the most responsible for the crap team since he was handed the starting job.

  14. Wow jay you actually put the pipe down for a minute good job dude. I actually agree

  15. So Manning won the super bowl last year? How about dilfer? Yes having an elite QB helps but how many are there in the league? They don’t grow on trees how many picks have teams wasted on finding one? The Browns alone have probably spent ten picks in the last ten years with zero results so you can stomp your feet all you want but it doesn’t mean it will happen. The 7th rounder probably has as good of a chance as any it’s such a crap shoot…

    1. @FlyerFin Fan
      Its only a crap shoot for crap GM’s like ours!!

  16. And you gotta keep tryin to get a franchise QB you don’t just give up cause you’ve failed!!!!!!! GEEZ!

    1. Again the oline has been shit as well as the coaching. When the oline was healthy magically the offense was decent. Let’s see what happens before you whine all preseason. If he was the reason Moore would have been playing but he hasn’t.

      1. 1001 excuses for TannePuke?? F’N Hilarious!!

  17. You think it was a “crapshoot” that the great Don Shula had 3 HOF QB’s???

    You think it was just luck???? LOL!!

    1. Marino fell to him in one of the deepest QB classes in the history of football. How many elite QB’s come around each year this should be humorous….

      1. Yeah, 3 HOF QB’s fell in his lap!!!!!!!!!!!! LMAO!!!!!

        1. Never said that but Marino did. How many QB’s went before him…think about it.

  18. Steve Ross save the Dolphins.

    SELL THE TEAM

  19. FlyerFan
    No one knowledgeable thinks the draft is a crap shoot. The teams wouldn’t spend billions of dollars on scouts, films, interviews,workouts etc etc if any of them thought it was just a crapshoot. You sound very stupid claiming that.

    1. I was referring to finding elite QB’s you can have a top pick and it’s not guaranteed. Rogers went late brady real late and look at all the busts in between. QB is very tough to predict…

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