I’m going to start with the negatives, and then have a happy ending later on with the positives. Not the Robert Kraft happy endings either.
First was Jaylen Waddle. I don’t mind the pick, as this kid seems to be highly touted. No doubts about his abilities or speed. The “negatives” surrounding him aren’t really his fault at all, as he doesn’t have many weaknesses in his game. Rather, the Dolphins blew this. Chris Grier gambled, overspent, and lost badly. How, you ask?
By almost all consensus, Waddle would have been there at #12 if we stayed put after the 49er deal. We went from 3rd to 12th and had an extra first round pick in 2022 and in 2023. Chris Grier probably wanted Kyle Pitts of JaMarr Chase. He thought they would be there at #6 (his first mistake). So he panicked (mistake #2) and overpaid to move up 6 spots (mistake #3). We gave up a first round pick next year to move up 6 spots, and STILL didn’t get the men we wanted.
Chris Grier, quite literally, gave away a first round 2022 draft pick to get a man he didn’t want. Inexcusable.
Let’s say we kept both first-round picks and stayed put at #12. The Eagles would be at 6, and they take DeVonta Smith. 7 Detroit still takes Sewell. 8 and 9 Carolina and Denver take the CBs they wanted. 10 Dallas takes Micah Parsons. 11 Giants trade to the Bears, who select QB Fields. 12 Miami Dolphins select Jaylen Waddle.
There are no two ways about this. Waddle woulda been there at 12. Grier blew this. Gave away a #1 for nothing.
Did you notice what the Cowboys and Patriots gave up to get their man? Nothing! Belichick sat back patiently and go the QB he wanted. Dallas traded down and STILL got the LB they wanted. Dolphins gave away a #1 pick to trade up, and did NOT get either man they wanted. An F to Chris Grier so far.
There is a small, fast WR in Kansas City. I won’t mention his name, because every single draft report has said his name 5,000 times when talking about Jaylen Waddle. We get it. We know who Waddle compares to. We can’t fault Waddle for the comparisons people make, but it seems like his only skill is to catch a short pass and then turn on the burners. Could be a great addition. I think of Jakeem Grant as that type of player, but last season, Grant’s stone hands cost us many receptions. He killed many drives with his drops. Let’s hope Waddle upgrades that.
I won’t judge Waddle’s character yet, because I don’t know the young man, but he doesn’t seem too humble. He mentioned that he wants to show off his skill set. I know it’s just words, but I prefer someone who says the normal stuff like I’ll do anything the coaches want me to do. I don’t know…his interviews so far rubbed me the wrong way.
Plus, don’t forget when they recently asked him if Mack Jones or Tua was better, and Waddle said Mack Jones. Not very endearing!
So the kid’s game is solid, but this pick draws some negatives from me because Chris Grier blew it badly.
Now onto Jaelan Phillips. You know, the guy who quit the UCLA Bruins. Some say it was because of his numerous documented concussions. Others say it was because he wanted to be a musician and not a football player. Either way, we just drafted a guy with 6 previous concussions. A guy who retired and gave up on football. Then changed his mind. Then came back, but wanted to go to a different team on the other side of the country. Then…well, who knows what is next? Let’s just hope Chris Grier vetted Phillips’ passion and health more carefully then he vetted who the Falcons and Bengals were going to select.
Okay, those are the negatives.
On the positive side, it seems like Waddle’s skills are for real. He can catch and then turn on the afterburners. His routes are precise. He can be a kick and punt returner (Although I’d be hard pressed to take that job away from Jakeem Grant). He and Tua have some familiarity. The Dolphins ran about 5,000 bubble screens last year, and none of them seemed to work. But Waddle is a step above the likes of Malcolm Perry or Lynn Bowden. I don’t see Waddle getting tackled by the first man. Even if our awful blocking fails as usual, Waddle can make guys miss.
As for Phillips, he can be a beast. Emmanuel Ogbah had a great year, and he might get better if Phillips can draw some attention to himself. He essentially replaces Shaq Lawson. If might take him a while, but if he can stay healthy, he seems to be far more intimidating than Lawson ever was for us.
Your thoughts?
I think you are off on getting Waddle at twelve as Giants would have taken him at 11. They only traded back because the top receivers were gone they ended up drafting Toney. Yes they could have given up only a third to trade with Dallas but there was no guarantee that Waddle would have still been there. Maybe Eagles took him or even Detroit? No one knows and Grief guaranteed that he would get someone they loved. I’m hearing they had Waddle in front of Chase probably due to Tua’s connection and position fit as they already have big outside receivers. I kept thinking about this although Pitts was different as he can go inside or outside. Make sense although there was also a slim shot at Pitts so worth the overall risk.
Speaking about Phillips no risk no reward. Better him than some safe guy who may be average. If he stays healthy may be a game changer.
I can’t be upset with any of these picks. If anything Parsons could have been justified but they felt they needed more explosive playmakers on offense can’t argue with that. They will now be dynamic!
Perhaps you’re right about the Giants. But look at it this way….Giants are about to pick Waddle at 11. The Bears call and say we will give our FIRST and fifth-round picks this year, PLUS our FIRST and fourth next year. That’s 4 picks to drop down 9 spots. I think the Giants (or anyone!!) would make that deal.
I definitely agree with your Phillips point, A safe, average guy like Charles Harris ends up being a bust. But a potential star like Phillips is worth the risk. I’m not upset with the players we chose. I’m just burned that Grier spent a first-round pick next year to swap.
Waddle would have been gone to Detroit at 7 easily over Sewell. The Dolphins didn’t blow anything. The Bengals did. They needed a left tackle.
I dont know anout that. Lions War Room looked insanely happy to get Sewell. Looked like they wanted him all along.
I would have gone Sewell at 6 and Najee at 18 to really bolster our protection and juice up our run game…especially on short yardage situations where we are terrible and could use more of a power back.
Also drafting Sewell would have allowed you to slide Hunt from RT to RG which is his best position and you would have upgraded TWO positions on the O-line instantly with: SEWELL-KINDLEY-Center-HUNT-JACKSON.
As for the WR position, there was a lot of talent at the position this year and we could have gotten a good one in round 2 or 3. Not as good as Waddle but Elijah Moore is still on the board and a guy like Tutu Atwell who is very similar to Waddle is still there. Again, not as good as Waddle but when you are running the ball effectively, your receivers don’t have to be quite as good and as fast because the defense has to key on the run and leave more space on the back end.
That’s just how I would have played it. Loved the trade down to 12 but hated the move back up to 6. And the bullshit timing. Teams get nervous and press the day of the draft with owners exerting pressure and watching over their shoulder on draft day. Often the time to get the best panic trade is when you are on the clock…not months before. Grier really crapped the bed here.
Chris Grier got fooled because he underestimated just how stupid the Falcons are. They still cling to Matt Ryan after seemingly 15 decades of him being average. His defense gave him a 25 point lead in the Super Bowl with a few minutes left, and he still contributed to that meltdown. Instead of replacing him with one of the Premier quarterbacks last night, the Falcons instead chose the guy Flores and Grier wanted. So we had to settle for third best, after the Bengals picked the second best. Of course the Dolphins are going to say that Waddle was their man all along, but nobody believes that. The Falcons floated all those rumors about drafting a quarterback, and they easily conned Chris Grier.
Yes, if you’re going 12 to 6, then you might as Well 12 to 4. Either way, wait until draft day !
Man it’s becoming more and more obvious this stage is just too big for village idiot Chris Grier. Dude topped out as a area scout and should be nowhere near making big draft decisions.
Denver just jumped him to take the last viable RB in the draft while he was sleeping at the wheel. It seems like every other GM is playing chess while Grier is playing checkers. We are going anywhere long term if this is the guy making all the big decisions. Just saying.
Come on the chat. I don’t think they are as worried about RB as we think. Whatever comes to them but they just jumped to oline.
Agreed. We have a few young RBs who may develop nicely. I wouldn’t panic about not selecting a RB.
Dumbest comment of the day. The zdolphins don’t value the runningback position of linebacker position that highly. They value the secondary, o-line, and pass rushers much more highly. You either need to rush the passer, protect the passer, or cover receivers to be seen as premium in their system. If you had been paying attention you’d know this. They also value overall team speed. Last off season was about getting faster on defense. This off-season is about getting faster of offense. If you were such a genuis you would have figured this out.
You mean dumbest reply of the day…Mr. Grier, it that you? The only person Grier has fooled is our blind-ass Mr. Magoo owner for whom this team is a hobby. Hopefully Flores, who I have a ton of respect for as a pure football coach, can coach his way our of these mediocre front office moves.
Read somewhere that 33 of Grier’s last 36 top six round picks have been Power 5 players (or Notre Dame). This is paint by numbers GM-ing with no creativity or vision.
Grier got four day one contributors in this draft so far but he doesn’t know what he is doing? Phillips, Waddle, Holland, and Eichenburg could all easily start day one on a lot of teams but Grier is an idiot? Ignorance is definitely bliss.
Grier had 4 of the first 50 picks in the draft, including 6 and 18. You can throw darts at anyone’s random mock draft and get at least a handful of starters with that draft capital. It’s a simple math problem genius. If I gave you pick #6 and #18, you mean you couldn’t draft two starters? That’s where we are setting the bar? Getting starters from premium 1st round picks?
The trick is to unearth the occasional starter or even pro bowler where no one expects it. That’s scouting and personnel excellence. Let’s not crown this guy for doing an average job at best. Demand better or be comfortable sitting out the freakin playoffs every year.
You make some fair points. Especially this year, I think you need to take a chance. We had the worst pass rush in NFL history last year , and so far we only drafted one rusher. Why why why waste a pick on a TE when so many LBs still out there?
Even if you disagree with who he picks, it’s cool to have 4 picks in 2 days, while other teams get none or one.
Speed is overrated. We drafted track star Noah Igninobe last year, and he can’t cover anyone. Speed is useless without ball hawking skills
Noah was on his rookie season. Judge X on this same standard and you backseat G.M.’s would have been ready to run him out of town also because he struggled as a rookie also. Like I said ignorance is bliss.
Saw a few reports that the Dolphins selected the tight end last night because they will be unwilling to pay Gesicki big bucks next year in his contract year.
Sounds logical and sad, yet typical Dolphins. Draft a player for a position you don’t need because you will save money in 2 years. This was a BAFFLING pick
I am not happy with the Jaelan Phillips pick. Wast of a first round pick. His story is too inconsistent and I don’t think he will last. Perhaps I am haunted by previous first-round pick, Dion Jordan. I hope JP proves me wrong
As I wrote in my column above, there are some definite?‘s with him. But his upside is enormous, and you just have to study all the great things people are saying about him and hope that shows up. Quitting football because of a health concern, and then quitting a second time because you want to pursue music, those are not very encouraging aspects
and did Waddle actually say that Mac Jones was better than Tua? Yikes, that’s what I fear.
I did not need to hear that! 🙁
I think the exact question was who would you rather receive passes from, and Waddle said Jones.
Waddle also said that he came into the program same year as Mac and that they both worked their way up from the third team together. So they shared more than just a common bond as teammates. Context is everything. Might help some in here to try some in your draft analysis.