After allowing time to pass I have strong feelings about the draft for Miami and they existed during draft night but I wanted to let some time pass before I put them in writing. As always I invite your opinions Pro or Con as I can use some other perspective than just mine.
I will not waste my time trying to grade this draft as many have because as with any rookies you never know who will make the proper transition to the next level. Did we draft a first round bust and a 7th round future Hall of Fame player? Only time will tell.
One thing I can say is that the Dolphins draft for me was full of surprises and I was left feeling unimpressed with the overall draft. There are things that I liked and there are things I hated that Miami did in the 2016 draft and I will go through my take on the overall draft.
Let’s start with the things I liked.
Who could not love the gift that Miami received with the first pick and to make the deal even sweeter let’s look at the complete deals surrounding our first round pick.
Miami initially had the number 8th pick in the 2016 NFL draft that they traded down with the Philadelphia Eagles picking up the Eagles 13th pick along with two veteran players. They got CB Maxwell, Byron and LB Alonso, Kiko both players are projected starters and both are coming off disappointing seasons in Philadelphia who decided to have a fire sale of some of former head coach Chip Kelly’s players he signed. (See Taking a Closer Look at the trade)
With the 13 pick in the draft Miami was able to get the top rated OT as a series of bizarre events took place on draft night that caused Laremy Tunsil’s draft day slide. I can’t ever think of a better use of a first round pick for Miami than what Miami was able to do with their 8th pick this year. They have 3 starters and had to only drop down 5 slots in the draft to get them.
As happy as I was with the first round moves, it was quickly diminished with other crazy trades on draft day. It started with the 2nd round pick, pick number 42. With 4 picks away Miami acquired the No. 38 overall pick from Baltimore in exchange for the No. 42 overall selection and a fourth-round pick (No. 107). The Dolphins traded up to the 38th spot to take CB *Xavien Howard.
Now I have no issue with taking a CB because it is truly a position of need for the Dolphins. Even though he was ranked by many to be a late 2nd to 3rd round pick. The problem I have is trading up 4 spots and giving away our 4th round pick when every indication was that *Xavien Howard would have fallen to them at 42.Now some have suggested that maybe the Chicago Bears wanted *Xavien Howard and that is why they traded back in the draft after Miami took Howard. If that is the case, that would be the only explanation that makes sense. GM Chris Grier’s explanation was that they thought there would be a run on CB’s at that time but the draft proved that the next CB taken after us was 16 spots later by the Vikings.
Giving up picks is a pet peeve of mine because you never know who/what you gave up on with the pick you gave away. There is no other way to drive home my point then what Miami did in the 3rd round that really had me puzzled. Miami with pick number 73 in the 3rd round selects RB Kenyan Drake of Alabama. This Bo. Jackson look-alike was a need and I love this pick. No complaint from me I expect this kid to make an impact if he can stay healthy.
It was what the Dolphins did after the pick that I am puzzled and frustrated with when they traded back in the 3rd and acquires the No. 86 overall pick from Minnesota for our 2016 sixth-round pick (No. 186) and our 2017 third- and fourth-round selections for WR Leonte Carroo there is where I have a problem for 3 reasons.
First: when they (unnecessarily IMO) traded away the 4th round pick to move up 4 spots in the 2nd for CB *Xavien Howard that move forced Miami to give up too much to get WR Leonte Carroo in the 3rd as they had no 4th round pick to negotiate with.
Second: WR was not a need, the team had depth at WR with 3 young receivers already on the roster, there were greater needs on the defensive side of the ball that should have been addressed trading back in the 3rd round.
Third: The compensation given up for a WR that was not a need. A 6th round pick in this year’s draft and a 3rd and 4th rounder in 2017. For a 3rd or 4th WR on the team? I don’t get it.
The last issue was trading with New England. I would NEVER trade with a division rival because it advanced New England’s cause.
Look at the trade and what transpired:
New England acquired a fifth-round pick (No. 147) from Miami in exchange for two sixth-round picks (No. 196 and No. 204) and a seventh-round pick (No. 250).
Seattle acquired a fifth-round pick (No. 147) and a seventh-round pick (No. 243) from New England in exchange for a seventh-round pick (No. 225) and a 2017 fourth-round pick.
So we traded our fifth-round pick (No. 147) to New England and they turn around and trade the pick we gave them to Seattle along with their 7th round pick and gets Seattle’s 7th round pick in 2016 and a 4th round pick in 2017.
So basically we added New England in getting an extra 4th round pick in 2017.
Like I said in the onset I can not grade this draft because ALL drafts are incomplete until at least a year or more when we will see how the players drafted adjust to the NFL game. Some first round draft picks will be bust and some late round picks might be a steal and anything and everything in between.
The 2016 Miami Dolphins Draft Class
- Round 1, Pick 13: Tunsil, Laremy, OT
- Round 2, Pick 38: Howard, Xavien, CB
- Round 3, Pick 73: Drake, Kenyan, RB
- Round 3, Pick 86: Carroo, Leonte, WR
- Round 6, Pick 186: Grant, Jakeem, WR
- Round 6, Pick 204: Lucas, Jordan, S/CB
- Round 7, Pick 223: Doughty, Brandon, QB
- Round 7, Pick 231: Duarte, Thomas, TE/WR
Miami by giving away their 2016 4th and 5th round picks this year lost out on selecting at least 2 players out of the 64 players drafted in those rounds.
The same issue exist next year as they also gave away our 3rd and 4th round picks in 2017 (#’s 64-139) you lost two quality players and/or picks that could be utilized in smarter trade deals like packaging those picks with expected compensatory picks in the same rounds that would have netted Miami 2-3’s and 2-4’s in the 2017 draft. Once you trade a pick it is gone you cannot recover it.
I am left with a feeling that Miami could have managed their draft picks (present and future) better. I will give them some slack because this was Chris Grier’s first draft as the new GM but I know that Mike Tannenbaum also had a hand in all decisions made.
As a fan I want the best for the Dolphins and hope every player selected steps up and help this team win games and have long prosperous careers. I look forward to giving a good review about a year or two from now on the players selected despite my feelings that we would have been better served drafting more defensive players this year.
The Dolphin Seer 