Part 3: A realistic Miami Dolphins mock draft
By Miami Jules (@Miami_Jules on Twitter)
The 2014 draft is being advertised as one that is offensive tackle and guard deep. The Dolphins have the obvious needs we all know about coming off the franchise record breaking season in sacks allowed, but the Dolphins also had other needs. The inability to stop the run was an understated worry, especially since the Dolphins defense ranked close to the top in the NFL in that department before Kevin Coyle joined the team. One has to take into consideration the shift from a 3-4 to the 4-3 defense and the impact this shift had in defending against the run. This article will not explore or analyze the 4 – 3 or even Kevin Coyle as a defensive coordinator, its focus will be the draft, however, there are questions on the return of some of our current defensive players and our secondary was still, if not plagued, but at least challenged by some of the star’s injury issues.
Photo Courtesy of Dolphins.com
Part 1 of this series, analyzed 5 players in the order I felt they should be drafted, unfortunately, it is very probable that some of these players may not be available on draft day when the Dolphins turn comes up. These are the 5 players previously analyzed in Part 1 of the series:
1-Cyrus Kuoandjio OT
2-Anthony Steen OG
3-DaQuan Jones DT
4-JaWuan James OT
5-Aaron Colvin CB
The other two draft picks who will complete what I call my “It’s a Perfect World” draft scenario are:
6-Stanley Jean-Babtiste CB
7-Spencer Long OG
I feel very strongly about Stanley Jean-Babtiste while Spencer Long is the best available OL player available in the last round. Yes this list is abnormally favoring one squad which would not have been the case, had the folks in charge last year would have addressed it as they should have, This set of picks may also be too optimistic and chances are the top two choices may not be available, so I compiled a more realistic set of draft picks which I call my “It May Not Be a Perfect World but We’ Live” draft scenario.
Here then are the players who would be selected (if I was in charge) as options if the ones above are not available in the corresponding rounds.
1-Taylor Lewan – OT from Michigan- 6’7”, 315 LBS and is currently ranked #26. Lewan may suffer from a bit of a”Bad Boy Syndrome” and has been dubbed by some with the nick name “Facemask”. Comparisons to Jake Long are obvious but is said to to be at the same level as Long coming out of college. Long was a pro bowler and it has only been because of injuries perhaps that Long has not enjoyed the elite status he once did.
“He keeps his head on a swivel and has the competitive drive to win one-on-one battles. Demonstrates enough lateral agility and balance in his kick-slide to maintain the edge, while also possessing the strength to lock up his opponent.” Rob Rang nfldraftscout.com
