When the Miami Dolphins traded away their best offensive weapon, Brandon Marshall, many Dolphins fans thought the Dolphins had a plan on how to replace him.  That was a week and a half ago, and the Dolphins haven’t added a receiver since the Marshall trade.  This leads us to believe that the Dolphins will look to the NFL Draft to add talent to their receiving corps.  Joe Philbin told a group of Dolphins alumni that the strategy on offense in Green Bay was to build through the draft.  With the number of holes the Dolphins currently have, you have to believe he plans on doing the same thing in Miami.

The Dolphins currently have Davone Bess, Brian Hartline, Clyde Gates, Roberto Wallace, and Jullius Pruitt on their roster.  Bess is a great slot receiver, but none of the other names particularly screams Donald Driver or Greg Jennings….not yet at least.  The Dolphins will most likely look to add at least 1 receiver in the draft.  My guess would be that they use their ‘double down’ draft strategy and will select 2 receivers.  They did this a few years ago when they selected Brian Hartline and Patrick Turner….then with Vontae Davis and Sean Smith.  The Dolphins hold the #8 pick, which many expect to be used on a quarterback (Tannehill) or a pass rusher (Coples).  However, they could look to trade back and acquire more picks.  As it stands now, the Dolphins have 4 picks within the top 75.  One would think that they plan to use 1 pick on a QB (Weeden or Tannehill), 1 pick on a pass rushing DE (Coples, Ingram, etc.) and at least one pick on a wide receiver (possibly 2).  Wide receiver is the position we’ll focus on today.  We’ll look at what traits Joe Philbin likes in his receivers and give you a few players that fit that mold.

For a full breakdown of Joe Philbin’s prototypical wide receiver, check out this awesome ‘Draft Winds’ column from the Sun Sentinel.  The article suggests that Philbin’s prototypical wide is about 6′ tall and 194 lbs.  In fact, over the past few years, the Packers have brought in a number of receivers that are very close to this prototypical size/weight.  Driver is that receiver….He’s also a free agent, but might be too long in the tooth for the Dolphins to investigate.  I wouldn’t completely discount the Dolphins taking a flyer on Driver, however.  He knows Philbin’s offense and might be an on-the-field coach for any rookies the Dolphins bring in.

In Green Bay, Philbin like receivers that were smart and experienced.  They weren’t necessarily burners, but could run crisp routes.  His prototypical receivers also do well after the ball is in their hands, creating yards after the catch.  The receivers could adjust based on what the defense was showing.  This is vital to the West Coast Offense.  The Dolphins quarterback (whoever it ends up being), but be on the same page as his wide receivers.

In the Draft Winds article, they mention two names in particular that could be targets of the Dolphins affection.  Marvin Jones of Cal (6’1″, 199 lbs) and Chris Givens of Wake Forest (5’11″, 203 lbs).  Givens is a smart receiver, who can cut on a dime, runs good routes and rant a 4.41 40 yard dash.  Jones has huge hands, has a lot of collegiate experience, can run any route, and ran a 4.46 40 yard dash.

Another name ‘Draft Winds‘ mentions is Marvin McNutt of Iowa.  McNutt doesn’t fit the typical ‘Philbin’ prototype, but is 6’3″, 216 lbs and has huge hands.  Could he be the big receiver the Dolphins target after trading away Marshall.  Even though we discounted it earlier, it is possible that the Dolphins look at Michael Floyd of Notre Dame or Justin Blackmon of Oklahoma State with the #8 pick…It’s doubtful, but it’s a possibility.  One thing is sure, the Dolphins will most likely look to use their recent ‘double up’ strategy on the wide receiver position in this draft.

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