Our Thoughts and Grades on the Draft

[EDGECRUSHER]

The draft is over and for us, it was just a 2 day event. To recap:

1) We drafted Jaylen Waddle at 6 who is a phenomenal player.
2) We drafted him because we missed out on Pitts and Chase due to our trade back and trade up
3) We then drafted Jaelen Phillips who is a beats on the field but comes with significant injury concerns
4) In the 2nd round we got Jevon Holland at safety who can play other positions too. This was needed because our safety unit was in the Bottom 10 of the league last year, plus it makes other players expendable which creates cap room.
5) We then traded up to select Liam Eichenberg at LT/RT/RG/LG. Very versatile player who will probably be either our Day 1 RT or RG if we stick with Hunt.
6) Our last significant pick was TE Hunter Long who can be our starter if Gesicki wasn't on the roster, but as it stands that is insurance if Mike leaves but we can do a 2 TE attack as well with him.

It's been debated to death but I would rather have stayed at #3 and taken Chase/Pitts than acquire Waddle, the Niners 3rd rounder next year and their 2023 1st rounder which probably will be in the 20's. However, that doesn't mean Waddle isn't awesome and won't make our offense much better.

I am glad we didn't take a RB because one of those without an O-Line is worthless, but I wish we took a center. We didn't address every need in free agency and the draft but we got at least 4 Day 1 starters with our first 4 picks and maybe even went 5 for 5. It's hard to think we aren't a much better team now.

With all pre-draft trades thrown into the mix, I would give our draft a B and over a short amount of time, it might become an A.

[Pappy13]

I think there is a misconception that Miami moved from #3 to #6 because they thought they could still get either Pitts or Chase at #6, it's obvious now that's not the case. The reality is that Miami moved from #3 to #6 because they WANTED Waddle and figured they could get him at #6 which they were right about. If you believe that Miami WANTED either Pitts or Chase, then they would have NEVER moved from #3 because they were guaranteed to get whichever one they wanted at #3. Now you can be upset about that decision, but that's what they wanted to do so criticize the decision but not the thought process behind it. They WANTED Waddle, not Chase or Pitts or at the very least they WANTED Waddle plus the 49'ers 2023 #1 pick over Chase or Pitts. No one can say whether that was the right choice or not yet, but I'm willing to let things play out. I do think that Waddle is a better fit for Miami then Chase would have been. I would have taken Pitts over Waddle but I can see the thought process. They both are weapons in the middle of the field. Pitts is more of a move the chains and redzone target whereas Waddle is more the home run threat. Either is a HUGE upgrade over the slot receivers on the team and Gisecki is a pretty decent target himself. Waddle and Gisecki might be better then Pitts and Gisecki. I can see that. I think Miami is fine with having Devante Parker, Preston Williams and William Fuller at the other WR positions.

The other misconception is that Phillips comes with significant injury concerns. The reality is that we are talking about 3 concussions that happened over 2 years ago, one of which was not football related. He had 2 concussions that were football related, but since that time he has not had a concussion, just played a full year injury free and is completely healthy now. Some people are criticizing this pick because those concussions were overlooked and yet they were ok with overlooking the fact that Tua was coming off a much more serious injury that kept him out the previous year and he was still recovering from that injury at the time he was chosen. Get real. Phillips injury history is minor compared to Tua's when he was drafted.

[Tenshot13]

I think Mel Kiper put it best:





Miami Dolphins: A

Top needs: DE, WR, OLB

The Dolphins came into this draft with an extra first- and-second-round pick (added a valuable 2023 first-rounder) and had clear needs to fill. They had to get some receiving help for Tua Tagovailoa. They needed a young, talented pass-rusher to put into their edge-rushing rotation. And if they are going to move Robert Hunt to guard full-time, they had to draft a potential starter at offensive tackle.

That's why I like what general manager Chris Grier did. Tagovailoa struggled as a rookie last season, but there should be no way he averages 6.3 yards per attempt again in 2021. The addition of No. 5 overall pick Jaylen Waddle (and free-agent signing Will Fuller V) means he now has multiple playmakers to run after the catch and to target on deep balls. Waddle was the fifth-ranked player on my board. Jaelan Phillips (18) is a silky-smooth edge rusher with the physical traits to average 10 sacks per season. As I wrote Thursday night, he likely would have been a top-10 pick if he didn't have an injury history.

I really liked their Day 2 haul as well. Jevon Holland (36) will compete to start at free safety. Liam Eichenberg (42) has a good chance to be their Day 1 right tackle in place of Hunt; he was a three-year starter at left tackle for Notre Dame. Tight end Hunter Long (81) is an awesome player who will compete as a blocker and catch a few passes up the seam. He's one of my favorites in this class, and he's a nice complement for Mike Gesicki, who had 703 receiving yards last season.

Grier didn't have any picks in Rounds 4, 5 or 6, but seventh-round pick Larnel Coleman (231) has a chance to stick on the team as a swing tackle. I thought he might go in Round 5.

Looking at this roster, I don't think it's far away from being a Super Bowl contender, and the Dolphins hit their major needs. The other major bonus is that they ended up moving down three spots from No. 3 after some maneuvering and picked up that 2023 first-round pick. This is a stellar class overall, and the AFC East is going to be a fun race in 2021.

[Downunder Dolphan]

2) We drafted him because we pissed on on Pitts and Chase due to our trade back and trade up

Wow we really did that? So much for us wanting them... 

[EDGECRUSHER]

Wow we really did that? So much for us wanting them... 

Jesus, how the hell did I type that by accident?

[Downunder Dolphan]

Jesus, how the hell did I type that by accident?

Your spellcheck is twisted 

[EDGECRUSHER]

I think there is a misconception that Miami moved from #3 to #6 because they thought they could still get either Pitts or Chase at #6, it's obvious now that's not the case. The reality is that Miami moved from #3 to #6 because they WANTED Waddle and figured they could get him at #6 which they were right about. If you believe that Miami WANTED either Pitts or Chase, then they would have NEVER moved from #3 because they were guaranteed to get whichever one they wanted at #3. Now you can be upset about that decision, but that's what they wanted to do so criticize the decision but not the thought process behind it. They WANTED Waddle, not Chase or Pitts or at the very least they WANTED Waddle plus the 49'ers 2023 #1 pick over Chase or Pitts. No one can say whether that was the right choice or not yet, but I'm willing to let things play out. I do think that Waddle is a better fit for Miami then Chase would have been. I would have taken Pitts over Waddle but I can see the thought process. They both are weapons in the middle of the field. Pitts is more of a move the chains and redzone target whereas Waddle is more the home run threat. Either is a HUGE upgrade over the slot receivers on the team and Gisecki is a pretty decent target himself. Waddle and Gisecki might be better then Pitts and Gisecki. I can see that.

I don't think it is a misconception, I think we were comfortable with Waddle if he fell to us but no GM on the planet had Waddle above Chase and probably not Pitts either. They wanted Chase first but once Cincy decided that Joe Burrow needed more leg injuries, we picked Waddle. I look forward to watching him play for us but I think Chase will have the better career.

[Pappy13]

I don't think it is a misconception, I think we were comfortable with Waddle if he fell to us but no GM on the planet had Waddle above Chase and probably not Pitts either.

I think it's very possible that Grier thought Waddle would be a better fit for Miami then Chase and possibly Pitts. Not necessarily better player, but better fit. We already have a pass catching TE, the argument can be made that Pitts wasn't really a good fit in Miami because we really didn't need 2 pass catching TE's. I think the fact that Tua played with Waddle and brought the much needed seperation/yards after catch threat to the slot position will really help Tua, maybe even more then Chase would have. You may not agree, but I think that's a reasonable argument. Would they have taken Chase or Pitts if they were there at #6, perhaps but I don't think they were counting on it, in fact I think the assumption was that they wouldn't be and they were ok with that because they were targeting Waddle there.

[Dolphster]

I will grade this draft two years from now. 

[Phishfan]

I don't think it is a misconception, I think we were comfortable with Waddle if he fell to us but no GM on the planet had Waddle above Chase and probably not Pitts either. They wanted Chase first but once Cincy decided that Joe Burrow needed more leg injuries, we picked Waddle. I look forward to watching him play for us but I think Chase will have the better career.

But how many GMs would have Waddle and another first rounder over Chase or Pitts by themself? You continually don't write the full equation.

[Pappy13]

But how many GMs would have Waddle and another first rounder over Chase or Pitts by themself? You continually don't write the full equation.

To be fair he was responding to my comment where I was making the argument that Grier might have thought that Waddle was a better fit in Miami then Chase or Pitts. The fact we got another #1 out of the deal was just the icing on the cake.

[Phishfan]

I think it's very possible that Grier thought Waddle would be a better fit for Miami then Chase and possibly Pitts. Not necessarily better player, but better fit. We already have a pass catching TE, the argument can be made that Pitts wasn't really a good fit in Miami because we really didn't need 2 pass catching TE's. I think the fact that Tua played with Waddle and brought the much needed seperation/yards after catch threat to the slot position will really help Tua. Maybe even more then Chase would have. You may not agree, but I think that's a reasonable argument. Would they have taken Chase or Pitts if they were there at #6, perhaps but I don't think they were counting on it, in fact I think the assumption was that they wouldn't be and they were ok with that because they were targeting Waddle there.

Your argument hold water better had we not drafted a tight end that can catch.

[Pappy13]

Your argument hold water better had we not drafted a tight end that can catch.

Well he's a much more accomplished run blocker then either Gisecki or Pitts, that was the reason he was chosen. 2 TE sets with Gisecki and Long is more versatile then Gisecki and Pitts, you could run or pass out of that set. Perhaps they had Long in mind when deciding if they wanted to take Pitts and perhaps they thought 2 TE's that can't block is a bad idea.

[Fau Teixeira]

I liked Miami's draft .. I think they did really well. I think we have tons of weapons now.

Aren't we getting Albert Wilson back too ?

I REALLY REALLY REALLY like the jaelen phillips pick, I think he's going to be impactful on D.

And from what I read about Holland . .his closest comp is Minkah Fitzpatrick .. if that tells you what grier is thinking

[DenverFinFan]

B+. I think Tua wanted Waddle and it should work out, Phillips stays healthy and we can have a pass rush that will win us games.

I tend to agree that staying put for Pitts or Chase would have been better, but we got an extra 1st and a great player anyway. I hope the run game doesn’t suck again and we don’t end up regretting not getting a RB but we are undeniably better than last year.

As long as Tua can rise to the occasion I think we’re the closest we’ve been to true success in years. Maybe closest since I’ve been a fan in the mid 90s.