Positions of need

[fyo]

With all the attention our QB slot is getting, a lot of people seem to be overlooking blatant deficiencies in other positions.

Our defense is the primary cause for concern, in my opinion. It's in serious danger of completely collapsing.

We have absolutely no depth at cornerback. Daniels and Poole are all we have and with Poole coming of a blown ACL, it's not looking good. Players usually take at least a full year, if not two, to get back to full strength after an ACL tear like Poole's.

Our front guys are good, but with everyone except Crowder over 30 (some WELL over 30), it's scaring the crap out of me. And when I hear we're looking at Mawae (who's thirty-freakin'-five), yeah, well, it just seems very short-sighted. When I talk to people about it, they completely blow it off: "oh, we're kinda like Denver, just with defense instead of running backs". WTF?! I seem to remember a time in the not-so-distant past when our defence SUCKED.

It's not that I don't wish we had some actual talent behind center. Or in the offensive line. But the defense is freaking me out. I'm thinking we should get a new QB and spend every remaining pick and FA-dollar we have to spare on young guys on the other side of the ball.

[TonyB0D]

we met with lavar arrington today....now THAT would be a great pickup, i just dont wanna pay him the $$ he's probably going to get

[Philly Fin Fan]

I wouldn't mind us signing Andre Dyson to play corner.

[Brian Fein]

I wouldn't mind us signing Andre Dyson to play corner.

You're so smart...

[dolfan13]

cornerback is one of the deepest positions in the draft this year. at #16, you might have take your pick , jimmy williams, youboty, simpson or clemson tye hill. anyone of those guys would be a significant upgrade over anything we currently have in the secondary. might even be in a position to trade down a few slots, pick up an additional pick, and still have a shot at an exceptional cb.

[fyo]

cornerback is one of the deepest positions in the draft this year. at #16, you might have take your pick , jimmy williams, youboty, simpson or clemson tye hill. anyone of those guys would be a significant upgrade over anything we currently have in the secondary. might even be in a position to trade down a few slots, pick up an additional pick, and still have a shot at an exceptional cb.

Unless we have a shot at a really spectacular corner, I don't think that should be our main draft priority. It's the one spot on defense where we actually have two young guys. We drafted Travis Daniels in 2005 and Will Poole in 2004. What we need is some experienced depth at corner. Kind of like, oh, I don't know, maybe... Sam Madison ;-).

So unless we're ready to give up on Daniels and Poole, we should be looking to get some young guys among the front seven.

[NYFin]

I was disappointed to see Maake Kemolongname disappear off the market so early since I'd like to see the Dolphins secure a young nose.  The Dolphins should be able to add some youth to the defense this year since it's a pretty deep draft. 

Draft looks good for teams looking to bolster defense.  Here are my hopes by position.

O-Line.  Winston Justice at 1.16 or trade down in first and get Eric Winston or Marcus McNeil.  I think Houcke could get good work out of the latter two.  Winston's poor showing against speed guys in the Senior Bowl practices is probably due to not being fully over his junior-year injury yet.

Cornerback.  Ashton Youboty (Ohio State) in the 1st or Richard Marshall (Fresno State) in the 2nd.  Red flag on Tye Hill (Clemson)--let someone else have him.

Safety.  1.16 seems high for Jason Allen (Tennessee).  But if he's around at 2.16 that's a solid pick.

Defensive Line.  Don't see anything happening in the 1st here.  No way Ngata slips past the Browns at 12.  No way the Dolphins trade up for him.  Don't see them using a 2nd on one either.  Saban probably anticipates that Gabe Watson (Michigan) and Rodrique Wright (Texas) have high bust potential.  Maybe keep an eye on M. Stanley (Oshinowo) and B. Oshinowo (Stanford) in later rounds.

Linebackers.  Well, that's the deepest position in the draft.  Probably won't be hard to score some quality youth there.  I would avoid Chad Greenway in the first.  If D'Qwell Jackson, DeMeco Ryans or Thomas Howard slips to 2.16 that'll be pretty exciting.

Basically, unless the Dolphins decide to spend 1.16 on Winston Justice or Ashton Youboty, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Dolphins trade down if they can score an extra second-rounder or something else appealing.

At any rate, I agree that injecting youth into the defense is pretty important but don't think that spending a first rounder on a left tackle will get in the way of the Dolphins doing that.