The NT Tree

If ever there was a deficiency in an NFL draft, it would be this year and it would be at the increasingly difficult to find Nose Tackle. To make things a little harder, several teams are switching to a 3-4 defensive scheme this season, thus depleting the already low chances of securing a decent prospect in the draft.

The following are some of the few potential targets for the Dolphins as they try to shore up the defensive line and prepare for the eventual retirement of Jason Ferguson.

Ron Brace - The popular choice. One of the more recognizable names in the draft, the Boston College DT played alongside THE name in the draft as far as DT's go, BJ Raji. While I consider Raji to be a rare breed of pure talent, my viewings of Brace last season left me cold. Maybe he looked bad because of Raji's prowess. Maybe he looked GOOD because of Raji's prowess. It's hard to say, but either way, it raises some red flags as to how good he would be lined up on his own at the nose. Still, he has the size (6'3", 330lbs) that you look for, and played a little bit of nose in passing downs.

Sammie Lee Hill - a small school prospect that generated quite a bit of buzz during the Shrine Game and the Combine. I had never even heard of this guy until I was going through the shrine game measurements and saw his size (6'4", 329lbs). I have severe issues with him being projected by the media as a Nose Tackle, however, as I do not see it in him. He struggles with double teams, has problems separating from blocks, and was used primarily as a bull-rushing DE because of these issues. If he couldn't handle playing inside at a small college, then he shouldn't be projected to do so in the NFL.

If the Dolphins aren't extremely interested in Terrence Knighton, I'd be extremely surprised. That's a lot of extremes. Knighton is extremely big (6'3", 321lbs) and showed he could bulk up by adding 30 lbs to his frame from his Temple playing weight. If you take what he did at Temple, then add 30 lbs of mass to it, you have someone who can handle the push of the NFL Guards/Centers. As you can tell from the video, he has a very low center of gravity which will help him stand his ground on running plays.

There are a couple of other guys who I wouldn't exactly call 'tweeners' as I feel that label actually fits better on those above, with Knighton probably being the only 'ready to play' guy at the nose.

Fili Moala, Chris Baker, Dorrell Scott, Corey Irvin, Khalif Mitchell, and Marlon Favorite have all been mentioned as possible converts. Of those names I only like Baker, and think he would be good value as a Randy Starks-type player, able to play any position on the line, but I wouldn't rate him as a possible replacement for Ferguson.

In all eventuality, while I believe the Dolphins WILL draft at least one defensive lineman in April, I believe it will be a Starks-type player, one who can provide depth at multiple positions. Just like this year is the year of the wide receiver, cornerback and center, NEXT year will be the year of the Defensive Tackle, and it's very likely the Dolphins will use a top pick on one in 2010. Can you imagine Terrence Cody or Boo Robinson or Al Woods or Ndamukong Suh escaping the grasp of the Trifecta next year?