What Could've Been/What Could Be

Not one to dwell on the past, I will not be harping on what we missed out on, but before I get on to talking about our rookie class, I will list some of the fans (and my own) projected Miami draft targets. I think it's fair to say, other than Sean Smith, and for some people, Pat White, we didn't pick any of the fan favorites or even media favorites for that matter. Here is where they went:

Clay Matthews - went at #26 to the Packers.
Hakeem Nicks - Went to the Giants at #29.
Kenny Britt - Went to the Titans at #30.
Ziggy Hood - Went to the Steelers at #32.
Rey Maualuga - #38 to the Bengals.
Ron Brace - #40 to the Patriots.
Everette Brown - #43 to the Panthers (this one sickens me).
Clint Sintim - #45 to the Giants.
Connor Barwin - #46 to the Texans (oh woe is me).
William Moore - #55 to the Falcons.
Sherrod Martin - actually went higher than Sean Smith at #59 (Panthers).
Jason Williams - Dallas (their first pick of the draft, could be a real gem).
Terrance Knighton - he's gone to the Jaguars, who lassoed up about 40 new players.
Jasper Brinkley - went to Vikings in 5th round.
Mike Mickens - went in the 7th round to the Cowboys! This draft was crazy.
Chris Baker - went undrafted and signed with the Broncos.

So that's who we didn't get. But who did we get. I guess everyone knows Vontae Davis is possibly the best corner in the class, at least one of the top 3. And Sean Smith could be a huge playmaker. And everyone who's watched the Big East for the last 4 years knows what Pat White can do (run out of bounds - haha and you thought Ted Ginn was bad!).

Patrick Turner and Brian Hartline have different stories. Turner matured in his senior year and has potential though he's slow as molasses. Hartline is very similar to Camarillo, IMO. He was a big part of the OSU offense until they got their new QB, and then Hartline lost out on the action. So he lost some development time. Both of these guys might not even make the roster, so they'll have some work to do. Turner has the size I wanted in a WR, sort of a smaller TE body. Check out the Turner video to see some of the worst defensive football EVER.

John Nalbone - This is a terrible pick, IMO. This guy has actually said in interviews that he is not a good blocker, and that he prefers to be a pass-catching TE. What a tool. I don't think he'll make the team above Fasano/Martin/Haynos unless they want to carry a 4th TE. They drafted him just because his college team are the Wildcats. Maybe they envision him in the Wildcat formation somehow. Scout reports say he's a rare complete tight-end. Maybe he has the skills, but does he have the mind-set?

Chris Clemons - I watched a Clemson game last year, early in the season, and immediately loved this guy. Then Michael Hamlin's name kept rising in scouting reports and I actually mistook Hamlin for Clemons. I didn't realize it until the Dolphins actually drafted Clemons. I love this pick because of the value, and also because it means we can drop the scrubs from the secondary. He will make the team, but might be converted to corner. He has good cover skills and can TACKLE people. Our secondary suddenly got crowded with talent.


Andrew Gardner - not a big name but TERRIFIC value as he was projected to go no lower than mid 4th round. I don't know if he's any better than our backups, but we need as many bodies competing there as possible to find that third Tackle. At 6'7", 304lbs, he'll likely be given an extra helping at each meal in camp.

JD Folsom - on any other team would be a special teams 'specialist'. Since the Trifecta likes to have guys do more than one thing, it will be an uphill battle for Folsom. I saw some tape on him (very little) and he was invisible. I'd like to see whatever highlight reel the Trifecta saw. They say he's going to be an inside linebacker, but I honestly see him playing a rover/SS in redzone defense or short yardage situations.

Then things get interesting in the undrafted free agent pickups.

They are:

Jared Bronson, TE - could make the practice squad. If Nalbone's chances are slim, Bronsons are slim-jim-slim.

Orion Martin, DE - He will immediately compete to be the backup to Matt Roth. I actually think he has a better chance of making the roster than most of our second day draft picks. A guy this size, that made more special teams plays than anyone at VT, has tremendous upside.

Chris Williams, WR - He's tiny. I don't get this pick-up at all. Maybe just competition for Bess and bodies for QB reps.

Brennan Marion, WR - This pick-up I like. He is a bit under-sized but is an instant deep-threat. At the moment we only have Ginn as our deep threat, we need another one. At least PS material. He tore his ACL five months ago, though it seems he's healing very quickly.


Mark Lewis, G/C - He will compete with the crowd of reserves. The Dolphins like him because he has played every position on the line at Oregon, just like Max Unger. He needs to bulk up alot if he's going to play guard.

Ryan Baker, DE - WTF! Miami actually picked up a defensive lineman? Unlike Orion Martin, who will convert, Baker is actually 3-4 DE sized. Known as an over-achiever and the hardest-worker off the field at Purdue. He's not huge on talent, but considering the state of our DL reserve, he's got as much of a chance as anybody to make the roster.

SirVincent Rogers, T - more camp fodder. Big, slow, and from Houston.

Alex Derenthal, C - I was hoping for more bodies at Center. Know nothing about this guy but he played at Temple so he had to line-up against Terrance Knighton during practice.

Anthony Kimble, RB - Yes, we signed another running back. Kimble played at Stanford and was mildly productive. You may actually remember this guy for his Sportscenter moment whe he was running to the endzone on a sweep, got the ball stripped by Patrick Chung, only the ball bounced back up into his hands as he corssed over the pilon.


If you do the math, you'll see that Miami currently has 80 men on the roster, leaving no space for more.

Also, I have replaced the old roster with a new one that is arranged by projected depth. You'll notice there are still some needs, noticeably ones that weren't targeted in the draft. This is our new focus. The draft is over but we still have needs, and that's before we even start to weed people out.

What do you think of our defensive line? Seems like we have a lot of final chances coming up.