SDB Community mock – #8 Miami

A minor upset at #7 with the Jacksonville Jaguars taking Michael Floyd. In the closest vote so far, Floyd (43%) narrowly beat out Quinton Coples (41%). I can certainly see the Jaguars going receiver in round one as they look for a way to boost Blaine Gabbert’s performances in year two. Would Gene Smith take a receiver that early? Especially one with Floyd’s off-field problems? Or is this the SDB community saying it believes owner Shahid Khan will be having most of the influence on Jacksonville’s draft?

Let’s move on to #8 and the Miami Dolphins…

A lot of people expect Miami to draft Ryan Tannehill here. The Dolphins struck out on Peyton Manning and seemingly had little interest in Matt Flynn. Tannehill’s coach at Texas A&M – Mike Sherman – is now the offensive coordinator in Miami. This is a team that needs some direction at quarterback.

Even so, is it really such a guarantee that Tannehill will go at #8? A lot of people – myself included – aren’t sold on Tannehill as a top-ten selection. The Dolphins may feel it’s a bit of a risky choice, especially given the team’s limited options at receiver and the need to keep building the offensive line. They’ve scheduled a visit with Brock Osweiler and could also look at Kirk Cousins and Brandon Weeden as options beyond the first round. If they’re not 100% sold on Tannehill, they could use the Cincinnati/Andy Dalton route and take a quarterback later on. Tannehill is still the favorite to go #8 overall, but it’s not a foregone conclusion. And let’s not forget, Matt Moore did a decent job as the starter at the end of last season.

What are the alternatives? You’d expect pass rushers to be on the agenda. It’s still not clear exactly what defense Miami will use and it could end up being a bit of a 4-3/3-4 hybrid. Both Quinton Coples and Melvin Ingram are scheme diverse and available in this mock. Alternatively, the Dolphins may choose to bolster their offensive line with Riley Reiff given they’ll be coming up against Mario Williams twice a season for the next few years. Over to you…


(polls)

20 Comments

  1. SHawn

    Voted Ingram. Tannehill is too easy of a selection and I think the Dolphins pass for now. Maybe they move into the backside of rd 1 for him. But here I think they look to the pass rush. ANd furthermore I think they have some of the worst decision makers in the league running the show. I am not a fan of Ingram, but his production in college will be hard to ignore for the Dolphins. They take him over Coples for some unknown reason, and will be the favorites to land Barkley next year.

  2. Vin

    I voted for Tannehill. It just made the most sense between Miami’s need to find a franchise QB, plus the fact that Sherman is now in Miami. I still dont believe Tannehill will be a franchise QB, but in this instance, and with the other alternatives , it should be Tannehill.

  3. Jim Kelly

    I voted for Ryan Tannehill, not because I feel that he’s the best pick at this point in the draft, but that he fits Miami the best of the four that were presented. Admitted, I have no freakin’ idea what Miami truly needs, other than offense, but Ryan Tannehill seems the best fit here.

    Not knowing about other teams can be annoying. Like how the sporting news has the Hawks drafting Quinton Couples, not because the “defensive end is not a primary need”, but because he fits the scheme. So why not?

  4. D

    Couples. I dont think that Miami is in a “Win-now!” mode enough to be desperate enough to reach for Tannehill.

    Pass rushers are always in demand so lets go with the one with the most upside. A headcase for a headcase organisation.

  5. Attyla the Hawk

    Honestly, it should be obvious now. The only way a QB will play for Miami is if his only other option is to sit out a year and get drafted again.

    Nobody willingly goes to Miami.

    That aside, I am of the mind that you can’t get the next Cutler, Dalton or Freeman by picking defensive ends or 2nd round grade right tackles who will probably just be a guard. And why Reiff? Who does Miami have that they need to protect?

    Here’s some assorted blog/scout reports I found interesting:

    http://www.mockingthedraft.com/2009/1/30/738261/scouting-report-josh-freem
    http://walterfootball.com/pro2009jfreeman.php
    http://www.ninersnation.com/2009/2/16/760687/niners-nation-scouting-rep

    Now I’m not advocating that Tannehill is the next Freeman. But what is compelling is how the same faceless and ‘safe’ reasons why Tannehill will be doomed to fail were blindly regurgitated for Freeman too.

    Freeman is still an unknown. But flashed franchise QB productivity for extended periods in 2010 before the entire team tanked the 2011 campaign. The point is — unless you are picking within the first 30 minutes of the draft, then every QB is going to look similarly dysfunctional.

    QBs, more than other prospects, are the ugly ducklings when they are coming out of college. It’s easy to be more right than wrong as a prognosticator by saying the ugly duckling will stay a duck. It takes the NFL sized commitment of time, resources and coaching to allow prospects to fully bloom. The restrictions placed on NCAA athletes is too prohibitive for all but the most elite of prospects.

    Miami is in the same boat as us. They are too good across the board to be picking in the first 30 minutes of the draft. They likely won’t have the opportunity to select/pass on a QB of Tannehill’s potential in the next few years.

  6. kevin mullen

    Voted Tannehill mostly due to Sherman/Tannehill connection. Miami needs to make a splash in the draft and a top10 QB will do that. Also, this should buy the current staff a couple of years to develop Tannehill and an excuse to the fan base of mediocrity. I wouldn’t be surprised if they trade back into round 1 to get him a WR. Tannehill to Stephan Hill doesn’t sound that bad…

  7. Misfit74

    None of the above.

  8. Mel

    I chose bitterly chose Tannehill. It’s not likely the Dolphins will draft him. For some reason, they continue to draft QB’s in the 2nd and not a single one has panned out. It would be nice to see them go after a franchise signal caller, although I don’t foresee the former 5th best QB in this draft as a top 10 prospect. It’s hard to follow what the Phins will do, but they must do something at the QB position. Their defense was pretty good last year and Reggie Bush played with renewed energy. They’re thin at wide receiver, but with Floyd off the board, they have to play the hand they’ve been dealt.

  9. Jonathan

    Coples is BPA, and would help improve their pass defense which ranked #25 last year. Tannehill is way too much of a reach at #8, and the Fins know they are in a multi-year rebuilding process. They might look at Tannehill, Osweiler, or another QB in round 2 and let him sit for a year, since Matt Moore played pretty well last season.

  10. Nolan Thomas

    I went tannenhill

  11. Stuart

    I chose Ingram and heres why; The Miami QB is no too bad (Moore) and they are not as desperate as many would belive to draft a QB in the first round especially when the talent for the #8 pick is not there…Miami also recently signed Girrard for added QB competition. They will select a QB in the 2nd round however mainly to appease their fan loyal fan base. Tannehill likely wont see much action this season anyway. They are better off making the team better and the draft in 2013 may have FIVE first round QB’s. Rather than make a big time reach they draft a DE who is likely to make an instant impact day 1.

    Why Ingram over Coples? Maybe it’s becaue I want Coples to slide to us? Maybe because South Carolina is closer to Miami than North Carolina. Maybe it’s because Ingram is seen as more versitle? Maybe the red flags on Coples scare Miami? I know as much about Miami’s needs as Bleachers Report knows about he Seahawks needs, which is nothing by the way. Just a guy feeling…If Tannehill IS their guy, trade down later in the first, get some extra picks and select the guy with the amazing looking girlfriend.

  12. Colin

    I voted Coples. I firmly believe Tannehill is going to fall a bit on draft day. I just can’t see him being a top 10 pick and Coples is the BPA IMO at #8.

  13. Seatown80

    The Dolphins need a QB plain and simple. Tannehill is being hyped up to the point where I would be more shocked if he didn’t go top 8. If they strike out on Tannehill, the ramifications aren’t as severe as they used to be before the new CBA.
    The Freeman/Tannehill comp seems solid. He could be a future pro bowl QB or the next Brady Quinn.

  14. Rock

    They take Tannehill and still could be players for Barkley next year. Their QB corps is bad, bad, bad.

  15. Steve in Spain

    Am I the only one mocking Tannehill to the Dolphins thinking he’s a legitimately good prospect with a solid chance to be Miami’s next franchise QB? Strip away the desperation, the hype, the pressure on Ireland, the Sherman connection, this pick still makes sense as a fundamentally sound football decision. Tannehill flashes special skills, albeit in limited experience.

    A prospect like Tannihill might not have gone top ten in previous years just because of the financial implications, but now with the salary cap under the new CBA, it’s not cost-prohibitive to take Tannehill and hand him the clipboard for the year. Sitting him behind Moore and Garrard, Sherman can groom him to be the starter in 2013, meanwhile using the remainder of the 2012 and the full 2013 draft picks to build around him for success.

  16. Attyla the Hawk

    He’s a good, but higher risk prospect. Limited experience, poor (winless) record in games where he had legitimate opportunities to lead his team to victory. Typical mechanical issues.

    The problem is, there isn’t enough of a body of work to really make a determination if these issues are correctable. Because they are enough to keep him from ever seeing the field. So there is a very legitimate element of risk.

    Most people I see who are passing on him with Miami, are spouting Maddenesque nonsense that they’ll take him in the next round. I don’t see that as a possibility. Cleveland will have two cracks at him before Miami rolls around again.

    That’s just the QB desperate teams. There is an additional issue at hand. The Aaron Rodgers model. Obviously, Green Bay has kind of lit the beacon on drafting ahead of need when it comes to the QB position.

    Do you think that Dallas is completely comfortable with Romo as their franchise guy?

    Or 31+ year old Michael Vick in Philly?

    Denver has a 36 year old QB and traded their developmental guy away. They would take him.

    Saints/Patriots. They are on the wrong side of 30 with their QBs. Tannehill could go here.

    Barring trades up, he could legitimately go at 12,13,14,15,22,25,26,27 or 31. These are all teams somewhat settled on QB short term but will need a guy in 2-5 years. Take Tannehill now and season him as the Packers seasoned Rodgers. You bet they could.

    There is virtually no way Miami has a shot at him if they pass at 8.

  17. Jarhead

    Here is some food for thought. It is not a necessarily foregone conclusion that Tannehill is the 3rd rated passer on Miami’s board. We passed on Dalton last year when QB was a huge gaping hole for us. We would’ve passed on Locker and Ponder if we had the number 8 pick last year. So Miami may be looking at a 2nd round guy as their number 3 QB. Just because Sherman had Tannehill as his QB doesn’t mean he will feel that is the best fit for Miami. Joe Philbin obviously wanted nothing to do with Flynn (for very good reasons that will be very evident in 6 months), so who is to say that Cousins, Os or even Weeden in the early 2nd isn’t a better option for Miami. The MEDIA has put Tannehill up there. He is almost entirely a media creation.

    His tape will say it all. He stares down receivers, rarely makes a 2nd read even to check down, has many passes batted down at the LOS despite being 6’4″, etc etc. He won his bowl game last year true, but it was not close for most of the game. He has shown poorly in close games against the stiffest competition. Tannehill may have great measurables, but his mechanical issues, bad habits, and lack of intestinal fortitude could scare Miami and many other teams off. The media has an axe to grind (justifying their own predictions) and therefore have over-scouted him, I think most of us believe. Not all but most.

    Also one final point: Who would argue that Philbin had the most familiarity and insight into Flynn? And he offered next to nothing and wanted no part of the QB. Where most said theur connection would make the deal a slam dunk, perhaps his deep insight had shown him ‘this man is nowhere near an NFL level starter. Pass’ so perhaps Sherman with all his insight into Tannehill will show Miami that he is not capable of being a franchise QB. So why the media believes he is a good fit, maybe Miami knows better.

  18. Jarhead

    And Attyla made a good point that I had touched on way back when we were debating on Tannehill to Seattle in the first. I think New Orleans is the perfect place for him to end up. BUT they have no first or second round picks. So that sucks for them. Hahaha

  19. CiaranH

    Jarhead – Miami bought Flynn in for a workout and made an offer comparable to the one he eventually signed in Seattle. I don’t think they’d have shown so much interest and made a competitive offer if Philbin “wanted no part of the QB”.

    Flynn’s not a slam dunk but he’s shown potential in limited starts and impressed PC and JS hugely when he worked out for them. I trust in their scouting abilities and doubt they’d have brought him in if he was in fact “nowhere near an NFL level starter”.

    I agree though that Tannehill to Miami is being overhyped by the media. If dots were actually connected like this in the real world then we’d be lumbered with Taylor Mays

  20. Joe The Jarhead

    They didn’t make a comparable offer to Flynn, and that’s why he chose Seattle. They wouldn’t come close to 9 million, and just because they worked him doesn’t mean anything. And I said that the media believed that Flynn to Miami was a slam dunk deal, not that he himself was a slam dunk. And quite frankly, the brought in Tarvaris Jackson but does anyone believe that HE is a starter for any team in the league? Flynn honks abound but as I say, we’ll see it play out on the field. How he worked out in shorts and t-shirt doesn’t really matter much to me, becuase when he puts on the pads and a helemt it will be a different story. Finally, I disagree that Miami showed ‘so much interest’ in Flynn. I feel that he received a luke warm reception and hence went where the better team was. Which will prove unfortunate for us. We’ll see it play out on the field

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