My Second Favorite Draft (After Beer)

Now that the 2010 NFL Draft is officially in the books, it is time to second-guess my favorite team: The Miami Dolphins. Second-guessing your team's picks is the God-given right of all football fans, so get over it. That said, I must say that although I question some of The Big Tuna's picks, I don't presume to know more about football than he does, so in the end, I trust that he is taking this team in the right direction. In fact, my trust in Parcells was strengthened when he pulled the trigger on the Brandon Marshall trade. I was beginning to think that his philosophy on football was dated, and that he refused to respect the position of WR in an increasingly pass-heavy league. He surprised me by going after the big-time wideout; especially since there were questions about his character.

Aside: I really think that Brandon Marshall's locker room antics are a thing of the past. He is among five best players at his position, and has had over 100 receptions each of the last 3 seasons, yet 42 other WRs made more money than he did last year, including his teammate Jabar Gaffney. The new coach traded away his Pro-Bowl QB in the off-season. I would be upset if I was him too. And although he asked to be traded, he never dogged it on the field. He has a new contract, and is on a team that respects him (ask any player how a team shows you respect, and they will tell you it's by paying them.) and gets to play with a strong-armed QB and a very good running game. I think we are going to see a happy, productive Brandon Marshall from here on out.

Back to the topic at hand, based on the Marshall trade, and the fact that Miami stockpiled 7 players on the defensive side of the ball, addressing needs at LB, S, and D-line, my initial reaction is that Miami earned a solid B on their draft. But, the reality is that whether I'm a bullshit blogger with a fan-base of three readers and a girlfriend, or I'm Mel Kiper Jr, my next-day draft grade means nothing. We won't really know anything until a year or two down the road. The only way you can really immediately judge a draft as successful or not is if the team addressed their positions of need.

Miami's Picks:

RD

1 (28th) Jared Odrick,  DT  Penn State

2 (40th) Kao Misi,  DE  Utah

3 (73rd) John Jerry,  G  Mississippi

4 (119th) AJ Edds,  OLB  Iowa

5 (145th) Nolan Carroll,  CB  Maryland

5 (163rd) Reshad Jones,  S  Georgia

7 (212nd) Chris McCoy,  OLB Middle Tennessee

7 (252nd) Austin Spitler,  ILB  Ohio State

I hope every single one of these players pans out. That would be great. But let's be real, it is often times a crapshoot. I have heard good things about Odrick, but I am not completely sold that he can play in the middle of a 3-4 line. He seems a bit small. Misi is slated to play outside linebacker, but he hasn't shown himself to be even a moderately productive pass rusher. We went into this draft needing a dominant pass rusher, and got nothing that even resembles one. Parcells and co. must have a lot of faith in the development of Cameron Wake to have left all their egg in his basket. I am excited to see him in a more featured role next season. AJ Edds, by all counts, seems to be solid, but I don't trust players from Iowa. Spitler could end up being the better pick. We will see.  

For the sake of future I-told-you-so's, here is a list of guys I wish Miami had drafted. We realistically could have had almost all of them. Remember this list, because I will refer to it when these guys make the Pro Bowl.  Especially George Selvie. 

14th- Earl Thomas,  S  Texas

43rd- Sergio Kindle,  OLB  Texas

57th- Terrence Cody,  DT  Alabama

113th- Aaron Hernandez,  TE  Florida

124th- Eric Norwood,  OLB  South Carolina

207th- Myron Rolle,  S  Florida State

226th- George Selvie,  DE  South Florida

Undrafted- Colin Peek  TE  Alabama

Check out this video of Cameron Wake. What a freak.