WEBVTT - The Dolphins' Enviable Draft Position 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:07.720 Practice, Patrick drowing Tuxtower. What a win for this Miami 0:00:07.760 --> 0:00:13.240 Dolphin team. Wow? What is up? Dolphins? And welcome to 0:00:13.320 --> 0:00:16.960 the Drive Time Podcast, part of the Miami Dolphins official 0:00:17.079 --> 0:00:21.319 podcast network covering your Miami Dolphins. I am your host, 0:00:21.400 --> 0:00:23.840 Travis Wingfield, and I am here to bring you your 0:00:23.920 --> 0:00:27.479 daily dose of Miami Dolphins football. And on today's show, 0:00:27.640 --> 0:00:30.840 Pro Day season is underway. We'll talk about the workouts 0:00:30.880 --> 0:00:34.040 at Auburn, Miami's presence there and what it takes to 0:00:34.080 --> 0:00:38.120 be a Miami Dolphin under coach Flores, plus Miami's enviable 0:00:38.200 --> 0:00:42.040 draft position, Chris Greer's impressive draft record, and the dolphins 0:00:42.040 --> 0:00:45.560 inclusion among the better drafting teams in football. And we'll 0:00:45.560 --> 0:00:48.040 wrap it up with a mock draft round up, taking 0:00:48.080 --> 0:00:51.040 a look at some recent mock drafts published by Daniel 0:00:51.080 --> 0:00:54.120 Jeremiah and Chad Ruter of NFL dot Com and Josh 0:00:54.160 --> 0:00:56.800 Norris of Rhodo World. All of that and much much 0:00:56.840 --> 0:00:59.960 more on this Monday, March the ninth edition of the 0:01:00.080 --> 0:01:07.360 Drivetime Podcast. And it is Pro Day season across the 0:01:07.440 --> 0:01:11.039 National Football League and college football landscape. And so the 0:01:11.080 --> 0:01:14.800 Dolphins coaching personnel and scouting staffs are putting in their 0:01:14.840 --> 0:01:17.440 final prep work on this year's draft class, which is 0:01:17.480 --> 0:01:20.280 now just a little more than six weeks away, six 0:01:20.319 --> 0:01:24.480 weeks from Thursday until Vegas when Sin City becomes Finn City. 0:01:24.720 --> 0:01:27.320 And the most recent stop on that schedule was in 0:01:27.400 --> 0:01:30.960 Alabama for the Auburn Pro Day and the Tigers eight 0:01:31.160 --> 0:01:34.560 teen draft hopefuls at that Pro day. You gotta love 0:01:34.600 --> 0:01:38.080 the blue blood programs providing the NFL's with crazy, crazy 0:01:38.160 --> 0:01:41.360 numbers of NFL products and Draft day hopefuls. And among 0:01:41.600 --> 0:01:44.480 those eight team players were six players that are currently 0:01:44.720 --> 0:01:47.520 on the Draft Network's Top one hundred Big Board. And 0:01:47.560 --> 0:01:51.000 I think the story of this workout though, was Miami's 0:01:51.040 --> 0:01:54.080 extended work on the white board and the classroom aspect 0:01:54.080 --> 0:01:57.200 of things, putting players through that classroom session to see 0:01:57.240 --> 0:02:00.040 how the player can apply specific lessons to the on 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:03.200 field drills and how well do they retain information and 0:02:03.240 --> 0:02:05.560 apply it on game day or in this case, a 0:02:05.640 --> 0:02:08.240 simulated game day. And what is a pro day workout 0:02:08.360 --> 0:02:10.960 a practice type of atmosphere, but all in all, you 0:02:10.960 --> 0:02:13.680 want to measure the player's aptitude for the ability to 0:02:13.760 --> 0:02:16.440 apply this information on the football field, because if we 0:02:16.520 --> 0:02:19.600 go back to the Christian Wilkins article from Friday, or 0:02:19.639 --> 0:02:23.160 really any media availability that you've heard from Brian Flores 0:02:23.320 --> 0:02:26.880 and Chris Greer. It's always the same message. Tough, smart, 0:02:26.960 --> 0:02:30.079 discipline players, players that want to be great, players that 0:02:30.200 --> 0:02:33.120 love and prioritize the game, and players who are willing 0:02:33.320 --> 0:02:36.920 to make the sacrifices necessary to realize their potential. And 0:02:36.960 --> 0:02:39.000 I think the Dolphins did a great job last year 0:02:39.160 --> 0:02:41.799 of establishing the example you want to have put forth 0:02:41.919 --> 0:02:43.520 for the type of players that are gonna be here 0:02:43.600 --> 0:02:45.480 long term, for the type of players that are gonna 0:02:45.480 --> 0:02:48.040 earn second contracts, and be the example for what they 0:02:48.080 --> 0:02:49.720 want the young guys and the rest of the guys 0:02:49.760 --> 0:02:52.080 that come here to look like on the practice field, 0:02:52.120 --> 0:02:54.720 in the locker room, in the classroom. We've heard Jesse 0:02:54.880 --> 0:02:56.880 Davis talk about it, he got an extension. We heard 0:02:57.000 --> 0:02:59.239 Eric Roe talk about how you have to be wired 0:02:59.280 --> 0:03:01.320 a certain way to play for this coaching staff and 0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:03.960 this regime, and it's tough and it's not for everybody 0:03:03.960 --> 0:03:05.800 out there, and that's how Flora's wants it. And we 0:03:05.840 --> 0:03:09.000 saw that last year with the Wilkins drafting the ultimate 0:03:09.040 --> 0:03:12.480 embodiment of what kind of player Brian Flores wants in Miami. 0:03:12.720 --> 0:03:15.000 This quote from the Miami Dolphins dot com piece by 0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:18.000 yours truly quote. He's got an energy, He's got a 0:03:18.000 --> 0:03:20.760 life to him, flora said. At the same time, he 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:23.440 has a poise and workman like demeanor. He works his 0:03:23.560 --> 0:03:26.760 butt off. Football is important to him. So, just as 0:03:26.760 --> 0:03:29.880 we talked about on the Thursday edition of the Drivetime podcast, 0:03:30.040 --> 0:03:32.240 Flora's and Grier are going to tell you what they want, 0:03:32.400 --> 0:03:34.960 what they believe in, and their core principles at these 0:03:35.000 --> 0:03:38.280 media availabilities, just as Flora's did here, and that of 0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:41.520 course extends beyond Flora's this time in Miami. And I 0:03:41.560 --> 0:03:44.600 think the most telling testimony about Flora's when he got 0:03:44.720 --> 0:03:47.800 hired by the Dolphins was his former Patriots players that 0:03:47.880 --> 0:03:50.640 spoke about him. During the honoring of the coach at 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:53.720 the y m c S Legend Ball, Flores was recognized 0:03:53.760 --> 0:03:57.800 as the newest Legend of the organization's integration initiative, the 0:03:57.880 --> 0:04:01.080 Legends Ball. They're just a really special and a really 0:04:01.120 --> 0:04:04.720 cool cause they have out there. But Rob Ninkovich, Matthew Slater, 0:04:04.760 --> 0:04:08.000 and Devin mccordy all presented Flora's with the award, which 0:04:08.080 --> 0:04:10.400 quite obviously speak to the impact that he has on 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:12.840 his players. But there was one thing that Accordy said 0:04:12.880 --> 0:04:15.880 about Flores that always kind of resonated with me. But 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:19.000 first the quote from Matthew Slater that I think sets 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:21.720 up that comment by mccordy very well. Here's what Slater 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:24.159 had to say, quote, I think any man who's played 0:04:24.200 --> 0:04:27.040 for you talking about Flora's and anyone who knows you 0:04:27.320 --> 0:04:30.360 certainly feels like they're a better person having been around you. 0:04:30.640 --> 0:04:32.680 Everyone in here, I just want you to know this 0:04:32.720 --> 0:04:35.160 man is such a genuine human being, and it's more 0:04:35.200 --> 0:04:38.240 about the man tonight and mccordy would later talk about 0:04:38.240 --> 0:04:41.080 Flora's is loving and demanding nature, how it's kind of 0:04:41.080 --> 0:04:43.520 a yin and yang, a pull and push in terms 0:04:43.600 --> 0:04:45.719 of what Flora's has to do to get the most 0:04:45.720 --> 0:04:47.800 out of his players on the football field. And the 0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:52.080 genuine personality that Slater refers to demonstrates how much Flores 0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:54.560 cares for his guys. But that's not what makes a 0:04:54.600 --> 0:04:57.279 great football coach. It's part of the equation, but not 0:04:57.400 --> 0:05:00.599 the entire equation, and the rest of that scippee that 0:05:00.600 --> 0:05:03.719 makes a good football coach is pairing that genuine nature 0:05:04.000 --> 0:05:07.560 with a demanding aspect that holds guys accountable. It's how 0:05:07.600 --> 0:05:09.599 you lead a room, It's how you get guys to 0:05:09.640 --> 0:05:12.360 buy in. And we heard about that from several players. 0:05:12.360 --> 0:05:15.120 Even Christian Wilkins talked about it. As the year went along, 0:05:15.360 --> 0:05:18.040 more and more guys began to buy into Brian Flores 0:05:18.240 --> 0:05:20.880 and that kind of coincided with the Dolphins turning things 0:05:20.880 --> 0:05:23.920 around both on the scoreboard, in the standings, and just 0:05:24.080 --> 0:05:27.200 general perception of the team. So, as coach told us 0:05:27.200 --> 0:05:30.440 in Indianapolis at the scouting combine, they have an idea 0:05:30.520 --> 0:05:32.599 for the talent of these players coming up in this 0:05:32.680 --> 0:05:35.919 year's draft based upon the film, and Flow even said 0:05:35.920 --> 0:05:38.480 that what you guys the media have seen is what 0:05:38.520 --> 0:05:40.360 we have seen as well. We all watched the same 0:05:40.360 --> 0:05:43.080 college football games. But now this part of the process, 0:05:43.279 --> 0:05:46.359 these pro days and these meetings are an opportunity to 0:05:46.480 --> 0:05:48.400 get to know these players, to see if they have 0:05:48.520 --> 0:05:51.880 what it takes to be that smart, tough, discipline player, 0:05:52.040 --> 0:05:54.440 to see how much football does matter to them, to 0:05:54.480 --> 0:05:56.560 see if they have what it takes to be a 0:05:56.600 --> 0:05:59.800 Miami Dolphin. And the last note here on the Auburn 0:05:59.800 --> 0:06:02.480 pro o day, you had Derek Brown, Nick co and 0:06:02.560 --> 0:06:06.560 Marlon Davidson all defensive lineman, Prince Tega onnagu and Jack 0:06:06.640 --> 0:06:09.720 Driscoll on the offensive line. Those guys did not work out, 0:06:09.880 --> 0:06:12.280 and the only one of the Draft Networks Top one 0:06:12.360 --> 0:06:15.840 hundred list that did work out was cornerback Noah IgG 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:17.960 By n again. And that was the first take, by 0:06:17.960 --> 0:06:19.800 the way, right there. I got that recording in, got 0:06:19.839 --> 0:06:21.919 the name, nailed it, and he checked in with a 0:06:21.960 --> 0:06:24.560 forty vertical, a better than ten and a half foot 0:06:24.600 --> 0:06:27.440 broad jump, and a four four seven forty. He also 0:06:27.520 --> 0:06:29.440 ran at four four nine, But you take the first 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:32.880 time obviously the best time. The four four seven forty 0:06:32.920 --> 0:06:35.800 great numbers in general, but especially for a player that 0:06:35.880 --> 0:06:39.039 plays as physically as IgG By Nay plays at that 0:06:39.120 --> 0:06:44.480 cornerback position. And I threw that in there because I 0:06:44.480 --> 0:06:47.320 didn't have a proper segue into this next segment. I 0:06:47.320 --> 0:06:49.880 want to talk more about the draft, and we'll jump 0:06:50.000 --> 0:06:51.960 right into that right here. And let's go ahead and 0:06:52.040 --> 0:06:55.880 utilize the compensatory draft picks and pending announcement as our 0:06:55.960 --> 0:06:59.080 segue into the article up on Miami Dolphins dot com. 0:06:59.279 --> 0:07:01.880 So still no comp picks handed out just yet, but 0:07:01.920 --> 0:07:04.800 according to Nick Corte of over the Cap dot com 0:07:05.000 --> 0:07:07.200 and his sole job when it comes to writing football 0:07:07.400 --> 0:07:10.920 is projecting compensatory picks and his track record is phenomenal. 0:07:11.120 --> 0:07:13.520 So according to Courte, the Dolphins are looking at a 0:07:13.520 --> 0:07:16.480 fourth rounder and a seventh round draft pick in addition 0:07:16.720 --> 0:07:19.720 to the current draft capital they already have here in Miami. 0:07:19.880 --> 0:07:22.600 So the draft capital just keeps going up, going up, 0:07:22.720 --> 0:07:25.160 and going up. And that's the focus of our piece 0:07:25.400 --> 0:07:28.080 up on Miami Dolphins dot com right now, written again 0:07:28.240 --> 0:07:31.880 by yours truly, And this article idea was really born 0:07:31.960 --> 0:07:33.400 from a quote that I heard on the Move the 0:07:33.480 --> 0:07:37.080 Sticks podcast, of course, one of my favorite resources and 0:07:37.120 --> 0:07:40.280 podcast is to reference here. On the Drivetime podcast, they 0:07:40.320 --> 0:07:43.920 had Howie Roseman, the executive of the Philadelphia Eagles, the 0:07:44.080 --> 0:07:47.600 Super Bowl winning general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles, and 0:07:47.680 --> 0:07:50.840 him talking about the idea of accumulating draft picks and 0:07:50.880 --> 0:07:53.680 how there is basically a lottery involved when it does 0:07:53.760 --> 0:07:56.400 come to the draft, and giving yourself more bites at 0:07:56.400 --> 0:07:59.320 the apple, giving yourself more lottery tickets gives you a 0:07:59.360 --> 0:08:01.800 better chance to win that lottery ultimately. So here's a 0:08:01.840 --> 0:08:04.960 quote from Howie Roseman. Because the guys who are really 0:08:04.960 --> 0:08:07.520 good at the draft. If you're hitting on your first 0:08:07.600 --> 0:08:09.960 round picks, that's pretty good track record, and then it's 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:12.880 dropping as you go through the round. So really, the 0:08:12.920 --> 0:08:15.280 more chances you get, the more tickets, the lower you get, 0:08:16.000 --> 0:08:17.720 really the better you should be doing. And so with 0:08:17.760 --> 0:08:19.960 that in mind, the Dolphins do own the most draft 0:08:19.960 --> 0:08:23.000 picks this year in and are tied for the most 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:26.520 picks currently in of course, a long time to go 0:08:26.800 --> 0:08:29.800 until that draft comes around. But additionally, the Dolphins have 0:08:29.880 --> 0:08:32.959 eleven picks combined in the first three rounds over these 0:08:32.960 --> 0:08:36.000 next two draft classes, and that is by far far, 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:38.680 in a way, the most premium capital of any team 0:08:38.720 --> 0:08:41.839 out there, and Dolphins owner Stephen Ross proclaimed this pass 0:08:41.880 --> 0:08:45.760 offseason his desire for a consistent contender that avoids the 0:08:45.800 --> 0:08:48.040 flash in the pan and a team that can sustain 0:08:48.120 --> 0:08:51.120 success year to year. And you look around the league 0:08:51.200 --> 0:08:53.400 and there aren't many teams that have that in their 0:08:53.400 --> 0:08:56.160 back pocket, because there are plenty of examples of teams 0:08:56.160 --> 0:08:58.200 that show up for just one year and then go 0:08:58.280 --> 0:09:00.240 back to being a non playoff team the next year. 0:09:00.440 --> 0:09:03.640 It is difficult to sustain success in this league. So 0:09:03.720 --> 0:09:05.920 the handful of teams that have done it pretty much 0:09:05.960 --> 0:09:08.679 have one thing in common, and we start here with 0:09:08.720 --> 0:09:11.920 the Eagles, who's playing materialized with the Lombardi Trophy in 0:09:11.960 --> 0:09:15.280 that seventeen season, and they continued that success the next 0:09:15.320 --> 0:09:18.640 two years, putting together three consecutive post season trips from 0:09:19.080 --> 0:09:23.000 seventeen eighteen and again in twenty nineteen. And the usual 0:09:23.040 --> 0:09:26.880 suspects for January football achieved that level of sustained success 0:09:26.920 --> 0:09:30.640 through controlling the draft, and the Eagles Super Bowl parade 0:09:30.679 --> 0:09:33.760 came at the conclusion of that seventeen season. But the 0:09:33.840 --> 0:09:37.360 year prior, Roseman made a blockbuster trade to secure the 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:40.200 second overall draft pick to get their quarterback Carson Wentz. 0:09:40.400 --> 0:09:43.600 But the Eagles entered that year's draft with eleven selections, 0:09:43.720 --> 0:09:46.720 and they also participated in a combined six trades the 0:09:46.800 --> 0:09:51.200 last two years and sixteen that involved draft picks. On 0:09:51.240 --> 0:09:53.479 the other side of the country, you had the Seahawks, 0:09:53.559 --> 0:09:57.160 who won a Super Bowl after season and came within 0:09:57.360 --> 0:10:00.440 one yard the famous Marshawn Lynch non and off the 0:10:00.440 --> 0:10:03.720 Malcolm Butler interception, which, by the way, coach Flores called 0:10:03.760 --> 0:10:07.320 Butler onto the field for that particular call. But the Seahawks, 0:10:07.480 --> 0:10:11.440 upon Pete Carroll's arrival in made nine draft picks that year, 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:14.120 and from that year through the second Super Bowl appearance 0:10:14.160 --> 0:10:17.600 in so a five year stretch, never made less than 0:10:17.679 --> 0:10:21.120 nine picks, and they averaged nine point six picks per year. 0:10:21.320 --> 0:10:24.200 So with all that draft capital, the Seahawks developed an 0:10:24.240 --> 0:10:28.480 identity that produced four consecutive league leading scoring defenses. That's 0:10:28.480 --> 0:10:32.840 pretty unprecedented. In fact, it is unprecedented. Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman, 0:10:32.920 --> 0:10:36.439 Cam Chancellor, Bobby Wagner, and Super Bowl forty eight m 0:10:36.480 --> 0:10:39.400 v P. Malcolm Smith were all added to the Seahawks 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:42.880 roster during that stretch of draft halls. You've got Baltimore 0:10:42.880 --> 0:10:46.120 and Pittsburgh to the league's more consistent contenders annually, the 0:10:46.200 --> 0:10:49.360 Ravens average nine point four draft picks the last five years, 0:10:49.400 --> 0:10:52.960 eight point nine draft picks since, and the Steelers going 0:10:53.040 --> 0:10:56.120 back over that ten year period, average eight point three 0:10:56.200 --> 0:10:59.040 draft picks per year over that last decade. Then, of 0:10:59.080 --> 0:11:02.200 course you've got the Hatriots. Pro Football Focus provided a 0:11:02.280 --> 0:11:05.760 stat that tracks expected resources in a given off season 0:11:05.800 --> 0:11:09.760 compared to the actual capital acquired and spent, and the Patriots, 0:11:09.840 --> 0:11:12.280 typically picking towards the back end of the first round, 0:11:12.480 --> 0:11:15.000 have to get creative with their draft, a maneuvering to 0:11:15.120 --> 0:11:18.760 put them far above the team's expected draft capital. And 0:11:18.800 --> 0:11:21.720 this all comes from a study done by at PFF 0:11:21.880 --> 0:11:25.400 underscore Move on Twitter where he looked at team's recent 0:11:25.440 --> 0:11:28.280 draft success and how much more capital they had than 0:11:28.320 --> 0:11:30.680 what they should have had in terms of player production 0:11:30.880 --> 0:11:33.480 based upon where they drafted. And I want to come 0:11:33.520 --> 0:11:35.800 back to that study and that graphic here real quick. 0:11:35.840 --> 0:11:37.920 But first I want to go back to a different 0:11:37.920 --> 0:11:40.680 era of the National Football League and one that includes 0:11:40.880 --> 0:11:44.040 the Dolphins in terms of this further historical evidence of 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:47.560 acquired draft capital producing a winning product on the field. 0:11:47.720 --> 0:11:51.760 You go back to nine through and the Dolphins in 0:11:51.800 --> 0:11:54.719 those three years made thirty six selections over that three 0:11:54.800 --> 0:11:57.640 year period and average of twelve per year. And like 0:11:57.720 --> 0:12:00.360 any draft class, you're gonna have some misses, you're gonna 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:03.000 have some solid contributors. But the Dolphins, in this case, 0:12:03.120 --> 0:12:05.400 with more bites at the apple, were able, like the 0:12:05.440 --> 0:12:08.400 Seahawks a couple of years back, were able to establish 0:12:08.440 --> 0:12:11.160 that identity and produce a core that led to seven 0:12:11.160 --> 0:12:14.720 consecutive winning seasons and five playoff berths, and a defense 0:12:14.760 --> 0:12:17.160 that basically was top ten or top five even in 0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:19.479 the top one and two a couple of years annually, 0:12:19.640 --> 0:12:22.280 and it started with Jason Taylor, a first ballot Hall 0:12:22.320 --> 0:12:25.000 of Fame selection, Zach Thomas, who for my money, should 0:12:25.040 --> 0:12:26.880 be in the Hall of Fame already, but for now 0:12:26.880 --> 0:12:29.120 we'll call him a finalist for the Hall of Fame. 0:12:29.320 --> 0:12:32.960 And cornerbacks Patrick Surtan Sam Madison combined for seven Pro 0:12:33.040 --> 0:12:36.280 Bowls and three first team All Pro selections here in Miami. 0:12:36.360 --> 0:12:38.960 So those four guys were gathered in those three draft 0:12:39.000 --> 0:12:42.160 classes to give the Dolphins that core defense. And also 0:12:42.240 --> 0:12:44.199 in that group, although he never made a Pro Bowl 0:12:44.240 --> 0:12:47.599 again another snubbing here for the Dolphins, Darryl Gardner was 0:12:47.640 --> 0:12:50.720 included in that class as well. So five really cornerstone 0:12:50.760 --> 0:12:53.760 pieces to that Dolphins defense, which basically turned out to 0:12:53.800 --> 0:12:57.080 be an annual playoff contender and an annual top team 0:12:57.240 --> 0:12:59.319 which later and this isn't in the article, but it's 0:12:59.320 --> 0:13:02.000 a thought that I had later allowed Miami to be 0:13:02.080 --> 0:13:04.880 more aggressive in their pursuit of finding a guy that 0:13:04.920 --> 0:13:07.560 could put that team over the top, like Ricky Williams, 0:13:07.640 --> 0:13:10.560 and they traded all that draft capital to go get Ricky, 0:13:10.640 --> 0:13:13.120 and the first year there in Miami, what a beautiful 0:13:13.200 --> 0:13:16.240 compliment he was to that great defense with over eight 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:20.079 hundred fifty yards and sixteen touchdowns. He was the ultimate 0:13:20.120 --> 0:13:23.040 cog in that machine. And I'll forever argue that two 0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:26.120 thousand two Dolphins team was as talented as any in 0:13:26.160 --> 0:13:28.720 the NFL. But of course Jay Fieeddler had the broken 0:13:28.720 --> 0:13:30.680 thumb and things just kind of got away from that 0:13:30.679 --> 0:13:32.600 team at the end of the season. But still I 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:35.280 believe that team was built the right way for that 0:13:35.360 --> 0:13:37.800 era of football, and even though it didn't work out, 0:13:38.000 --> 0:13:40.800 good process over good results, right, that's the theme, that's 0:13:40.840 --> 0:13:43.760 the idea here. So you jump back to present day 0:13:43.800 --> 0:13:46.319 and Miami's recent drafting ranks in the top half of 0:13:46.360 --> 0:13:49.440 the league from that Pro Football Focus graphic from at 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:53.840 PFF underscore move on Twitter, and very fittingly, that graphic 0:13:53.880 --> 0:13:56.800 goes from seen all the way back to two thousand six, 0:13:57.080 --> 0:13:59.920 just one year prior to Chris Greer being appointed as 0:14:00.040 --> 0:14:03.080 the director of college Scouting for the Miami Dolphins, and 0:14:03.120 --> 0:14:05.360 it basically looks at the data points in terms of 0:14:05.400 --> 0:14:07.400 what the team should be expected to draft at that 0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:09.760 particular spot in the draft compared to what they were 0:14:09.800 --> 0:14:12.720 able to get with on field performance. From those players, 0:14:12.800 --> 0:14:15.480 and the Dolphins ranked twelve in that regard. They're around 0:14:15.480 --> 0:14:19.120 teams like the Patriots, Saints, Vikings, the Cowboys, the Ravens, 0:14:19.240 --> 0:14:21.200 some of the better teams in the league over that stretch, 0:14:21.280 --> 0:14:23.960 the Dolphins were drafting in that same neighborhood. So kudos 0:14:24.000 --> 0:14:27.320 to Chris Greer for identifying those players among his scouting 0:14:27.320 --> 0:14:30.200 staff to get the Dolphins to draft positively over that 0:14:30.280 --> 0:14:33.200 decade long period. So now we've established that having the 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:35.560 most picks is obviously a great thing to have a 0:14:35.600 --> 0:14:37.880 distinct advantage, But the part of the numbers game you 0:14:37.880 --> 0:14:39.880 want to get right, which I believe we have proven 0:14:39.920 --> 0:14:42.200 here as well on this podcast, is that if you 0:14:42.200 --> 0:14:44.480 have the picks, it doesn't matter unless you get the 0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:47.360 picks right. And again, Greer has been with Miami since 0:14:47.400 --> 0:14:49.600 two thousand three, and he was the director of college 0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:52.440 scouting starting in two thousand seven before his twenty six 0:14:52.480 --> 0:14:56.560 team promotion to general manager. And quantifying draft picks success, 0:14:56.880 --> 0:14:59.080 it's not a black and white operation of black and 0:14:59.120 --> 0:15:02.400 white project ject but Pro bowls and second contracts I 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:05.120 think are an effective measure of how well early round 0:15:05.120 --> 0:15:08.200 picks perform, but also how many players that were selected 0:15:08.240 --> 0:15:11.360 on Day three produced five hundred plus snaps in a 0:15:11.440 --> 0:15:15.640 season because rotational players, special teamers, these guys are crucial 0:15:15.840 --> 0:15:18.760 for deep playoff runs and surviving the injury bug that 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:21.480 hits every single year in the NFL, and just producing 0:15:21.520 --> 0:15:24.520 a fifty three man roster that can compete and fulfill 0:15:24.560 --> 0:15:27.040 the next man up mentality. So playing half of the 0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:31.200 offense or defenses or special team snaps symbolizes a player's 0:15:31.240 --> 0:15:34.240 impact on that given year. And using that one thousand 0:15:34.240 --> 0:15:37.400 snap baseline, because most teams play a thousand snaps, give 0:15:37.480 --> 0:15:39.640 or take a couple hundred here or there, so a 0:15:39.720 --> 0:15:42.200 five hundred snap player is to be considered to me 0:15:42.520 --> 0:15:45.680 a significant contributor. And you remove the twenty nine teen 0:15:45.760 --> 0:15:48.240 draft class from the sample size because they're just not 0:15:48.400 --> 0:15:50.720 enough evidence, a too small of a sample size for 0:15:50.920 --> 0:15:53.280 those guys. So we go back five years and this 0:15:53.360 --> 0:15:56.160 goes two years prior to when Chris Greer was officially 0:15:56.160 --> 0:15:59.000 announced as the general manager of the Miami Dolphins, so 0:15:59.040 --> 0:16:00.800 there are two years where he was the director of 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:03.840 college scouting in the study, we go back five years. 0:16:04.000 --> 0:16:06.960 The Dolphins had thirty eight draft picks over those five years, 0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:09.560 just under eight draft picks per year, and we're talking 0:16:09.560 --> 0:16:13.560 about Pro Bowlers, second contract players, and five hundred snaptakers, 0:16:13.680 --> 0:16:16.640 and we're using Pro Bowls as the top distinction, and 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:20.320 anything the player requires after that does not get included. So, 0:16:20.400 --> 0:16:22.560 for instance, you have a player that made the Pro Bowl, 0:16:22.680 --> 0:16:25.000 we're not gonna put him on the second contract column 0:16:25.000 --> 0:16:27.720 and the five hundred snap column together because we only 0:16:27.720 --> 0:16:30.040 want to count for that player one single time. We 0:16:30.160 --> 0:16:33.000 also used Pro Bowls or second contracts with other teams 0:16:33.200 --> 0:16:35.280 as a nod to the draft or because we're talking 0:16:35.320 --> 0:16:38.080 about Chris Career's ability to draft players here, not what 0:16:38.160 --> 0:16:41.280 happens after they've been selected by the Miami Dolphins. So 0:16:41.320 --> 0:16:45.600 you go back through five Pro bowlers on that list, 0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:49.960 eight second contract players, and seven five hundred snaptakers. So 0:16:50.000 --> 0:16:52.480 that gives you a grand total of twenty out of 0:16:52.520 --> 0:16:55.360 thirty eight in terms of significant contributors, which gives you 0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:59.920 a batting average of around five six over to twenty 0:17:00.040 --> 0:17:02.720 eight teen period. So the Dolphins hitting well over five 0:17:02.800 --> 0:17:05.720 hundred in that period under Chris Greer, and we heard 0:17:05.720 --> 0:17:08.359 how he Roseman talked about batting six hundred just in 0:17:08.400 --> 0:17:11.800 the first round alone is successful. So to be successful 0:17:11.840 --> 0:17:14.480 on fifty two and a half percent of your draft 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:16.879 picks from rounds one through seven. That's quite a feather 0:17:16.920 --> 0:17:19.199 in the cap of Chris Greer and his staff and 0:17:19.240 --> 0:17:21.439 shows you how Miami got into the top half the 0:17:21.480 --> 0:17:25.320 league in that draft success category from Pro Football Focused, 0:17:25.440 --> 0:17:27.920 and of course you're always gonna hear Chris Greer deflects 0:17:27.920 --> 0:17:30.480 praise for his work. This is a collaboration, and he'll 0:17:30.520 --> 0:17:32.360 be the first one to tell you that. It involves 0:17:32.359 --> 0:17:35.240 Brian Flores and his staff, it involves Marvin Allen and 0:17:35.280 --> 0:17:38.359 the college scouting and Reggie mackenzie and the entirety of 0:17:38.359 --> 0:17:41.840 the Dolphins college scouting staff and coaching staff providing input 0:17:41.880 --> 0:17:44.520 here for the Dolphins draft picks. But based on that 0:17:44.560 --> 0:17:47.880 five year snapshot in Miami's bevy of draft picks this year, 0:17:48.080 --> 0:17:51.959 the odds the math says that adding multiple cornerstones and 0:17:52.040 --> 0:17:55.440 significant contributors to the roster this April, Miami's odds at 0:17:55.480 --> 0:17:58.679 doing that are among the league's best. And on the 0:17:58.720 --> 0:18:01.879 topic of the draft and being just six weeks away now, 0:18:02.040 --> 0:18:05.000 I saw several more mock drafts published this last week. 0:18:05.200 --> 0:18:07.000 Let's go ahead and do a roundup of some of 0:18:07.040 --> 0:18:10.480 the game's heaviest hitters and their recent mock drafts drafts 0:18:10.520 --> 0:18:12.720 that are published in the last week, and we start 0:18:12.760 --> 0:18:15.520 with the heaviest of all hitters, NFL Network and NFL 0:18:15.600 --> 0:18:19.040 dot COM's Daniel Jeremiah and his mock two point oh. 0:18:19.080 --> 0:18:21.639 He went one round, and he stayed very familiar with 0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:23.560 what you've seen in a lot of the mock drafts 0:18:23.560 --> 0:18:26.600 out there, with the Dolphins fifth overall selection to a 0:18:26.720 --> 0:18:30.439 Tongue Voloa, the Alabama junior quarterback. The blurb is simple 0:18:30.520 --> 0:18:33.240 and to the point. If twas medical reports come back clean, 0:18:33.480 --> 0:18:36.240 he won't get out of the top five. So Jeremiah 0:18:36.280 --> 0:18:39.200 has the Dolphins going quarterback at number five. They come 0:18:39.240 --> 0:18:42.120 back at number eighteen later on in the first round 0:18:42.359 --> 0:18:46.360 and give to his college teammate and receiver Henry Ruggs 0:18:46.359 --> 0:18:48.840 the third and Jeremiah notes it would be fun to 0:18:48.840 --> 0:18:52.600 watch Rugs reunite with tah to ignite that offense. And 0:18:52.640 --> 0:18:55.320 you'll notice around draft Twitter and other spots and like, 0:18:55.640 --> 0:18:57.520 there has been quite a bit of an argument lately 0:18:57.560 --> 0:19:00.520 about who is receiver one, and Henry run has kind 0:19:00.560 --> 0:19:03.920 of inserted himself into that discussion among his teammate Jerry 0:19:04.000 --> 0:19:07.240 Judy and Oklahoma Ceedee Lamb. One of my favorite stats 0:19:07.240 --> 0:19:10.240 on Henry Ruggs is that he caught touchdowns or score 0:19:10.280 --> 0:19:14.639 touchdowns I should say on nearly of his career college 0:19:14.680 --> 0:19:17.680 touchdown or touch as I should say, so instant offense 0:19:17.840 --> 0:19:20.240 at the college level. There, Jeremiah hits the nail on 0:19:20.240 --> 0:19:23.159 the head with the explosive element that Henry Ruggs and 0:19:23.200 --> 0:19:26.560 his four would add to the receiving corps. Rounding out 0:19:26.600 --> 0:19:30.760 Jeremiah's mock draft here number overall the USC offensive tackle 0:19:30.840 --> 0:19:33.000 Austin Jackson, and I had a chance to talk to 0:19:33.040 --> 0:19:36.920 Austin Jackson at his combine availability. Really cool story about him. 0:19:37.119 --> 0:19:40.280 He donated some bone marrow to his sister last offseason 0:19:40.440 --> 0:19:42.560 and essentially had to skip all of his off season 0:19:42.680 --> 0:19:45.400 workouts because he was recovering from that and couldn't really 0:19:45.400 --> 0:19:47.920 properly work out. So he felt like he was playing 0:19:47.960 --> 0:19:50.600 catch up throughout the year. But his tape would suggest otherwise, 0:19:50.600 --> 0:19:53.320 because he's a very good tackle prospect there just twenty 0:19:53.359 --> 0:19:56.639 years of age. Jeremiah says, Jackson is well liked around 0:19:56.680 --> 0:19:58.840 the league. Let's go ahead and jump over to Chad 0:19:58.880 --> 0:20:01.720 Ruder's mock draft here. And he went big. He went 0:20:01.800 --> 0:20:04.760