Speaker 1: Practice, Patrick drowing Tuxtower. What a win for this Miami
Speaker 1: Dolphin team. Wow? What is up? Dolphins? And welcome to
Speaker 1: the Drive Time Podcast, part of the Miami Dolphins official
Speaker 1: podcast network covering your Miami Dolphins. I am your host,
Speaker 1: Travis Wingfield, and I am here to bring you your
Speaker 1: daily dose of Miami Dolphins football. And on today's show,
Speaker 1: Pro Day season is underway. We'll talk about the workouts
Speaker 1: at Auburn, Miami's presence there and what it takes to
Speaker 1: be a Miami Dolphin under coach Flores, plus Miami's enviable
Speaker 1: draft position, Chris Greer's impressive draft record, and the dolphins
Speaker 1: inclusion among the better drafting teams in football. And we'll
Speaker 1: wrap it up with a mock draft round up, taking
Speaker 1: a look at some recent mock drafts published by Daniel
Speaker 1: Jeremiah and Chad Ruter of NFL dot Com and Josh
Speaker 1: Norris of Rhodo World. All of that and much much
Speaker 1: more on this Monday, March the ninth edition of the
Speaker 1: Drivetime Podcast. And it is Pro Day season across the
Speaker 1: National Football League and college football landscape. And so the
Speaker 1: Dolphins coaching personnel and scouting staffs are putting in their
Speaker 1: final prep work on this year's draft class, which is
Speaker 1: now just a little more than six weeks away, six
Speaker 1: weeks from Thursday until Vegas when Sin City becomes Finn City.
Speaker 1: And the most recent stop on that schedule was in
Speaker 1: Alabama for the Auburn Pro Day and the Tigers eight
Speaker 1: teen draft hopefuls at that Pro day. You gotta love
Speaker 1: the blue blood programs providing the NFL's with crazy, crazy
Speaker 1: numbers of NFL products and Draft day hopefuls. And among
Speaker 1: those eight team players were six players that are currently
Speaker 1: on the Draft Network's Top one hundred Big Board. And
Speaker 1: I think the story of this workout though, was Miami's
Speaker 1: extended work on the white board and the classroom aspect
Speaker 1: of things, putting players through that classroom session to see
Speaker 1: how the player can apply specific lessons to the on
Speaker 1: field drills and how well do they retain information and
Speaker 1: apply it on game day or in this case, a
Speaker 1: simulated game day. And what is a pro day workout
Speaker 1: a practice type of atmosphere, but all in all, you
Speaker 1: want to measure the player's aptitude for the ability to
Speaker 1: apply this information on the football field, because if we
Speaker 1: go back to the Christian Wilkins article from Friday, or
Speaker 1: really any media availability that you've heard from Brian Flores
Speaker 1: and Chris Greer. It's always the same message. Tough, smart,
Speaker 1: discipline players, players that want to be great, players that
Speaker 1: love and prioritize the game, and players who are willing
Speaker 1: to make the sacrifices necessary to realize their potential. And
Speaker 1: I think the Dolphins did a great job last year
Speaker 1: of establishing the example you want to have put forth
Speaker 1: for the type of players that are gonna be here
Speaker 1: long term, for the type of players that are gonna
Speaker 1: earn second contracts, and be the example for what they
Speaker 1: want the young guys and the rest of the guys
Speaker 1: that come here to look like on the practice field,
Speaker 1: in the locker room, in the classroom. We've heard Jesse
Speaker 1: Davis talk about it, he got an extension. We heard
Speaker 1: Eric Roe talk about how you have to be wired
Speaker 1: a certain way to play for this coaching staff and
Speaker 1: this regime, and it's tough and it's not for everybody
Speaker 1: out there, and that's how Flora's wants it. And we
Speaker 1: saw that last year with the Wilkins drafting the ultimate
Speaker 1: embodiment of what kind of player Brian Flores wants in Miami.
Speaker 1: This quote from the Miami Dolphins dot com piece by
Speaker 1: yours truly quote. He's got an energy, He's got a
Speaker 1: life to him, flora said. At the same time, he
Speaker 1: has a poise and workman like demeanor. He works his
Speaker 1: butt off. Football is important to him. So, just as
Speaker 1: we talked about on the Thursday edition of the Drivetime podcast,
Speaker 1: Flora's and Grier are going to tell you what they want,
Speaker 1: what they believe in, and their core principles at these
Speaker 1: media availabilities, just as Flora's did here, and that of
Speaker 1: course extends beyond Flora's this time in Miami. And I
Speaker 1: think the most telling testimony about Flora's when he got
Speaker 1: hired by the Dolphins was his former Patriots players that
Speaker 1: spoke about him. During the honoring of the coach at
Speaker 1: the y m c S Legend Ball, Flores was recognized
Speaker 1: as the newest Legend of the organization's integration initiative, the
Speaker 1: Legends Ball. They're just a really special and a really
Speaker 1: cool cause they have out there. But Rob Ninkovich, Matthew Slater,
Speaker 1: and Devin mccordy all presented Flora's with the award, which
Speaker 1: quite obviously speak to the impact that he has on
Speaker 1: his players. But there was one thing that Accordy said
Speaker 1: about Flores that always kind of resonated with me. But
Speaker 1: first the quote from Matthew Slater that I think sets
Speaker 1: up that comment by mccordy very well. Here's what Slater
Speaker 1: had to say, quote, I think any man who's played
Speaker 1: for you talking about Flora's and anyone who knows you
Speaker 1: certainly feels like they're a better person having been around you.
Speaker 1: Everyone in here, I just want you to know this
Speaker 1: man is such a genuine human being, and it's more
Speaker 1: about the man tonight and mccordy would later talk about
Speaker 1: Flora's is loving and demanding nature, how it's kind of
Speaker 1: a yin and yang, a pull and push in terms
Speaker 1: of what Flora's has to do to get the most
Speaker 1: out of his players on the football field. And the
Speaker 1: genuine personality that Slater refers to demonstrates how much Flores
Speaker 1: cares for his guys. But that's not what makes a
Speaker 1: great football coach. It's part of the equation, but not
Speaker 1: the entire equation, and the rest of that scippee that
Speaker 1: makes a good football coach is pairing that genuine nature
Speaker 1: with a demanding aspect that holds guys accountable. It's how
Speaker 1: you lead a room, It's how you get guys to
Speaker 1: buy in. And we heard about that from several players.
Speaker 1: Even Christian Wilkins talked about it. As the year went along,
Speaker 1: more and more guys began to buy into Brian Flores
Speaker 1: and that kind of coincided with the Dolphins turning things
Speaker 1: around both on the scoreboard, in the standings, and just
Speaker 1: general perception of the team. So, as coach told us
Speaker 1: in Indianapolis at the scouting combine, they have an idea
Speaker 1: for the talent of these players coming up in this
Speaker 1: year's draft based upon the film, and Flow even said
Speaker 1: that what you guys the media have seen is what
Speaker 1: we have seen as well. We all watched the same
Speaker 1: college football games. But now this part of the process,
Speaker 1: these pro days and these meetings are an opportunity to
Speaker 1: get to know these players, to see if they have
Speaker 1: what it takes to be that smart, tough, discipline player,
Speaker 1: to see how much football does matter to them, to
Speaker 1: see if they have what it takes to be a
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphin. And the last note here on the Auburn
Speaker 1: pro o day, you had Derek Brown, Nick co and
Speaker 1: Marlon Davidson all defensive lineman, Prince Tega onnagu and Jack
Speaker 1: Driscoll on the offensive line. Those guys did not work out,
Speaker 1: and the only one of the Draft Networks Top one
Speaker 1: hundred list that did work out was cornerback Noah IgG
Speaker 1: By n again. And that was the first take, by
Speaker 1: the way, right there. I got that recording in, got
Speaker 1: the name, nailed it, and he checked in with a
Speaker 1: forty vertical, a better than ten and a half foot
Speaker 1: broad jump, and a four four seven forty. He also
Speaker 1: ran at four four nine, But you take the first
Speaker 1: time obviously the best time. The four four seven forty
Speaker 1: great numbers in general, but especially for a player that
Speaker 1: plays as physically as IgG By Nay plays at that
Speaker 1: cornerback position. And I threw that in there because I
Speaker 1: didn't have a proper segue into this next segment. I
Speaker 1: want to talk more about the draft, and we'll jump
Speaker 1: right into that right here. And let's go ahead and
Speaker 1: utilize the compensatory draft picks and pending announcement as our
Speaker 1: segue into the article up on Miami Dolphins dot com.
Speaker 1: So still no comp picks handed out just yet, but
Speaker 1: according to Nick Corte of over the Cap dot com
Speaker 1: and his sole job when it comes to writing football
Speaker 1: is projecting compensatory picks and his track record is phenomenal.
Speaker 1: So according to Courte, the Dolphins are looking at a
Speaker 1: fourth rounder and a seventh round draft pick in addition
Speaker 1: to the current draft capital they already have here in Miami.
Speaker 1: So the draft capital just keeps going up, going up,
Speaker 1: and going up. And that's the focus of our piece
Speaker 1: up on Miami Dolphins dot com right now, written again
Speaker 1: by yours truly, And this article idea was really born
Speaker 1: from a quote that I heard on the Move the
Speaker 1: Sticks podcast, of course, one of my favorite resources and
Speaker 1: podcast is to reference here. On the Drivetime podcast, they
Speaker 1: had Howie Roseman, the executive of the Philadelphia Eagles, the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl winning general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles, and
Speaker 1: him talking about the idea of accumulating draft picks and
Speaker 1: how there is basically a lottery involved when it does
Speaker 1: come to the draft, and giving yourself more bites at
Speaker 1: the apple, giving yourself more lottery tickets gives you a
Speaker 1: better chance to win that lottery ultimately. So here's a
Speaker 1: quote from Howie Roseman. Because the guys who are really
Speaker 1: good at the draft. If you're hitting on your first
Speaker 1: round picks, that's pretty good track record, and then it's
Speaker 1: dropping as you go through the round. So really, the
Speaker 1: more chances you get, the more tickets, the lower you get,
Speaker 1: really the better you should be doing. And so with
Speaker 1: that in mind, the Dolphins do own the most draft
Speaker 1: picks this year in and are tied for the most
Speaker 1: picks currently in of course, a long time to go
Speaker 1: until that draft comes around. But additionally, the Dolphins have
Speaker 1: eleven picks combined in the first three rounds over these
Speaker 1: next two draft classes, and that is by far far,
Speaker 1: in a way, the most premium capital of any team
Speaker 1: out there, and Dolphins owner Stephen Ross proclaimed this pass
Speaker 1: offseason his desire for a consistent contender that avoids the
Speaker 1: flash in the pan and a team that can sustain
Speaker 1: success year to year. And you look around the league
Speaker 1: and there aren't many teams that have that in their
Speaker 1: back pocket, because there are plenty of examples of teams
Speaker 1: that show up for just one year and then go
Speaker 1: back to being a non playoff team the next year.
Speaker 1: It is difficult to sustain success in this league. So
Speaker 1: the handful of teams that have done it pretty much
Speaker 1: have one thing in common, and we start here with
Speaker 1: the Eagles, who's playing materialized with the Lombardi Trophy in
Speaker 1: that seventeen season, and they continued that success the next
Speaker 1: two years, putting together three consecutive post season trips from
Speaker 1: seventeen eighteen and again in twenty nineteen. And the usual
Speaker 1: suspects for January football achieved that level of sustained success
Speaker 1: through controlling the draft, and the Eagles Super Bowl parade
Speaker 1: came at the conclusion of that seventeen season. But the
Speaker 1: year prior, Roseman made a blockbuster trade to secure the
Speaker 1: second overall draft pick to get their quarterback Carson Wentz.
Speaker 1: But the Eagles entered that year's draft with eleven selections,
Speaker 1: and they also participated in a combined six trades the
Speaker 1: last two years and sixteen that involved draft picks. On
Speaker 1: the other side of the country, you had the Seahawks,
Speaker 1: who won a Super Bowl after season and came within
Speaker 1: one yard the famous Marshawn Lynch non and off the
Speaker 1: Malcolm Butler interception, which, by the way, coach Flores called
Speaker 1: Butler onto the field for that particular call. But the Seahawks,
Speaker 1: upon Pete Carroll's arrival in made nine draft picks that year,
Speaker 1: and from that year through the second Super Bowl appearance
Speaker 1: in so a five year stretch, never made less than
Speaker 1: nine picks, and they averaged nine point six picks per year.
Speaker 1: So with all that draft capital, the Seahawks developed an
Speaker 1: identity that produced four consecutive league leading scoring defenses. That's
Speaker 1: pretty unprecedented. In fact, it is unprecedented. Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman,
Speaker 1: Cam Chancellor, Bobby Wagner, and Super Bowl forty eight m
Speaker 1: v P. Malcolm Smith were all added to the Seahawks
Speaker 1: roster during that stretch of draft halls. You've got Baltimore
Speaker 1: and Pittsburgh to the league's more consistent contenders annually, the
Speaker 1: Ravens average nine point four draft picks the last five years,
Speaker 1: eight point nine draft picks since, and the Steelers going
Speaker 1: back over that ten year period, average eight point three
Speaker 1: draft picks per year over that last decade. Then, of
Speaker 1: course you've got the Hatriots. Pro Football Focus provided a
Speaker 1: stat that tracks expected resources in a given off season
Speaker 1: compared to the actual capital acquired and spent, and the Patriots,
Speaker 1: typically picking towards the back end of the first round,
Speaker 1: have to get creative with their draft, a maneuvering to
Speaker 1: put them far above the team's expected draft capital. And
Speaker 1: this all comes from a study done by at PFF
Speaker 1: underscore Move on Twitter where he looked at team's recent
Speaker 1: draft success and how much more capital they had than
Speaker 1: what they should have had in terms of player production
Speaker 1: based upon where they drafted. And I want to come
Speaker 1: back to that study and that graphic here real quick.
Speaker 1: But first I want to go back to a different
Speaker 1: era of the National Football League and one that includes
Speaker 1: the Dolphins in terms of this further historical evidence of
Speaker 1: acquired draft capital producing a winning product on the field.
Speaker 1: You go back to nine through and the Dolphins in
Speaker 1: those three years made thirty six selections over that three
Speaker 1: year period and average of twelve per year. And like
Speaker 1: any draft class, you're gonna have some misses, you're gonna
Speaker 1: have some solid contributors. But the Dolphins, in this case,
Speaker 1: with more bites at the apple, were able, like the
Speaker 1: Seahawks a couple of years back, were able to establish
Speaker 1: that identity and produce a core that led to seven
Speaker 1: consecutive winning seasons and five playoff berths, and a defense
Speaker 1: that basically was top ten or top five even in
Speaker 1: the top one and two a couple of years annually,
Speaker 1: and it started with Jason Taylor, a first ballot Hall
Speaker 1: of Fame selection, Zach Thomas, who for my money, should
Speaker 1: be in the Hall of Fame already, but for now
Speaker 1: we'll call him a finalist for the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 1: And cornerbacks Patrick Surtan Sam Madison combined for seven Pro
Speaker 1: Bowls and three first team All Pro selections here in Miami.
Speaker 1: So those four guys were gathered in those three draft
Speaker 1: classes to give the Dolphins that core defense. And also
Speaker 1: in that group, although he never made a Pro Bowl
Speaker 1: again another snubbing here for the Dolphins, Darryl Gardner was
Speaker 1: included in that class as well. So five really cornerstone
Speaker 1: pieces to that Dolphins defense, which basically turned out to
Speaker 1: be an annual playoff contender and an annual top team
Speaker 1: which later and this isn't in the article, but it's
Speaker 1: a thought that I had later allowed Miami to be
Speaker 1: more aggressive in their pursuit of finding a guy that
Speaker 1: could put that team over the top, like Ricky Williams,
Speaker 1: and they traded all that draft capital to go get Ricky,
Speaker 1: and the first year there in Miami, what a beautiful
Speaker 1: compliment he was to that great defense with over eight
Speaker 1: hundred fifty yards and sixteen touchdowns. He was the ultimate
Speaker 1: cog in that machine. And I'll forever argue that two
Speaker 1: thousand two Dolphins team was as talented as any in
Speaker 1: the NFL. But of course Jay Fieeddler had the broken
Speaker 1: thumb and things just kind of got away from that
Speaker 1: team at the end of the season. But still I
Speaker 1: believe that team was built the right way for that
Speaker 1: era of football, and even though it didn't work out,
Speaker 1: good process over good results, right, that's the theme, that's
Speaker 1: the idea here. So you jump back to present day
Speaker 1: and Miami's recent drafting ranks in the top half of
Speaker 1: the league from that Pro Football Focus graphic from at
Speaker 1: PFF underscore move on Twitter, and very fittingly, that graphic
Speaker 1: goes from seen all the way back to two thousand six,
Speaker 1: just one year prior to Chris Greer being appointed as
Speaker 1: the director of college Scouting for the Miami Dolphins, and
Speaker 1: it basically looks at the data points in terms of
Speaker 1: what the team should be expected to draft at that
Speaker 1: particular spot in the draft compared to what they were
Speaker 1: able to get with on field performance. From those players,
Speaker 1: and the Dolphins ranked twelve in that regard. They're around
Speaker 1: teams like the Patriots, Saints, Vikings, the Cowboys, the Ravens,
Speaker 1: some of the better teams in the league over that stretch,
Speaker 1: the Dolphins were drafting in that same neighborhood. So kudos
Speaker 1: to Chris Greer for identifying those players among his scouting
Speaker 1: staff to get the Dolphins to draft positively over that
Speaker 1: decade long period. So now we've established that having the
Speaker 1: most picks is obviously a great thing to have a
Speaker 1: distinct advantage, But the part of the numbers game you
Speaker 1: want to get right, which I believe we have proven
Speaker 1: here as well on this podcast, is that if you
Speaker 1: have the picks, it doesn't matter unless you get the
Speaker 1: picks right. And again, Greer has been with Miami since
Speaker 1: two thousand three, and he was the director of college
Speaker 1: scouting starting in two thousand seven before his twenty six
Speaker 1: team promotion to general manager. And quantifying draft picks success,
Speaker 1: it's not a black and white operation of black and
Speaker 1: white project ject but Pro bowls and second contracts I
Speaker 1: think are an effective measure of how well early round
Speaker 1: picks perform, but also how many players that were selected
Speaker 1: on Day three produced five hundred plus snaps in a
Speaker 1: season because rotational players, special teamers, these guys are crucial
Speaker 1: for deep playoff runs and surviving the injury bug that
Speaker 1: hits every single year in the NFL, and just producing
Speaker 1: a fifty three man roster that can compete and fulfill
Speaker 1: the next man up mentality. So playing half of the
Speaker 1: offense or defenses or special team snaps symbolizes a player's
Speaker 1: impact on that given year. And using that one thousand
Speaker 1: snap baseline, because most teams play a thousand snaps, give
Speaker 1: or take a couple hundred here or there, so a
Speaker 1: five hundred snap player is to be considered to me
Speaker 1: a significant contributor. And you remove the twenty nine teen
Speaker 1: draft class from the sample size because they're just not
Speaker 1: enough evidence, a too small of a sample size for
Speaker 1: those guys. So we go back five years and this
Speaker 1: goes two years prior to when Chris Greer was officially
Speaker 1: announced as the general manager of the Miami Dolphins, so
Speaker 1: there are two years where he was the director of
Speaker 1: college scouting in the study, we go back five years.
Speaker 1: The Dolphins had thirty eight draft picks over those five years,
Speaker 1: just under eight draft picks per year, and we're talking
Speaker 1: about Pro Bowlers, second contract players, and five hundred snaptakers,
Speaker 1: and we're using Pro Bowls as the top distinction, and
Speaker 1: anything the player requires after that does not get included. So,
Speaker 1: for instance, you have a player that made the Pro Bowl,
Speaker 1: we're not gonna put him on the second contract column
Speaker 1: and the five hundred snap column together because we only
Speaker 1: want to count for that player one single time. We
Speaker 1: also used Pro Bowls or second contracts with other teams
Speaker 1: as a nod to the draft or because we're talking
Speaker 1: about Chris Career's ability to draft players here, not what
Speaker 1: happens after they've been selected by the Miami Dolphins. So
Speaker 1: you go back through five Pro bowlers on that list,
Speaker 1: eight second contract players, and seven five hundred snaptakers. So
Speaker 1: that gives you a grand total of twenty out of
Speaker 1: thirty eight in terms of significant contributors, which gives you
Speaker 1: a batting average of around five six over to twenty
Speaker 1: eight teen period. So the Dolphins hitting well over five
Speaker 1: hundred in that period under Chris Greer, and we heard
Speaker 1: how he Roseman talked about batting six hundred just in
Speaker 1: the first round alone is successful. So to be successful
Speaker 1: on fifty two and a half percent of your draft
Speaker 1: picks from rounds one through seven. That's quite a feather
Speaker 1: in the cap of Chris Greer and his staff and
Speaker 1: shows you how Miami got into the top half the
Speaker 1: league in that draft success category from Pro Football Focused,
Speaker 1: and of course you're always gonna hear Chris Greer deflects
Speaker 1: praise for his work. This is a collaboration, and he'll
Speaker 1: be the first one to tell you that. It involves
Speaker 1: Brian Flores and his staff, it involves Marvin Allen and
Speaker 1: the college scouting and Reggie mackenzie and the entirety of
Speaker 1: the Dolphins college scouting staff and coaching staff providing input
Speaker 1: here for the Dolphins draft picks. But based on that
Speaker 1: five year snapshot in Miami's bevy of draft picks this year,
Speaker 1: the odds the math says that adding multiple cornerstones and
Speaker 1: significant contributors to the roster this April, Miami's odds at
Speaker 1: doing that are among the league's best. And on the
Speaker 1: topic of the draft and being just six weeks away now,
Speaker 1: I saw several more mock drafts published this last week.
Speaker 1: Let's go ahead and do a roundup of some of
Speaker 1: the game's heaviest hitters and their recent mock drafts drafts
Speaker 1: that are published in the last week, and we start
Speaker 1: with the heaviest of all hitters, NFL Network and NFL
Speaker 1: dot COM's Daniel Jeremiah and his mock two point oh.
Speaker 1: He went one round, and he stayed very familiar with
Speaker 1: what you've seen in a lot of the mock drafts
Speaker 1: out there, with the Dolphins fifth overall selection to a
Speaker 1: Tongue Voloa, the Alabama junior quarterback. The blurb is simple
Speaker 1: and to the point. If twas medical reports come back clean,
Speaker 1: he won't get out of the top five. So Jeremiah
Speaker 1: has the Dolphins going quarterback at number five. They come
Speaker 1: back at number eighteen later on in the first round
Speaker 1: and give to his college teammate and receiver Henry Ruggs
Speaker 1: the third and Jeremiah notes it would be fun to
Speaker 1: watch Rugs reunite with tah to ignite that offense. And
Speaker 1: you'll notice around draft Twitter and other spots and like,
Speaker 1: there has been quite a bit of an argument lately
Speaker 1: about who is receiver one, and Henry run has kind
Speaker 1: of inserted himself into that discussion among his teammate Jerry
Speaker 1: Judy and Oklahoma Ceedee Lamb. One of my favorite stats
Speaker 1: on Henry Ruggs is that he caught touchdowns or score
Speaker 1: touchdowns I should say on nearly of his career college
Speaker 1: touchdown or touch as I should say, so instant offense
Speaker 1: at the college level. There, Jeremiah hits the nail on
Speaker 1: the head with the explosive element that Henry Ruggs and
Speaker 1: his four would add to the receiving corps. Rounding out
Speaker 1: Jeremiah's mock draft here number overall the USC offensive tackle
Speaker 1: Austin Jackson, and I had a chance to talk to
Speaker 1: Austin Jackson at his combine availability. Really cool story about him.
Speaker 1: He donated some bone marrow to his sister last offseason
Speaker 1: and essentially had to skip all of his off season
Speaker 1: workouts because he was recovering from that and couldn't really
Speaker 1: properly work out. So he felt like he was playing
Speaker 1: catch up throughout the year. But his tape would suggest otherwise,
Speaker 1: because he's a very good tackle prospect there just twenty
Speaker 1: years of age. Jeremiah says, Jackson is well liked around
Speaker 1: the league. Let's go ahead and jump over to Chad
Speaker 1: Ruder's mock draft here. And he went big. He went
Speaker 1: for three rounds on this mock, so kudos to him
Speaker 1: for doing that. He has the Dolphins treating up from
Speaker 1: that fifth spot overall to get to number four, a
Speaker 1: one spot jump to go with the Giants to select
Speaker 1: organ senior quarterback Justin Herbert. He says, Miami needs a
Speaker 1: quarterback Herbert starter caliber, arm and mobility and press scouts
Speaker 1: at the combine, Moving up one spot to hold off
Speaker 1: other potential Herbert suitors is not an unusual move. He
Speaker 1: then cites the Bears going up one spot to get
Speaker 1: Mitchell Drobiski a couple of years ago, and just to
Speaker 1: give a little bit of input on this, Dave Gentleman
Speaker 1: has never traded down from his spot in the draft,
Speaker 1: so doing this would be the first time he ever
Speaker 1: has with the New York Giants. So Chad Ruder has
Speaker 1: the Dolphins going up from five to four to get
Speaker 1: Justin Herbert, and they come back with the eighteenth pick
Speaker 1: in the draft and take a familiar face, Austin Jackson
Speaker 1: out of usc the same player that Daniel Jeremiah had
Speaker 1: going twenty six overall to the Miami Dolphins. We come
Speaker 1: back here at pick twenty six. A new face on
Speaker 1: the board here, Jonathan Taylor, the running back from Wisconsin,
Speaker 1: a junior elite level production, had a great combine workout.
Speaker 1: Ruter writes. The Dolphins invest one of the picks they
Speaker 1: received in the Larry Mee Tunsel trade and Taylor, who
Speaker 1: ran a blistering four point three nine second forty yard
Speaker 1: dash at two hundred and twenty six pounds and caught
Speaker 1: the ball extremely well in the drills in Indianapolis at
Speaker 1: the scouting combine. We now jump ahead to the second
Speaker 1: round of the draft. Dolphins have their quarterback, their offensive tackle,
Speaker 1: and they're running back from Chad Rutter's mock draft, and
Speaker 1: Miami comes back at pick thirty nine and takes l
Speaker 1: s U junior safety Grant Delpit, who falls out of
Speaker 1: the first round and this mock draft. And then Miami
Speaker 1: has no second round pick at fifty six because they
Speaker 1: traded it to the Giants for the Justin Herbert trade.
Speaker 1: To the Giants in that spot, take Leaky Foe to
Speaker 1: the defensive tackle out of Utah. Going forward to the
Speaker 1: third round of this mock draft, the Dolphins pick at
Speaker 1: number seventy overall here and they keep this pick and
Speaker 1: they use it on Ben Bartch, the St. John's guard
Speaker 1: who has jumped up draft boards since a good Senior
Speaker 1: Bowl had a good combine. He's a name that has
Speaker 1: been rising from a small school ranks there at St. John's.
Speaker 1: The Dolphins and Chad runs mock draft. Get Justin Herbert,
Speaker 1: they get Austin Jackson, Jonathan Taylor, they get Ben Bartch
Speaker 1: and Grant Delpit to ground out their first five picks
Speaker 1: on the first two days of the draft. Let's change
Speaker 1: media outlets here and go over to rhoto world dot
Speaker 1: Com and Josh Norris, who takes a completely different direction
Speaker 1: than the two NFL dot Com writers, and Jeremiah and Ruter,
Speaker 1: And to me, that's the point of doing mock drafts,
Speaker 1: to try to give multiple scenarios, to give fans and
Speaker 1: teams alike an idea of how things could play outcome
Speaker 1: draft day. Taking these mock drafts way too seriously just
Speaker 1: doesn't do anybody any good. But it always helps to
Speaker 1: get a feel for who could be on the board
Speaker 1: in particular spots. And so Norris has the Dolphins taking
Speaker 1: a linebacker number five overall, Clemson's Isaiah Simmons. If you
Speaker 1: watch the combine, you knew who he was. If you
Speaker 1: watch college football this year, you knew who he was.
Speaker 1: Here's the blurb. Players like Simmons aren't common. He fluidly
Speaker 1: flips from rushing the passer on one play to working
Speaker 1: as a single high safety the next. Versatility is only
Speaker 1: real if the player wins from each spot, Otherwise he's
Speaker 1: just losing multiple alignments. And because a player like Simmons
Speaker 1: is rare, it is fair to wonder if most teams
Speaker 1: can really be creative enough to maximize his skills. I
Speaker 1: trust the Dolphins can. And that last note in there
Speaker 1: is why I love this mock draft, because he mentions
Speaker 1: Brian Flores's ability to get the most out of these players,
Speaker 1: and Josh Boyer getting the call at the defensive coordinator
Speaker 1: and the staff that Flora's has established. Now, Patrick Graham
Speaker 1: is no longer here in Miami he of course with
Speaker 1: the Giants now, But last year at training camp he
Speaker 1: talked about how when he draws up plays on his board,
Speaker 1: he no longer uses free safety or defensive tackle designations.
Speaker 1: He just uses x as and ohs because this Dolphins
Speaker 1: defense doesn't really have position distinctions, and that's a Brian
Speaker 1: Flora's thing, and Josh Norris recognizes that in this mock draft,
Speaker 1: so Isaiah Simmons number five overall. He then comes back
Speaker 1: at pick number eighteen and the Dolphins get their quarterback
Speaker 1: here with Jordan's Love from Utah State. He talks about
Speaker 1: how this draft does not feature trades, but he fully
Speaker 1: expects the Dolphins to move up to acquire the quarterback
Speaker 1: they want, and Norris notes it was difficult to have
Speaker 1: a conversation at the combine where Love's name did not
Speaker 1: come up, and that is not from the media end.
Speaker 1: It's from NFL teams who seem to be attracted to
Speaker 1: his playmaker mentality and his will to create something out
Speaker 1: of nothing. And then rounding out the draft, another familiar
Speaker 1: name he gets checked off and all three of these
Speaker 1: mock drafts. Offensive tackle Austin Jackson out at USC the
Speaker 1: twenty year old, high character kid, elite level athlete. So far,
Speaker 1: Nora says the Dolphins drafted a truly versatile defensive playmaker,
Speaker 1: a quarterback to develop and now can add to their
Speaker 1: offensive line. Jackson's initial position might not always be perfect,
Speaker 1: but he constantly worked to recover and has the athleticism
Speaker 1: to match, so it is officially mock draft season. We'll
Speaker 1: be doing more of these on the podcast for sure.
Speaker 1: I am certain. We are just one week away from
Speaker 1: free agency kicking off next week. We'll have all that
Speaker 1: information for you guys available, including a primer this week
Speaker 1: talking about kind of the behind the scenes of how
Speaker 1: contracts get done and what goes into contracts and free agency.
Speaker 1: Will have that on the Drivetime Podcast will break down
Speaker 1: all the free agents the Dolphins do bring in next
Speaker 1: week and beyond in free agency. A busy, busy time
Speaker 1: of year and exciting time of year as your Dolphins
Speaker 1: are under construction and will be built throughout the course
Speaker 1: of the next few months. As for this edition of
Speaker 1: the Drivetime Podcast, that is going to be my time
Speaker 1: you all. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast,
Speaker 1: leave us a rating, leave us a review. We are
Speaker 1: on Apple, podcast, Spotify, Google Play, wherever you get your
Speaker 1: podcast from. Go ahead and download, rate, review, subscribe all
Speaker 1: that fun stuff. Follow me on Twitter at Wingfield NFL.
Speaker 1: Follow the Dolphins at Miami Dolphins. Check out the Audible
Speaker 1: and the fish Tank podcast, rounding out our network here
Speaker 1: of Miami Dolphins podcast and Miami Dolphins dot com. For
Speaker 1: all your written and video and audio content on your
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins until next time fins Up.