WEBVTT - The Audible Ep. 9 | Minkah Fitzpatrick 0:00:05.559 --> 0:00:07.560 All right, the audible's back on the air. We're minus 0:00:07.600 --> 0:00:11.080 one man. Be a John can Jemmy here? I have 0:00:11.119 --> 0:00:14.160 no idea. I think vacation, you know what I think 0:00:14.160 --> 0:00:16.960 he's do you do it? Vacation day or two. I 0:00:17.000 --> 0:00:18.959 don't know how he comes in. He does that radio show. 0:00:18.960 --> 0:00:21.200 It gets up at four o'clock in the morning every 0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:23.120 day and then rolls in here and does a podcast 0:00:23.160 --> 0:00:26.360 with us. I'm surprised he doesn't miss more often. But anyway, 0:00:26.400 --> 0:00:29.000 we'll we'll we'll struggle on. We'll struggle on without him, 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:30.960 but we're going to finish this show without Joe. I 0:00:31.000 --> 0:00:33.000 don't know everything. I don't know because we're not We're 0:00:33.000 --> 0:00:34.680 not gonna be able to tell people how to you know, 0:00:34.720 --> 0:00:37.760 how to how to go to tune in radio, you 0:00:37.760 --> 0:00:39.960 know how to get the Miami Dolphins mobile apps so 0:00:40.000 --> 0:00:44.000 they can hear it, find that podcast on dolphins dot com, 0:00:44.120 --> 0:00:45.760 Rapple Music or some of them. We're not gonna be 0:00:45.800 --> 0:00:48.280 able to get that out right. We're gonna, you know, 0:00:48.280 --> 0:00:50.479 we'll let him pay for We'll limp along. But I'll 0:00:50.479 --> 0:00:51.920 tell you what we are going to do. John, I 0:00:52.000 --> 0:00:53.920 got a chance to uh to catch up with the 0:00:54.080 --> 0:00:58.920 first round draft pick making for Fitzpatrick and um but I, I, 0:00:59.240 --> 0:01:00.960 you know what, you always hear a lot of different 0:01:00.960 --> 0:01:03.160 things about draft choices. This now, I don't think I 0:01:03.160 --> 0:01:05.759 ever heard anything bad about I don't think anyone said, hey, 0:01:05.760 --> 0:01:07.600 that that wasn't a good pick, or they should have 0:01:07.640 --> 0:01:10.320 gone somewhere else. I heard one guy said, well, I 0:01:10.319 --> 0:01:12.480 probably would have maybe maybe would have taken Derwin Jones 0:01:12.520 --> 0:01:15.640 at that time, or James whatever at that time, and uh, 0:01:15.640 --> 0:01:17.160 I thought, no, No, I think we're pretty good with 0:01:17.560 --> 0:01:20.440 pretty good. That guy is a solid player. When we 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:22.920 were talking about who's gonna fall where, we always said, 0:01:22.959 --> 0:01:26.320 and we always predicated our our responses by where the 0:01:26.400 --> 0:01:29.000 quarterbacks gonna fall. Well, three of them ended up going, 0:01:29.600 --> 0:01:31.880 and four of them ended up in that tenth pick, 0:01:31.959 --> 0:01:36.080 with Arizona coming up and getting Rosen. That was probably 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:38.560 the only decision that Dolphins had to make. Are they 0:01:38.560 --> 0:01:41.480 gonna go up and allow somebody to take that spot 0:01:41.920 --> 0:01:44.039 or without you know, bidding for it and trying to 0:01:44.080 --> 0:01:46.319 get there at tend to take a quarterback or are 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:48.720 they going to let a guy that they probably had 0:01:48.760 --> 0:01:51.800 the highest ranked on their board at that time fall 0:01:51.920 --> 0:01:54.600 to the Miami Dolphins and that's exactly what happened. They 0:01:54.640 --> 0:01:57.320 get a quality starter for a lot of years wearing 0:01:57.320 --> 0:02:00.480 a Miami Dolphin uniform that played with a national to 0:02:00.680 --> 0:02:04.120 national championship. Teams in Alabama want every award known to 0:02:04.200 --> 0:02:07.680 man kind as a defensive back, played multiple positions, was 0:02:07.760 --> 0:02:10.960 probably coached arguably by the best college football coach in 0:02:11.000 --> 0:02:13.200 a long time, and Nick Saban so and he's been 0:02:13.240 --> 0:02:17.760 coached tough, and that that coach Saban has been touting 0:02:17.840 --> 0:02:19.320 him as the best player in the draft. If you 0:02:19.360 --> 0:02:21.600 pass up on this guy, you're you're missing now here 0:02:21.760 --> 0:02:24.280 on a very good player. So you know, I think 0:02:24.280 --> 0:02:27.440 look in any one of those quarterbacks, had they fallen 0:02:27.480 --> 0:02:29.960 to the Dolphins at eleven, there would have been questions 0:02:30.000 --> 0:02:33.360 about every one of them. You know why, Yes, he can, 0:02:34.400 --> 0:02:39.600 he's a little short, his attitude, Josh, his accurate season. 0:02:39.840 --> 0:02:42.440 They all had warts on him somewhere. You can't find 0:02:42.480 --> 0:02:44.920 award on this kid. This kid does it all. And 0:02:44.919 --> 0:02:46.480 and like you said, I think, you know, so I 0:02:46.520 --> 0:02:48.560 forget who it was and said, he's like a like 0:02:48.560 --> 0:02:50.640 a Swiss army knife. You'd be put him back there 0:02:50.680 --> 0:02:53.799 anywhere and let him play. And there was probably three 0:02:53.840 --> 0:02:55.880 guys in the draft and probably the top ten, or 0:02:56.000 --> 0:02:58.760 will count the Dolphins the eleven picks at the top 0:02:58.800 --> 0:03:02.040 of the draft, but it didn't award. Okay, you got 0:03:02.080 --> 0:03:04.519 Barkley up top, you got Chubb that goes to Denver, 0:03:04.680 --> 0:03:09.000 and I think it's this guy and you could probably 0:03:09.840 --> 0:03:12.040 So those are the guys that just pristine. Man, you 0:03:12.080 --> 0:03:16.840 can't the positional players, not excluding quarterback, those are the 0:03:16.840 --> 0:03:19.080 guys that you go, you can't miss in this draft 0:03:19.120 --> 0:03:21.200 at the top, and you know, you started looking at 0:03:21.240 --> 0:03:23.960 the secondary. We're at the draft party at hard Rock 0:03:24.000 --> 0:03:25.839 Stadium by that. By the way, it was a really 0:03:25.840 --> 0:03:27.480 a great night. A lot of good fans out there 0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:30.239 came out to support. It was really really a fun evening. 0:03:30.600 --> 0:03:32.480 Uh So we want to thank the fans for that 0:03:32.560 --> 0:03:35.800 they did come out and participate in that. Uh. But 0:03:35.800 --> 0:03:37.480 but you go through that and you're looking at all 0:03:37.520 --> 0:03:40.040 these different people that are about to come up and 0:03:40.040 --> 0:03:43.680 and go, and I don't think anybody left disappointed with 0:03:43.720 --> 0:03:47.480 that pick. And uh but it was it was it 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:49.720 was the draft one. I thought the draft was gonna 0:03:49.720 --> 0:03:52.960 be different this year, at least a first round. Uh 0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:54.600 And initially it looked like it was just kind of 0:03:54.600 --> 0:03:57.040 falling into place, and then all of a sudden, it 0:03:57.160 --> 0:03:59.600 kind of, you know, kind of started spinning out of control. 0:03:59.720 --> 0:04:01.520 You know, It's funny about the draft parties. We've been 0:04:01.560 --> 0:04:03.800 doing him now for a long time. Joe and you 0:04:03.880 --> 0:04:05.760 and I were sitting on the stage and we're talking 0:04:05.760 --> 0:04:08.600 about who's gonna get picked and why they're gonna get picked, 0:04:08.640 --> 0:04:11.840 and we're mixing in interviews and alumni and current players 0:04:12.400 --> 0:04:15.880 always are fans. They've got one or two names that 0:04:15.960 --> 0:04:17.799 you know, we're gonna go with him. We're on board. 0:04:17.839 --> 0:04:20.560 Everybody's yelling and don't take a quarterback. What do you 0:04:20.560 --> 0:04:22.680 guys are crazy? If you don't take a quarterback. It's 0:04:22.760 --> 0:04:25.440 it's one or the other. But when the announcement came 0:04:25.480 --> 0:04:30.320 that we took make of Fitzpatrick, it was kind of like, alright, alright, alright, 0:04:30.320 --> 0:04:32.480 we'll take him. You know, that's pretty good once it 0:04:32.640 --> 0:04:35.480 sank in, because I don't think any Dolphin fan felt 0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:37.240 like this guy was gonna be available, but I think 0:04:37.279 --> 0:04:39.440 they're probably I think there were a lot of people that, 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:41.960 if they weren't really paying attention to the draft, figured 0:04:41.960 --> 0:04:44.760 that the guy already coming gone because he was gonna 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:47.520 be he was gonna be gone by six or seven. Yes, yeah, 0:04:47.520 --> 0:04:49.040 so you're probably that guy was still there and we 0:04:49.080 --> 0:04:51.360 got him. That that's pretty good. The other thing I think, 0:04:51.360 --> 0:04:53.000 you know, we had the chance to have Bobby McCain 0:04:53.120 --> 0:04:55.440 and uh and Walt Aikin's up on the stage a 0:04:55.480 --> 0:04:58.120 little bit, and it just as we went through the 0:04:58.240 --> 0:05:00.640 night and the draft choice came up, and I'm thinking 0:05:00.680 --> 0:05:03.960 of you know, Waal thinking back, I'm thinking of Bobby McCain, 0:05:04.279 --> 0:05:07.160 thinking of Tony Lippett coming back, thinking of Tank, thinking 0:05:07.200 --> 0:05:10.320 of Oxavian thinking and thinking, man, you know what, you 0:05:10.400 --> 0:05:12.760 throw this guy in that that's a not only is 0:05:12.839 --> 0:05:15.599 gonna be a very talented secondary, but there's gonna be 0:05:15.640 --> 0:05:17.640 some depth there. You know, we have some guys that 0:05:17.720 --> 0:05:19.400 you guys are gonna go down and guys are gonna 0:05:19.400 --> 0:05:22.039 need to play special teams. But I think the depth 0:05:22.080 --> 0:05:26.840 situation in the secondary probably John and maybe talent wise, 0:05:27.320 --> 0:05:30.839 probably as good as we've seen around this this team 0:05:30.880 --> 0:05:33.160 in a long long time. Where do you feel to 0:05:33.240 --> 0:05:35.400 fall off is when you look at a football team 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:38.440 and all of a sudden injuries occur. It's either in 0:05:38.440 --> 0:05:41.320 the secondary where they get exposed or the offensive line. 0:05:41.520 --> 0:05:44.040 You don't have enough depth. You don't have enough quality 0:05:44.120 --> 0:05:47.719 starters and or that six or seventh guy to step 0:05:47.720 --> 0:05:50.760 in so the level of play doesn't drop significantly. I 0:05:50.760 --> 0:05:53.640 think that's what you get when you have the luxury 0:05:54.040 --> 0:05:57.520 of picking Fitzpatrick at eleven to add to a secondary 0:05:57.560 --> 0:06:00.320 with all those names you talked about, there's young guys, 0:06:00.360 --> 0:06:03.320 there's season guys in there. You know, you've got Xavier 0:06:03.400 --> 0:06:07.360 that's only getting better. You've got tankers Lee that is 0:06:07.400 --> 0:06:09.760 probably his best years are ahead of him and not 0:06:09.880 --> 0:06:12.240 behind him. They're well ahead of him because he's just 0:06:12.360 --> 0:06:14.520 learning the game as a pro. And you've got Lipid 0:06:14.520 --> 0:06:17.480 coming back for injury that went through all those learning 0:06:17.520 --> 0:06:20.400 curves as a wide receiver at Michigan State and a 0:06:20.440 --> 0:06:23.960 defensive back now in the NFL full time. So you've 0:06:23.960 --> 0:06:28.120 got a ton of talent, but young talent that are 0:06:28.160 --> 0:06:31.120 at different stages in the secondary. That's why I think 0:06:31.160 --> 0:06:35.120 a guy with the accolades of a Fitzpatrick, National championships 0:06:35.200 --> 0:06:39.119 under his belt, All American, All s SEC, every Big Game, 0:06:39.520 --> 0:06:42.800 Thorpe Award, Big Narik winner, you can name it. Nine 0:06:42.839 --> 0:06:45.000 interceptions in the career, four of him go the other 0:06:45.000 --> 0:06:47.720 way for touchdowns he can put points on the scoreboard 0:06:47.920 --> 0:06:50.919 if he if he's anticipating routes and reading routes, so 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:54.239 when he gets that learning curve from Alabama to the pros, 0:06:54.320 --> 0:06:57.040 which is a lot shorter than maybe some other places, 0:06:57.440 --> 0:07:00.120 he'll be ready to contribute right away. William John, I 0:07:00.160 --> 0:07:02.599 think you look at this draft and we'll go through 0:07:02.600 --> 0:07:05.280 the go through the picks here. Uh. But I think 0:07:05.320 --> 0:07:07.200 you go through this draft, John, and I don't think 0:07:07.200 --> 0:07:10.120 it's I don't think it's off base to say that 0:07:10.200 --> 0:07:13.840 you're gonna have definitely two starters, definitely two starters in 0:07:13.880 --> 0:07:18.480 Fitzpatrick and Gasecki the tight end. Uh. And this Durham 0:07:18.520 --> 0:07:20.800 Smith is gonna play because he's he's gonna you know, 0:07:20.840 --> 0:07:23.880 he's a big, strong, physical guy. He's gonna play. I 0:07:24.280 --> 0:07:27.200 think you're gonna get four guys here. At least they 0:07:27.240 --> 0:07:29.840 are gonna be big contributors. A couple of them maybe 0:07:29.920 --> 0:07:32.600 rotation guys, but I still think they're gonna play enough 0:07:32.840 --> 0:07:34.840 to impact your team. And you certainly got two guys. 0:07:35.440 --> 0:07:38.560 And John, it reminds and I've been saying this, I've 0:07:38.600 --> 0:07:41.720 been saying this really all this offseason. I really thought 0:07:41.760 --> 0:07:44.200 the last two drafts were pretty good too, you know, 0:07:44.240 --> 0:07:47.520 and and and and so you start to and and 0:07:47.560 --> 0:07:50.120 it it kind of takes me back to so I 0:07:50.160 --> 0:07:53.720 came here in nineteen seventy six. At that time the 0:07:55.040 --> 0:07:57.040 undefeated I played with. I came in with a lot 0:07:57.080 --> 0:07:59.080 of those guys, but they were in the twilight of 0:07:59.080 --> 0:08:01.360 their career and the team was, you know, it wasn't 0:08:01.360 --> 0:08:04.160 playing at the level that they had a draft or 0:08:04.160 --> 0:08:06.720 so that wasn't didn't really quite you know, hit me, 0:08:07.480 --> 0:08:09.320 it's really dight, and hit what they what they wanted. 0:08:09.920 --> 0:08:13.040 And then uh my, my draft came and and and 0:08:13.280 --> 0:08:15.320 Larry Gordon was the first pick in the for our 0:08:15.360 --> 0:08:17.880 first pick. I was right behind him. We drafted Durial 0:08:17.960 --> 0:08:21.080 Harris and some other guys and guys that that were 0:08:21.120 --> 0:08:23.320 that that made the team and stayed back. Then we 0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:26.840 had seventeen rounds. Then the next year A J. Dewey, 0:08:27.200 --> 0:08:29.800 Bob bomb Hower, you know, you get those guys coming. 0:08:31.120 --> 0:08:33.920 So that year we remember that year, we played the St. 0:08:34.000 --> 0:08:38.000 Louis Rams or the St. Louis Cardinals on a Thanksgiving 0:08:38.080 --> 0:08:41.520 Day up in St. Louis, and we started four rookies 0:08:41.520 --> 0:08:44.000 on defense against him and beat and beat him up 0:08:44.000 --> 0:08:46.880 pretty good. And played four rookies, you know, for for 0:08:46.920 --> 0:08:48.560 the most of a lot a lot of the year. 0:08:49.200 --> 0:08:51.760 And then after that then we got the Dwight Stevenson's 0:08:51.760 --> 0:08:54.439 and Tony Nathan's And so the point I'm making is, 0:08:54.480 --> 0:08:56.240 and I know there's a lot of people allergies. These 0:08:56.240 --> 0:08:58.760 guys are on fun, Paul, or they're not. They're unproven 0:08:58.800 --> 0:09:02.360 this now. But but but you're doing what happened then 0:09:02.360 --> 0:09:04.920 you had three or four draft You put three drafts 0:09:04.960 --> 0:09:07.720 together where you're getting to three four guys to contribute. 0:09:07.720 --> 0:09:09.160 All of a sudden, you look around, you go, man, 0:09:09.200 --> 0:09:11.839 we got a good football team, and we gotta and 0:09:11.840 --> 0:09:14.719 and these guys are gonna be here. They're young and 0:09:15.480 --> 0:09:17.760 a lot of tread on their tires, and you're gonna 0:09:17.760 --> 0:09:19.760 get the best down. So I'm kind of looking at 0:09:19.760 --> 0:09:22.440 this and feeling very similar to what it felt like 0:09:22.480 --> 0:09:25.000 back then. And then you're going to run there where 0:09:25.040 --> 0:09:27.200 this team was a team was a playoff team, an 0:09:27.280 --> 0:09:31.000 FC championship games, super bowls really into the nineties. And 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:33.960 so if you can get that momentum going with these team, 0:09:34.000 --> 0:09:37.360 these these three drafts and keep moving forward, you know, 0:09:37.800 --> 0:09:40.560 I think you're putting you know, look obviously I'm I'm 0:09:40.600 --> 0:09:44.040 I'm I'm a pro Dolphin. But but you're building. You're 0:09:44.080 --> 0:09:47.320 building what seems to be a very solid foundation on 0:09:47.440 --> 0:09:51.600 draft choices that are good, young, aggressive, and are gonna 0:09:51.600 --> 0:09:53.600 be around for a while. That's the way you build 0:09:53.640 --> 0:09:56.640 stability and a franchise through the draft. Everybody knows that 0:09:56.679 --> 0:09:59.120 you can, you know, cover some warts in free agency, 0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:00.800 but if you don't hit in the draft like the 0:10:00.840 --> 0:10:03.400 Dolphins have over the last two years, and then add 0:10:03.400 --> 0:10:07.960 a third draft class to that, now you're building consistency. 0:10:08.000 --> 0:10:11.360 Now that you're building the way, coaches aren't going anywhere, 0:10:11.480 --> 0:10:14.520 the players aren't going anywhere, the systems in all three 0:10:14.520 --> 0:10:17.240 phases of the games stay the same. That's where you 0:10:17.240 --> 0:10:20.880 build continuity in your in your organization. That the players 0:10:20.880 --> 0:10:23.800 know each other better, they know what what what's good 0:10:23.800 --> 0:10:26.360 at practice and what's good not good enough at practice. 0:10:26.559 --> 0:10:28.920 You start to create standards from the young guys and 0:10:29.040 --> 0:10:31.920 building up and that's where you, you know, quite frankly, 0:10:32.160 --> 0:10:34.920 weed out some that you that just don't fit anymore. 0:10:35.240 --> 0:10:38.600 And I think that's good because if you're going to win, 0:10:38.720 --> 0:10:41.240 if you're gonna challenge to win double digit victories in 0:10:41.320 --> 0:10:44.320 national football league on a consistent basis. There's only a 0:10:44.320 --> 0:10:46.240 handful of teams that are doing that. But if you 0:10:46.280 --> 0:10:49.880 can challenge to get into the playoffs every year, that 0:10:49.880 --> 0:10:53.040 that bubble goes to maybe fourteen or fifteen or sixteen 0:10:53.080 --> 0:10:55.760 teams where now you're going, hey, we got a shot 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:57.920 this year. You know, if we play well, if we 0:10:57.960 --> 0:11:00.400 win a couple of games, that are those fifty fifty 0:11:00.440 --> 0:11:03.840 games comes down to a last possession score, last possession, 0:11:03.880 --> 0:11:06.640 get off the field on defense, last possession kick a 0:11:06.720 --> 0:11:09.439 field goal to win. Now you're in games. And that's 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:11.800 what happened two years ago when the Dolphins won ten games. 0:11:11.960 --> 0:11:14.079 And you touched on a little bit in that conversation 0:11:14.160 --> 0:11:17.360 John too. You talked about coaching staffs too, and look, 0:11:17.360 --> 0:11:20.600 coaching staffs are gonna change every year. They're gonna bits 0:11:20.640 --> 0:11:23.280 and pieces, but you gotta keep and you look at 0:11:23.280 --> 0:11:25.360 the teams. You talk about a handful of teams that 0:11:25.400 --> 0:11:27.200 win ten games a year or are always in that 0:11:27.880 --> 0:11:34.600 Pittsburgh Steelers, what do they have continuity at the top, manage, management, coach, head, coach, everybody, 0:11:34.760 --> 0:11:37.000 and and and and look they hit a rocky road, 0:11:37.000 --> 0:11:39.280 they don't they don't panic, they don't know, let's you know, 0:11:39.360 --> 0:11:42.200 let's ship can everybody here, let's start over again. No, No, 0:11:42.280 --> 0:11:44.800 we're gonna stay with our You look at Dallas, same 0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:46.760 type of thing. You look at the New York Giants, 0:11:46.960 --> 0:11:49.200 same type of thing. You look in New England, same 0:11:49.240 --> 0:11:51.560 type of thing. San Francisco for a long time ago, 0:11:51.760 --> 0:11:55.600 Green base. So so that to me as much as 0:11:55.640 --> 0:11:58.360 the players, and you gotta have patience with the players. 0:11:59.000 --> 0:12:01.840 This this South Florida needs to be patient with Adam 0:12:01.880 --> 0:12:04.480 Gays and his staff. Look, I don't know what this 0:12:04.559 --> 0:12:06.040 year is gonna hold. You got a lot of young 0:12:06.040 --> 0:12:07.840 guys out there playing. Who knows they could go out 0:12:07.880 --> 0:12:09.600 and win ten games. It could win eleven game, they 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:11.640 could go out win four games or six games. That 0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:14.800 doesn't mean that it's broken. It just means you've got 0:12:14.800 --> 0:12:17.920 to be patient and let everything come together. You know, 0:12:17.960 --> 0:12:19.959 I was came in a situation where you know, you're 0:12:20.000 --> 0:12:23.440 following you know, a team that went underfea two Super Bowls, 0:12:23.440 --> 0:12:26.240 Hall of famers, Don shul and everything you know. And 0:12:26.280 --> 0:12:29.199 I'm not saying that this team can't build that kind 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:31.680 of legacy going forward, but you can't do it if 0:12:31.679 --> 0:12:33.720 you're gonna pull the rug out of guy every three years, 0:12:33.720 --> 0:12:36.120 and it's a shorter window unless you're fortunate enough to 0:12:36.160 --> 0:12:39.640 have Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady or uh you know 0:12:39.960 --> 0:12:42.640 that type of person that's gonna persevere and it is 0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:45.200 gonna be on that franchise, the face of the franchise 0:12:45.480 --> 0:12:48.480 for ten plus years. Your windows are shorter. So the 0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:50.880 Miami Dolphins are in a window now that if they 0:12:50.920 --> 0:12:53.160 can add to the last two draft classes, even though 0:12:53.240 --> 0:12:55.959 last year was a six win season, the year before 0:12:56.320 --> 0:13:00.000 they won all those tight games to get to ten wins, 0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:03.840 it could be a very fine line because this football 0:13:03.880 --> 0:13:06.920 team last year wasn't that far off and it wasn't 0:13:06.920 --> 0:13:10.679 that much more removed than the team that won ten games, 0:13:10.679 --> 0:13:12.679 just they never won those types of do you take 0:13:12.760 --> 0:13:15.679 makeup for Fitzpatrick? One tip ball at any one of 0:13:15.720 --> 0:13:18.920 those games changed the whole complexion of the Baker. One 0:13:19.120 --> 0:13:21.240 tip ball on the third down, break up on a 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:23.680 tight end or a tackle and and not a not 0:13:23.800 --> 0:13:25.960 a hit, and you get it, move the chains. First down, 0:13:26.200 --> 0:13:28.719 you're off the field those or a Ghasicky gets a 0:13:28.800 --> 0:13:33.320 third down catch, you drive alive. You need those impact players, 0:13:33.360 --> 0:13:35.120 and I think at the top of the draft for 0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:38.160 the Miami Dolphins. You have impact player, no doubt. And 0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:40.600 obviously the guy that comes in, we talked about him 0:13:40.600 --> 0:13:43.400 a lot. Make a Fitzpatrick. I think I think everybody's 0:13:43.440 --> 0:13:46.480 excited to be here. He certainly sounds excited to be here. 0:13:46.559 --> 0:13:50.760 Let's hear what he had to say. Alright, so now 0:13:50.760 --> 0:13:53.800 we welcome to the audible Miami Dolphins number one draft pick, 0:13:54.080 --> 0:13:56.200 make a Fitzpatrick and make a first of all, uh, 0:13:56.440 --> 0:13:59.280 welcome to the Miami Dolphins. And uh, how'd that whole 0:13:59.280 --> 0:14:02.560 experience go? For that whole draft experience? All, hey, thank 0:14:02.640 --> 0:14:05.240 thank you for for having me be part of the team. Um, 0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:06.839 you know, it was a whole lot of fun in 0:14:06.880 --> 0:14:09.600 the draft of out there with my family. Uh, couple 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:12.000 of my friendsh were just out there just having a 0:14:12.040 --> 0:14:14.679 good time. And enjoined the city and and uh, you know, 0:14:14.720 --> 0:14:17.160 it's just a waiting game, really, just waiting to hear 0:14:17.200 --> 0:14:19.400 your name called. And what was this? My name was called? 0:14:19.880 --> 0:14:21.800 I got a phone call, and I just I'm ready 0:14:21.800 --> 0:14:24.200 to go to work. Just go down there and do 0:14:24.240 --> 0:14:27.200 what I do. How was the whole process once you 0:14:27.680 --> 0:14:31.000 once you finished, uh with your your college football career 0:14:31.000 --> 0:14:33.520 at Alabama. Uh, and then all of a sudden came 0:14:34.120 --> 0:14:38.000 the recruiting, the the trips, the pro days, the combine 0:14:38.320 --> 0:14:41.080 all the things that came along with that. How did 0:14:41.120 --> 0:14:42.680 you did you enjoy that? Did it get a little 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:44.800 annoying after a while and you did it get be 0:14:45.120 --> 0:14:46.840 too much? It was with something you just kind of 0:14:47.280 --> 0:14:50.960 absorbed and just uh just took advantage of the whole thing. Oh, 0:14:51.120 --> 0:14:53.040 it was something I just I just really tried to 0:14:53.160 --> 0:14:55.120 enjoy it, you know, because you know, it can be 0:14:55.240 --> 0:14:57.840 it can be tedious, it can be tiring, but there's 0:14:57.880 --> 0:14:59.280 a whole lot of people that want to be in 0:14:59.320 --> 0:15:02.160 their shoes, and it's honestly, it's a blessing to be 0:15:02.240 --> 0:15:04.800 in this situation because, um, you know, I could be 0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:07.800 a whole lot of other places. But you know, uh, 0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:09.560 like I said, there's a lot of people that they 0:15:09.680 --> 0:15:11.680 really want to be there, and there's a whole lot 0:15:11.720 --> 0:15:13.520 of people that deserve to be there that that couldn't. 0:15:13.600 --> 0:15:16.560 So I just tried to enjoy every every single moment 0:15:16.600 --> 0:15:19.520 of it, um and just go along with it, have 0:15:19.640 --> 0:15:21.320 phone with it. Just I tried to soak up as 0:15:21.360 --> 0:15:23.400 much as I could from other people I was meeting, 0:15:24.080 --> 0:15:25.880 all the hands I was shaking and stuff like that. 0:15:26.000 --> 0:15:28.280 So I was just doing everything I could just to 0:15:28.920 --> 0:15:31.400 enjoy the whole process. Now, you don't mind, you don't 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:33.880 mind coming down here and being in warm weather. You know, 0:15:33.920 --> 0:15:35.680 you could have been up in Buffalo or Green Bay 0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:37.360 or somewhere like that where it's a little a little 0:15:37.360 --> 0:15:38.960 more chilly. You're gonna be all right with it being 0:15:38.960 --> 0:15:41.720 warmed down here. Oh yeah, I'm gonna be perfectly fine 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:45.240 with it being a long no problem at all. That's 0:15:45.240 --> 0:15:48.080 a pretty a pretty easy question to answer. Hey, let's 0:15:48.120 --> 0:15:53.800 let's talk about Let's talk about you as a football player, um, safety, cornerback. 0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:55.680 You know, you've been described as a guy that can 0:15:55.720 --> 0:15:59.080 really do play anywhere in the secondary. Where is it 0:15:59.160 --> 0:16:03.280 that you feel most comfortable. I'm an comfortable out there 0:16:03.320 --> 0:16:06.000 playing playing football, and it really doesn't matter to me. 0:16:06.280 --> 0:16:08.440 And you know, I talked to the coaches and they 0:16:08.440 --> 0:16:10.440 pretty much gave me the same answer. I said, well, 0:16:10.480 --> 0:16:13.040 position I'm gonna be playing, and they said, football player, 0:16:13.360 --> 0:16:15.880 And uh, you know this this is wherever I'm needed. 0:16:15.880 --> 0:16:18.600 As we're feel comfortable, as I'm not getting repsed in practice, 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:21.440 I'm gonna be good. You know. I did a whole 0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:24.720 lot in Alabama just moving around one place to place. 0:16:24.760 --> 0:16:26.840 But you know, obviously Miami they're not gonna have me 0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:29.200 do that, just can have me at one position. Um, 0:16:29.440 --> 0:16:31.640 and then maybe later on this moving froving around, I 0:16:31.640 --> 0:16:34.960 think get more comfortable. But um, you know, it's wherever 0:16:34.960 --> 0:16:36.760 I'm needed that that's what I'm gonna be comfortable at. 0:16:36.920 --> 0:16:39.200 So if I'm getting reps there, I'm gonna be good. 0:16:39.640 --> 0:16:42.480 So many multiple receiver sets in the NFL samesism in 0:16:42.560 --> 0:16:45.400 college these days, and so so more times than not, 0:16:45.480 --> 0:16:47.640 you're gonna be in a nickel maybe even a dime package, 0:16:47.880 --> 0:16:49.640 which is gonna give you an opportunity to play well 0:16:49.640 --> 0:16:52.360 outside little inside and do different things. And uh, from 0:16:52.400 --> 0:16:55.320 everything I hear, you're you're pretty comfortable really at any 0:16:55.320 --> 0:16:57.920 of the spots, whether you're outside on somebody or or 0:16:57.920 --> 0:16:59.560 playing in the slot or doing whatever you need to 0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:02.720 do in there. Um, it seems like they all fit 0:17:02.800 --> 0:17:06.159 your game to a team. Yeah, you know, like like 0:17:06.160 --> 0:17:09.120 like you just said, um, the game is changing there. 0:17:09.359 --> 0:17:11.280 You have to be able to move around, especially if 0:17:11.280 --> 0:17:14.080 you're going to cover the cover the team's best receiver. 0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:17.000 You know, the best receiver usually moves around a whole 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:19.560 lot so, um, so if you can move around and 0:17:19.600 --> 0:17:21.840 you could find him wherever he is and you could 0:17:21.880 --> 0:17:23.800 cover him wherever he is, that it kind of gives 0:17:23.800 --> 0:17:25.520 you an advantage because a lot of times, if you 0:17:25.560 --> 0:17:28.120 have a great corner there, the offense is gonna move 0:17:28.160 --> 0:17:30.560 their best receiver on the inside try and get him 0:17:30.600 --> 0:17:32.920 away from the corner and put them on the slot guys. 0:17:33.040 --> 0:17:35.439 But if, um, if you can move from the corner 0:17:35.480 --> 0:17:38.320 to the inside to the box, you know that that 0:17:38.440 --> 0:17:40.960 receiver can't get away. Yeah. One of the things that 0:17:41.000 --> 0:17:43.159 this team has talked about a lot during this offseason, 0:17:43.760 --> 0:17:45.720 it's covering tight ends. And then I got a feeling 0:17:45.720 --> 0:17:48.440 that that's gonna be something that, uh that they're certainly 0:17:48.480 --> 0:17:50.880 gonna try to get you involved in. If you've done 0:17:50.880 --> 0:17:52.480 a lot that in the past in college, if you 0:17:52.600 --> 0:17:54.920 if you played again, sometimes guys are a little bigger 0:17:54.960 --> 0:17:56.680 than you and you kind of have to try to 0:17:56.720 --> 0:17:58.880 work around them and muscle them around a little bit. 0:17:59.080 --> 0:18:03.199 Oh yeah, yes, so they specially this uh this past season. Um, 0:18:03.240 --> 0:18:04.720 I had to do that whole lot. I played in 0:18:04.720 --> 0:18:08.640 the like the money the money backer position, uh, which 0:18:08.640 --> 0:18:09.920 is like where you come in the box and you 0:18:10.000 --> 0:18:13.680 cover the tight ends, uh the fourth receiver stuff like that. UM. 0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:15.919 You know I had to have some experience doing that 0:18:15.960 --> 0:18:18.200 this past season and now to put out some weight 0:18:18.480 --> 0:18:21.679 uh covering those bigger guys. But you know I got 0:18:21.760 --> 0:18:23.600 the job done. Now, you played in a couple of 0:18:23.600 --> 0:18:25.399 big games at the Alabama they're they're they're known to 0:18:25.400 --> 0:18:28.400 play in a couple of big games every year. You uh, 0:18:28.640 --> 0:18:30.800 you've you've been on the big stage a lot in 0:18:31.040 --> 0:18:35.879