The NFL Draft begins Thursday night

[Pappy13]

Man, I hate to say this, but it looks like the Jets are kicking ass in this draft...

Too bad they don't give trophy's for winning the draft. 

[Downunder Dolphan]

That's part of what the draft is about, you're replacing expensive FA's with low cost rookie contracts.

That's the Dolphins thinking of how the draft works - which has managed to net us exactly zero playoff wins in the last 25 years.

[Downunder Dolphan]

We didn't let them walk, we couldn't afford them. Perhaps if Miami wouldn't have given so much in contracts to other players?

They left at a time we could have made Tua play out his fifth year option instead of awarding him a fat mult-year deal. Before we brought forward a big chunk of Tyreek's salary and guaranteed it.

No, we let them walk. Along with AVG, Brandon Jones, etc.

[Pappy13]

They left at a time we could have made Tua play out his fifth year option instead of awarding him a fat mult-year deal. Before we brought forward a big chunk of Tyreek's salary and guaranteed it.

That was kind of my point. Those decisions were made by the time Wilkens and AVG left. It may not have happened yet, but the decision had already been made.

We didn't let them walk, we decided to pay others and couldn't afford to pay everyone.

[Downunder Dolphan]

Back to the draft...

The top rated CB prospects are really starting to thin out now. As it turned out the Niners could have picked Revel, but they went for a LB instead and he went to the Cowboys (sorry Sunstroke).

Somehow Grier really should try and mend that broken bridge with Ramsey - even then we're still looking at the prospect of trying to find two starting quality outside corners in the next 12 months. Safeties as well if Melifonwu and Davis aren't the starting quality replacements he expects them to be.

[Downunder Dolphan]

Dillon Gabriel just got picked by the Browns, so he's not heading our way as a backup QB. Neither is Jalen Milroe who went to the Seahawks.

Sanders could fall past the third round, with (at least) five QBs picked ahead of him. I don't think anyone saw this coming! 

[Spider-Dan]

We didn't let them walk, we couldn't afford them. Perhaps if Miami wouldn't have given so much in contracts to other players?

Giving the big contracts to Wilkins and Hunt means letting someone else walk.

[Spider-Dan]

They left at a time we could have made Tua play out his fifth year option instead of awarding him a fat mult-year deal.

But they aren't signing one-year deals, so giving them the multi-year contracts they got in CAR and LV means you can't sign Tua.

And the deal that MIA signed Tua to has already fallen to 6th in AAV, less than one year later (and before this offseason's group of extensions are done).  Signing that deal last year will continue to provide savings going forward... unless you think MIA should dump this QB and go back into the draft again, which sounds like another strategy that has resulted in "exactly zero playoff wins in the last 25 years."

[Downunder Dolphan]

But they aren't signing one-year deals, so giving them the multi-year contracts they got in CAR and LV means you can't sign Tua.

You make Tua play out his 5th year option, and if necessary, franchise tag him the next year. That's what the Ravens did with Jackson, and it didn't hurt them one bit.

This was simply a case that Grier put all of his eggs in the wrong baskets, and nuked a huge chunk of the rebuild in the process.

[Downunder Dolphan]

Giving the big contracts to Wilkins and Hunt means letting someone else walk.

It's not just Wilkins and Hunt though... we pretty much let almost everyone walk not named Tua, Waddle, Jackson (who got all the money along with the mercenaries we paid the huge bucks to bring in).

 

[Pappy13]

Giving the big contracts to Wilkins and Hunt means letting someone else walk.

No argument from me there. I was critical of letting Wilkens go and I'm happy that they drafted a DT to take his place. We were fortunate that Campbell played as well as he did. Maybe it worked out in the end. I hope so.

I was not as big of a fan on Hunt as perhaps some others were. I didn't like that AVG wasn't resigned, I'd like to see a LB taken in day 3. I think there are FA corners out there that might not be terrible if we lose Ramsey and honestly I thought Ramsey's heart wasn't really in it the latter half of the year. I think his trade demands reflect that as well. We are probably going to be hurting for CB's, but there's only so much you can fix in any one off season.

[Spider-Dan]

You make Tua play out his 5th year option, and if necessary, franchise tag him the next year. That's what the Ravens did with Jackson, and it didn't hurt them one bit.

And then you're letting Tua walk, or paying him $65M/year.

There is no argument for "paying Tua later" because that can't enable you to sign other players to huge multi-year deals, and only serves to make him more expensive. The argument is simply pay him or get rid of him.  And if you want to talk about failed strategies, MIA had 37 years of drafting QBs that can't even make a Pro Bowl.

[Pappy13]

And then you're letting Tua walk, or paying him $65M/year.

There is no argument for "paying Tua later" because that can't enable you to sign other players to huge multi-year deals, and only serves to make him more expensive. The argument is simply pay him or get rid of him.  And if you want to talk about failed strategies, MIA had 37 years of drafting QBs that can't even make a Pro Bowl.

Well that's a little unfair as they already had their franchise QB for a number of those years and weren't really drafting QB's to replace him. I'll give you that the 20 years before Tua were misses.

[Spider-Dan]

No argument from me there. I was critical of letting Wilkens go and I'm happy that they drafted a DT to take his place.

I'm not sure why people were so hung up on Wilkins.  He was the "locker room leader" of a defense that was never anything more than mediocre.  I understand paying big bucks to someone like Wake or X who's playing at an All-Pro level, but Wilkins was never that; he's never even made a Pro Bowl.  No team results, no individual results... why break the bank for him?

I didn't like that AVG wasn't resigned, I'd like to see a LB taken in day 3.

AVG was a victim of his own slow development.  He had 5 years in Miami to show what he ended up doing for MIN; if he had been playing like that for MIA, the Dolphins would not have given up a first-round pick to get Chubb.

[Pappy13]

I'm not sure why people were so hung up on Wilkins.  He was the "locker room leader" of a defense that was never anything more than mediocre.  I understand paying big bucks to someone like Wake or X who's playing at an All-Pro level, but Wilkins was never that; he's never even made a Pro Bowl.  No team results, no individual results... why break the bank for him?
AVG was a victim of his own slow development.  He had 5 years in Miami to show what he ended up doing for MIN; if he had been playing like that for MIA, the Dolphins would not have given up a first-round pick to get Chubb.

The fact the defense was mediocre wasn't the fault of Wilkens or AVG. Those guys were balling out and didn't get enough credit. Without those guys the Dolphins D was one of the worst in the NFL.