Potential Surprise: 'Phins To Draft Sedrick Ellis?
With the Senior Bowl week behind us, we can now take a look at a player or two who really improved their draft stock. The one most people are talking about is Sedrick Ellis, the defensive tackle from USC.
Before the Senior Bowl, Sedrick Ellis was widely believed to be a certain top ten pick and would most likely be selectd in the 4th-7th range. I considered him to be the Dolphins biggest target in the event of trading out of the number one spot but remaining towards the top of the draft. I thought if we could pull that off, it’d be a real steal because if it wasn’t for the extraordinary attention surrounding Glenn Dorsey and Chris Long, he’d be the consensus top defensive player and perhaps the best player in the draft. He has number one overall talent and ability and the prospect of choosing him and not having to pay number one pick money was tantalizing.
Well the Senior Bowl has come and gone and Ellis has not only proven his expected status but has surpassed it as well. He showed tremendous ability in practice having some scouts say that he was simply “unblockable.” He was able to bully offensive linemen one on one and got to the passer with frequency. He translated that into the actual game when in the second quarter he stormed by his blocker and sacked Andre Woodson for a safety.
So what does this mean for Miami? Two things. First, the thought that we could trade down and he’d still be on the board is becoming more unlikely. Before, you had to believe that Dorsey, C. Long, J. Long, and McFadden would all go before him. Now, I can see him being taken ahead of any, if not all of these guys. That leads me to the second point. The Dolphins are more likely to take him number one overall. I believe Miami is really intrigued by Ellis and would love to end up with him and with the prospect of trading down still unlikely, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the big man from USC wearing Dolphins colors next year. He’s a Bill Parcells player. He is big and strong, he comes from a big name college and he is a highly competitive individual. Below are some links to videos on NFL.com
Interview on the NFL Network set
Very impressive.