Wide Receivers The Dolphins May Target Early
Well ladies and gentlemen, the 2012 NFL Draft is just days away! The Miami Dolphins are seemingly the favorites to land QB Ryan Tannehill, but Tannehill’s marriage with the Dolphins is not guaranteed. With the Dolphins gaping hole at wide receiver, Miami could decide to wait another year or select Brandon Weeden in the second round by opting to take a receiver with the #8 selection in the first round.
Omar Kelly has reported via twitter:
- I have been told the key to identifying the receiver the Dolphins will draft early is to find someone who is over 6-foot, has great body control (good L-drill and 3-cone time), runs a 40-time in the 4.4s or less, and can run a slant like it is nobody’s business. Who are your suggestions?
Omar’s report may have some saying the logical choice here would be Michael Floyd from Notre Dame. But I’m not so sold on Floyd being Miami’s guy. In my eyes, Floyd has the biggest bust potential out of the top fifteen or so receivers in this years class. His big body and off the field issues are reminiscent of Brandon Marshall. Although Floyd did run slants, outs, ins, and goes at Notre Dame like it was “nobody’s business”, I can’t see Floyd being able to get separation from the NFL’s top corners. My point is that Tannehill is the guy, not Floyd.
So who exactly is the prospect Miami could be looking at? There are two guys that I see fitting the description perfectly. Stephen Hill of Georgia Tech and “Touchdown” Tommy Streeter of Miami Fla. Both prospects measure fitting the description perfectly (Hill at 6’4” 215 lbs. and Streeter at 6’5” 219 lbs.). Hill blazed a forty time of 4.36 seconds, with Streeter just behind at 4.40 seconds. Both have a large frame but will have to put on five to ten pounds of muscle at the next level.
Streeter is a raw talent, but a rare one at that. He has blazing straight line speed, but does not possess the route running ability needed to contribute immediately (Hence the 3rd to 5th round grade). Although this is can be coached, Streeter would have definitely benefited from staying in school one more year. He has the ability to be a team’s go to guy, but he has not quite put all of his tools together yet. He reminds me of a young man who want’s to be a mechanic. He has all of the tools, he just does not have the knowledge of what to do with those tools yet. In time, Streeter could end up being the steal of this years draft. Kelly’s description of “great body control” could suggest that Streeter is not the guy (if you watch the combine drills), but if you watch this kid on tape, when he needs to step up and make a play, he does not let you down.
Hill comes from the prolific run based offense of Georgia Tech. Coming from a triple option run based offense could suggest that this kid is not ready for the pros, but that is absolutely false. Georgia Tech has produced some pretty darn good receivers in recent years (Calvin Johnson and Demariyus Thomas) who possess similar traits to Hill (Blazing 40 time with a large alpha type receiver body). Johnson was thrown right into the fire and produced at a high level his rookie year, but the same cannot be said for Thomas, who struggled with injuries and inconsistent quarterback play. Coming from this triple option offense, Hill obviously knows how to block (He is one of the best blocking receivers in the class). Not only does he know how to be a valuable blocker, but he knows how to stretch defenses. BUT just like Streeter, Hill is very raw and does not have a pro style route tree yet. Again, I would not read much into that, it can be easily coached.
Where could Miami take these two guys? At the moment Hill is slightly sliding down draft boards, so Miami could get him with their second round selection if they’re lucky enough. Streeter on the other hand is so raw, Miami could get him with one of their third round selections (if they don’t feel comfortable taking the risk of trying to get him in the fourth round).
Being a Miami Hurricanes fan, I have gotten the chance to watch both Tommy Streeter and Stephen Hill throughout their career’s in the ACC. Both are impressive and intriguing prospects that can stretch the defense and who run the quick slant as good as anyone. From Omar Kelly’s tweet, I have determined that these are two of the guys that the Miami Dolphins will target early on, in the NFL Draft. Philbin, Sherman and Ireland all know who they want catching balls this season and beyond, so trust in the front office. HAVE SOME FAITH FINS FANS!
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