Years of draft blunders have finally caught up with Miami

It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out why the once proud Miami Dolphins are now swimming in the basement of the AFC East. Sure the Jets and the Bills are swimming with them as week 3 looms on the horizon, but for the Dolphins, a team that once was the perennial favorite to win the division, it is a pill that is far more bitter to swallow. They say that Rome was not built in a day, the tradition of the Miami Dolphins wasn’t either. Years of bad trades, draft blunders, poor cap management, horrid coaching decisions, have finally caught up with Miami…and the team that once was built like Rome, is now looking like the Greek ruins Pompeii.

The Miami Dolphins under Don Shula were the least penalized teams, they were often at the top of the league leaders in scoring under the Marino watch. Yet it was while Marino was still in uniform that the legend of the Dolphins began to wane. With the arrival of Jimmy Johnson, Miami in one fell swoop determined their fate and lost a tremendous amount of class in the process. Although a lot can be said about the final drafts of Don Shula, the downfall can be pinpointed to the man who was supposed to lead the team to the next level, not the next level down.

Jimmy Johnson came to Miami with all the hype of a brand new Battleship.

He had spent some time on the networks, had left Dallas sporting Super Bowl championship rings, and was coming home to Miami. That was as much hype as he would garner.

If you want to know why the Miami Dolphins are where they are, it starts right here.

1996: 1st pick: Darryl Gardner – status – played 6 years for Miami. In his first draft with the Dolphins, Jimmy took defensive lineman Darryl Gardner, Gardner would be out of Miami within 6 years. Of the remaining draft picks of which Jimmy had 16…let me say that again…16 PICKS, only Gardner and Karim Abdul-Jabbar would make the team from the first day. The gem of this draft for Miami was LB Zach Thomas who was taken in round 5, the third pick in the round that Miami had. Of all those 16 picks, only half would make the roster, and only Zach Thomas would make any impact at all.

1997: 1st round pick – Yatil Green – Status – injured in 1st training camp. 18 selections (some selections were doubled as the result of trade downs) The second draft by Jimmy was by far the best of what he would offer. Sam Madison, LB Derrick Rogers, and DE Jason Taylor were all drafted. Rogers would be a starter but he wouldn’t last. Madison was a staple for 7 years before leaving for NY. Jason Taylor? Yeah, we know. 10 players would make the roster, only the above mentioned 3 would last. The first round pick? Yatil Green, injuries ended his career before he ever got to see a regular season game.

1998: 1st round pick – John Avery – status – played 1 year for Miami. Avery was traded in 1999 to the Broncos for WR Marcus Nash, who never did anything while in Miami. The 98 draft would give Miami one final stud player in CB Patrick Surtain. Another staple for the Miami Dolphins until his trade in 05 to KC. Johnson would select 10 players in this draft, of which only Patrick Surtain would last. Of the 10 players, only 5 would make the roster and the 1st rounder as said, would be traded the following year.

1999 – first round pick – traded down 2 times, first pick in the draft was in round 2, RB JJ Johnson – Status – played on 3 seasons in Miami. The 99 draft would be Jimmy Johnsons’ last in Miami. Of the 7 players to make the roster, only Johnson and FB Rob Konrad made any type of contribution.

After 4 full drafts by Jimmy Johnson, the Dolphins would net 4 players that contributed to the future of the team in exceptional ways. Jason Taylor – 2nd round, Patrick Surtain – 2nd round, Sam Madison – 2nd round, and Zach Thomas – 5th round. Although a few bright spots were drafted here and there, no other players impacted this team long term. It was the set up for the eventual fall of a franchise that was one or two players away from being absolutely great. In drafting poorly, Johnson squandered the final years of HOF QB Dan Marino, and his decisions to trade away first day picks, has earned the team nothing. In 11 years since his first draft with Miami, only two players remain on the team, only two others start in the NFL…Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain.

Following a 62-7 defeat at the hands of the jaguars, the Dolphins ushered out Jimmy and Marino in one off-season and ushered in, if possible, a more devastating era. Dave Wannstedt.

Wannstedt was part of the Jimmy Johnson Dallas cowboys era of greatness, and joined

the team in Jimmys’ last year as the assistant HC. The team would take on a downward spiral that still is being felt and battled against.

2000: First round pick – none, traded to Carolina in 1998. DWs’ first pick would be Todd Wade. Wade would play for Miami for 3 years then leave for Houston via FA. The rest of the draft was a who’s who of players who would make no impact for the Dolphins. Of 6 players drafted, only Wade for 3 years and Arturo Freeman would see any significant time on the field.

2001: First round pick – Jamar Fletcher – Status – plays in Houston. Fletcher would be in Miami for 3 years before being traded to San Diego as part of the David Boston failed trade. In Daves’ 2nd draft, he managed to net WR Chris Chambers in the 2nd round. A solid pick at the time and a player who actually is still on the roster, albeit his time here is rumored to be on its last leg. Chambers has been wildly inconsistent as a number 1 WR although his potential was always touted as such. The rest of the draft was not so good. Travis Minor would be a serviceable back-up until this past off-season. But he was not worth the 3rd round draft pick to be nothing more than a back-up. Morlon Greenwood would be serviceable but any draft pick not still on the roster at this point should be considered a bust. Dave Wannstedt drafted 4 busts in this draft.

2002: First round pick – Trade for Ricky Williams – Status – suspended for the 4th time. Dave Wannstedt fell in love with Ricky Williams and traded 2 first round picks and a 4th round pick for the troubled RB. Ricky would make the pro-bowl, but the trade would cost Miami its’ future. Ricky would play two year for the Dolphins before abruptly retiring, then being suspended, and so on. He is now planning an October re-application to the NFL. Dave Wannstedt would waste his second round on Seth ‘the sloth’ Mckinney and then his 3rd round pick would be for TE Randy McMichael who would sign as a free agent with STL this off-season. Only Omare Lowe and Leonard Henry would make the roster from this draft outside of RM and Mckinney.

2003: 1st pick traded for Ricky Williams – 1st selection – LB Eddie Moore – Moore would be out of Miami in two years and only see spot play. The rest of the draft was not much better as Dave drafted only Yeremiah Bell who would still remain on the roster today. Wade Smith is long gone and he only cost the Phins a 2nd round draft pick to the NE Patriots. Of this draft class only Bell remains with the team. It was 4 years ago. Most rookie contract would just now be expiring.

2004: 1st round pick – Vernon Carey – moved this year to left tackle. Even having a 1st round draft pick could not get done without some controversy as new GM Rick Spielman trades a 4th round pick to move up one spot in the draft to secure him. Of the unbelievable 6 picks the Phins would make in 2004, only Carey and Rex Hadnot are still on the team 3 years later. Hadnot is likely playing his final year as a Miami Dolphin as his play is not very good.

2005: 1st round pick – Ronnie Brown – status – starting RB. Enter the Nick Saban era. It is very hard to judge the class of 2005 as many of the players drafted are still on the team and are still learning. Channing Crowder has been a huge surprise on defense while 1st round pick Ronnie Brown was the best of a horrible upper class. Matt Roth is now seeing more playing time and Travis Daniels is starting. Despite the fact that none of the drafted players are stars, of the 6 players that were drafted, only Kevin Vickerson is no longer with the team, being cut this past off-season. However, Nick Saban entered this year in salary cap prison and without a 2nd and 3rd round draft pick…Rick Spielman traded the 2nd for QB AJ Feely who would last in Miami for 1 year, and Lamar Gordon who would last one year for the 3rd. Saban would trade Patrick Surtain for a 3rd round pick who would become Matt Roth.

2006: 1st pick – Jason Allen – Status – Backup with the team and likely bust. The Dolphins would have 9 draft picks to work with this draft. Allen is looking like a waste with the first pick, the 2nd was traded for Daunte Culppepper who is no longer with the team, Derick Hagan who is a back-up WR (scored a TD yesterday), Joe Toledo who has yet to be healthy and now on IR again, Manny Wright who quit football and then had his rights released, a 6th rounder AND AJ Feely for Cleo Lemon, Fred Evans who was cut after legal problems this off-season, Roderique Wright who is still on the team, and Devin Aromashodu who did not make the roster. Actual contributors from last years draft? Derick Hagan as a backup.

2007: 1st pick Ted Ginn – The Miami Dolphins saw Nick Saban resign and Cam Cameron hired. Cameron immediately began reshaping the franchise. Gone was Daunte Culpepper, Olindo Mare, Randy McMichael, and Wes Welker. Cameron had 10 picks in this past draft and of those picks, only LB Kelvin Smith is not on the 53 man roster, he is on the practice squad as a 7th round pick.

The Miami Dolphins as illustrated above are not in this losing situation because the stars did not align properly, they are in this position because year after year, the team makes bad draft choices, bad trades, and the salary cap was so completely misappropriated by Dave Wannstedt and Rick Spielman, that Cam Cameron is still feeling its’ affects. It is a clear indication that any coach who must start the free agency period trimming veteran salaries to have cap room to work with does not have a team that is going to be competitive. That is the case of the Miami Dolphins.

No youth, no veteran leadership sans 2, no 3 or 4 year veteran stars, no 5 to 9 year veteran stars, and only 2 Stars staring at 10 and 11 years experience. It is hard to compete in the NFL when your team has been consistently mismanaged. Head coach Cam Cameron has a lot of work to do ahead of him. Yet if you want to know why the Miami Dolphins are where they are today, you need only to look at the drafting of the last 11 years.