Todd McShay Loves Miami Dolphins’ 2012 Draft
As expected, Ryan Tannehill is defining the Miami Dolphins’ 2012 Draft. Most draft pundits are grading the Phins’ draft based on how they feel about the young Texas A&M quarterback. Unfairly, they miss the tremendous amount of value that Miami accrued after Tannehill. ESPN’s Todd McShay liked the Tannehill selection and did not overlook the great work by Jeff Ireland after the initial pick, ranking the Dolphin class as the fifth best in the league.
I’ve felt this way since UM Running Back Lamar Miller was taken in the fourth round. After that, some more value picks were made.
When I wear my Dolphin-lovin’ goggles, this is what I see:
The Dolphins had three first-rounders, three third-rounders, one fourth-rounder, four fifth-rounders, and two seventh rounders.
ROUND ONE Ryan Tannehill, Jonathan Martin, Lamar Miller
ROUND TWO (No Selections)
ROUND THREE Olivier Vernon, Michael Egnew, B.J. Cunningham
ROUND FOUR Rishard Matthews
ROUND FIVE Josh Kaddu, Jeff Fuller, Les Brown, Kelcie McCray
ROUND SIX (No Selections)
ROUND SEVEN Randall Kheeston, Derek Moye
That is thirteen additions in the 2012 draft. I know the Phins actually made nine picks but the four undrafted rookies, I included could have easily been drafted. The draft is an ever-changing process and players’ values change overnight and some slip through the cracks. Every year undrafted players like Matt Moore and Tony Romo, make an NFL squad.
Les Brown is an unusual case because he never played college football. He was ineligible for the draft and signed with Miami. If Egnew was drafted in the third round, Brown, another athletic tight end, would have easily been taken by the fifth.
Getting back to the point, the Phins acquired great value within the 2012 rookie class and deserve more recognition. Some experts claim the Dolphins reached for Tannehill. So? We earned great value with Martin and Miller. Others downgrade the Phins’ draft because they didn’t address their receiver need until the sixth round. The problem with this argument is that Jeff Ireland realized the wide-out position was deep in this draft and, again, stock-piled great value at the end of it. Cunningham and Matthews could have been drafted in the third.
The bottom line is that some writers, assess the Dolphins quickly, and make poor judgements about their draft. The worst I’ve actually seen is a C, meaning no one thinks the Dolphins had a poor draft. But if everyone were thorough in their research, they would agree with McShay, the Phins had a draft that PhinPhanatics should be proud of!
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