Miami Dolphins Draft Preview: WR’s

Inching closer the draft is as Yoda would say.  Mmmmm, closer it is.  With twenty days still left on the calendar before the first round kicks off on May 8th there is still plenty of speculation floating around about what teams might do.  Including the Miami Dolphins.  While trade up and down talk hasn’t really reached a fever pitch quite yet, as the weeks creep by expect more talk about that very thing.  Whether or not new GM Dennis Hickey views it as an option is another question entirely.

With all the formalities out of the way it’s time to look at another position.  WR’s.  The Dolphins don’t really “need” a WR especially not early in the draft but if there is one thing we do know about Hickey is that he comes from a franchise that put high value on the position.  In Miami a crowded corp may not give Hickey a reason to add a wide-out until after the draft is over.

While Brian Hartline is recovering from injury and Brandon Gibson is still a question mark to make the opener, despite what he says, the Dolphins have an expensive Mike Wallace who needs to get more involved and frankly has a contract that borders on untradeable.  Last year the Dolphins relied on Rishard Mathews, a sophomore project who stepped in for an injured Gibson well.  Armon Binns has been retained another season and he too is coming off a season ending injury.  His suffered before the season started.

The Dolphins have been looking at WR’s both in pro-day showcases and private workouts.  It’s not a bad thing to have a fall back plan in case your plans don’t work out but drafting a WR won’t help this team win now.  Unless of course he starts.

This year five WR’s are projected to be first round possibilities.  Sammy Watkins of Clemson is the number one WR consensus and some have him projected to go as high as number three or four.  Mike Evans of Texas A&M and Marqise Lee of USC are the next two in line and both figure to receive long looks in the mid-first round.  That being said, a couple of teams like the Cleveland Browns who need WR help are also needing help at the position to get the ball to the WR.

The NFL has become a passing game and WR’s are at a premium which doesn’t hurt their stock.  Still it’s very possible that three WR’s go in round one and two others find themselves dropping into early round two.  Kelvin Benjamin of Florida State and Brandin Cooks of Oregon are two of those WR’s who may not hear their names called on night one.

Miami Dolphins:  The Dolphins could use a top WR especially if Hickey views this as Mike Wallace’s last season with the team.  Wallace came nowhere close to matching his talent on the field with his contract off of it.  That being said the Dolphins don’t have a “need” at the position and they have several other positions that do indeed need addressing.  If the Dolphins look at WR I believe they would do so later in the draft on day three.