Daniel Thomas Latest Miami Dolphin 2nd Round Bust

Can Jarvis Landry and Jamar Taylor buck the trend of 2nd round busts? Taylor’s rookie season was marred by injury but he is healthy now and ready to go. Jarvis Landry is the first 2nd round pick by Dennis Hickey and has shown that he has all of the right qualities to make him a star on the NFL level. History however hasn’t been good to the Miami Dolphins in a very long time.

Yesterday the Dolphins released running back Daniel Thomas. The Kansas State runner was supposed give Miami the same level play as he did in college but instead he flamed out quickly. Unable to handle the ball early in his career and unable to hit the holes when they were open. Thomas quickly became the ire of many fans.

For the Dolphins however, Thomas was not a simple bust but instead the latest in a long line of 2nd round mistakes that date all the way back to 2001.

In 2001 the Miami Dolphins selected wide-receiver Chris Chambers in the second round of the NFL Draft. Chambers would have a good career with the team but not great. He was reliable and had enough speed to open the offense but Chambers struggled at times and eventually was traded. He wasn’t a bust but instead is the last player the Miami Dolphins drafted in round two that made a positive impact.

The trend for the Dolphins started in 2001 ironically when the Dolphins’ Dave Wannstedt traded his 2002 2nd round pick to Philadelphia for linebacker Morlon Greenwood. Greenwood would have an o.k. career with Miami but never became a dominant linebacker. The move would leave the Dolphins without a first and second round pick in 2002 as the team had traded their first rounder to New Orleans for RB Ricky Williams.

In 2003 the Dolphins needed to hit on their 2nd round pick. The team had already traded two first rounders for Ricky Williams including the 2003 first rounder. In two years the team had not made a selection in round one or two. The team opted to take Eddie Moore. A linebacker who never made an impact and was gone from the team a short two years later.

2003 seemed to be the magical turning point in the Dolphins 2nd round legacy. The team had missed on 2nd rounders before but not like they were about it. In addition to the drafting of Eddie Moore, the Dolphins traded their 2004 second round pick to New England to move up into round three of the 2003 draft. They took Wade Smith.

The Dolphins would not have a 2nd round pick obviously in 2004 and in 2005 they traded their 2nd rounder to Philadelphia for A.J. Feely who was never more than a back-up to Jay Fiedler. That same year the Dolphins traded Patrick Surtain to the Kansas City Chiefs for their 2nd round pick which they used on LB Matt Roth. Not a bad player in his time but he would eventually move on to other teams and never came close to the production that Surtain had given the Dolphins.

In 2006 the Dolphins Nick Saban opted for a bum knee over a rehabbing shoulder and moved the pick to to Minnesota for QB Daunte Culpepper. He would play part of one season. It didn’t get better for the team in 2007 when the Cam Cameron era took John Beck in round 2.

The wheels had fallen off and Daniel Thomas’ release yesterday is only the latest in a long trend of failed 2nd round picks. To put this into a better prospective the list below by date shows exactly what the Dolphins have done since 2001.

2001 – Chris Chambers

2002 – Traded to Philadelphia in 2001 for Morlon Greenwood in round three

2003 – Eddie Moore

2004 – Traded to New England in 2003 for Wade Smith in round three

2005 – Traded to Philadelphia for A.J. Feeley  Pick 2b was acquired from Kansas City for Patrick Surtain used on Matt Roth

2006 – Traded to Minnesota for Daunte Culpepper

2007 – John Beck was drafted with the first of two 2nd rounders. Samson Satele was used with the second in the Wes Welker trade

2008 – Phillip Merling and Chad Henne were both drafted in round two by Bill Parcells and neither made a significant impact on the roster in their short time here.

2009 – The Dolphins again had two 2nd round picks. The first came from the trade of Jason Taylor to the Redskins. It was used on Pat White. The 2nd was used on Sean Smith who of course now plays for Kansas City

2010 – Koa Misi – Misi is still on the roster but the Dolphins have made him an interior linebacker instead of outside. Misi has been productive and won’t be considered a bust, however the Dolphins need more production from him and hopefully will find it this year at the middle linebacker position.

2011 – Two second rounders in 2011 but one was traded to Denver for Brandon Marshall which should have had a far more favorable outcome. The Dolphins would, two years later, trade him for a 3rd round pick. The second, second rounder the Dolphins traded back into round two to get and that was for Daniel Thomas.  They gave up their 3rd and 5th round picks for Thomas.

2012 – Jonathan Martin was supposed to be the answer to the Dolphins right tackle position, instead he will be a trivia question 20 years down the road.

2013 – Jamar Taylor

2014 – Jarvis Landry

The Dolphins need more than average production from their 2nd round picks. It’s been a wasted round for over a decade but it appears that finally Jarvis Landry may be able to turn that table and so far Jamar Taylor is looking to make a push this season now that he is healthy. The Dolphins have had six general managers and one football czar since 2001. Dave Wannstedt, Rick Spielman, Nick Saban, Randy Mueller, Bill Parcells, Jeff Ireland, and now Dennis Hickey. Hopefully Hickey can right this ship’s history or at the very least, re-write it.