Miami Dolphins 2016 draft class review

The Miami Dolphins are not playing very good football right now but they are getting positive results from their 2017 draft class. But what about the 2016 class?

When the Dolphins selected Missouri defensive end Charles Harris with their first round pick it was evident that the team was going to try to improve their defense. This a season after they focused most of their draft on the offensive side of the ball.

Harris has played well enough to give fans hope that he could develop into Cam Wake replacement in another year or two. Cordrea Tankersley, a third round prospect is playing well too. While Tankersley has had his share of bad games and plays, he does show growth.

Tankersley is one of the reasons that Byron Maxwell is no longer in Miami. His play has improved week to week and while he has a long way to go, the Dolphins believe he will become a very good corner.

Miami is also getting solid play out of DT Davon Godchaux who many believe will take over for Jordan Phillips as soon as this off-season. Godchaux plays very well on most plays and while he too experiences growing pains, there is a lot of positives surrounding him.

This brings us to 2016 where Miami’s draft has now had a full season and a half to learn the system and more importantly acclimate to the NFL level. Here is a look at how that class is performing.

Laremy Tunsil

The Dolphins first round pick has had mixed reviews in 2017. During the 2016 season Tunsil played almost exclusively at left guard while Branden Albert manned the left tackle position. This year Tunsil is on the outside himself and the lack of quality guard play is hurting him on the outside.

Truth is however that Tunsil is struggling with this level. He has had several good games and several bad ones. There is no need to worry yet as this is by all intent and purposes the first year for Tunsil at left tackle and that takes some adjustment for some players. Regardless, I think the Dolphins expected far more from a player many believed would be the first overall pick.

Xavien Howard

Howard started to look good in his rookie season but an injury kept him out of the lineup. In 2017 he hasn’t made the impact many had hoped for. Thus far Howard has displayed very few of the traits he had in college that impressed the Dolphins enough to spend a 2nd round pick on. The good news is that some corners take some time to develop and Howard missed a lot of his rookie campaign and is midway through his second season. With injuries behind him, hopefully, Howard should start catching up to the game around him.

Kenyan Drake

Miami fans only got a couple of glimpses of Drake last season as Jay Ajayi’s train rolled through the entire season. With Ajayi now gone, Drake is in line to pick up the slack. Drake was the number two back at Alabama but many considered him a legit number one. Drake is now splitting carries with Damien Williams but Williams excels in the passing game and whereas Drake is the far superior runner.

With half of the 2017 season gone, Miami fans will get to see what Drake has to offer the team in the final seven weeks. Last week he rambled for a 66 yard touchdown, the Dolphins first rushing score of the season.

Unfortunately the wheels begin to fall off a bit after the third round.

Leonte Carroo

Carroo is an enigma of sorts. He isn’t good enough to take over any of the top three receiver spots and when he does get into a game he shows only small inconsistent glimpses of what he could potentially be. So far through a season and a half Carroo has seen limited action. In 2016 he was inactive almost the entire season and was jumped on the depth chart by Rashawn Scott.

Carroo has to find his game and then make the plays in practice to show the coaches he is ready to break out during a game. That won’t likely happen in 2017 and 2018 may not provide the opportunities either.