Miami Dolphins worst draft picks of last 15 years still hurts

The Miami Dolphins are hoping to continue a trend of drafting well. At least better than they have in the last fifteen years. History shows Miami has made some pretty bad choices.

For every player that a team drafts that is good, there is usually two or three picks per that turn out bad. In drafts there are tiers of picks. There are those that are great. These are the HOF worthy players that come along few and far between. There are good players that contribute and may even get HOF mentions. There are solid players who contribute to the team but are never going to make the HOF. And then there are the bad.

The bad are those players that are more than “simply didn’t work out players”. Those players are acceptable. Players that don’t work out make up the majority of the NFL Draft. And that is o.k. It’s those players that are beyond not working out that are problematic and the Dolphins have had a few of those as well.

Here is a look at the last 15 years and the players that stood out as worse than mistakes.

2012 – Michael Egnew

Drafted in the 3rd round, Egnew was horrible from the start. Not only could he not get on the field to play, when he did, he was lost. Completely lost. Miami hoped that he could develop but his football acumen wasn’t there. He could understand the playbook and when it was dumbed down for him, he still couldn’t grasp the game. Egnew lasted two years in Miami but it should have been one. He finished his NFL career with seven receptions. After he was released by the Dolphins he signed with the Lions and couldn’t make their team. he didn’t play in the NFL again.

2003 – Eddie “freaking” Moore

Forget about Anquan Boldin who Miami should have drafted, Moore wasn’t only a bad draft pick, he didn’t fill a need at all. Making this pick even worse was the fact Miami took him in round two with their first pick of that years draft.

Moore couldn’t cover as a linebacker, took bad pursuit angles, couldn’t set the edge and couldn’t stop the run. Nothing he did on the field was what was expected from a linebacker. Moore lasted two seasons in the NFL starting only three games and totally 27 tackles.

2004 – Tony Bua

The Dophins still wanted to improve their linebackers a year after drafting Eddie Moore. They thought mabye Bua would help the unit and drafted him in round five of the 2004 draft. Bua spent part of his rookie season injured which didn’t help his case. Dave Wannstedt raved about Bua during training camp but he never won a starting job. The Dolphins released him the following off-season. He eventually signed with the Bengals who released him as well. He spent one year in the NFL.

2007 – John Beck

The 2007 draft for the Dolphins will go down as one of the worst in team history. Maybe even NFL history. John Beck was taken in the 2nd round and while he started a few games he was way over his head. The Dolphins released him a year later and the Redskins picked him up only to release him a year after that. Beck was so bad that he highlighted a draft that included Ted Ginn, Jr. in the first round.

2008 – Shawn Murphy

The biggest positive that Murphy had coming to the Dolphins as a 4th round pick was that he was the son of MLB HOF’er Dale Murphy. The namesake could not get on the field and he couldn’t grasp Nick Saban’s offensive line schemes. He lasted one season with the Dolphins and couldn’t catch on elsewhere when he was released. His NFL career spanned a total of one season that included one game.

2009 – John Nalbone

The Dolphins continued search for a tight-end brought small college Monmouth’s John Nalbone to Miami in the 5th round. Nalbone was not what the Dolphins thought they were drafting. He couldn’t block, couldn’t catch passes, and couldn’t get on the field. He appeared in a total of two games. His NFL career would end in 2012 after spending time on the Dolphins, Vikings, Broncos, Seahawks, Bengals, Eagles, and Cowboys practice squads in three seasons never getting back to active play.

2011 – Clyde Gates – WR

He was supposed to be fast. He was supposed to be able to use his body well against defenders. He was supposed to have good size for a receiver and he was supposed to be a player that could develop quickly. After one season with the Dolphins he was sent packing and signed with the Jets where he lasted two more seasons doing, well, nothing. He was another mistake in the 4th round.

2013 – Dallas Thomas

Dallas Thomas was selected in the third round and unlike the others on this list actually started for the Dolphins. They shouldn’t have. Thomas was a swinging door on the offensive line who eqully struggled at pass protection and run blocking. The biggest disappointment however was the fact that the Dolphins coaches kept giving him more chances. He lasted his entire rookie contract of four years and then was out of the league.

2014 – Billy Turner

For the most part, read 2013’s Dallas Thomas. Both drafted in the third round, both stayed way too long and struggled with every aspect of offensive line protections. Both were released by the Dolphins on the same day in 2016 by Adam Gase. The only difference between the two? As of 2017, Turner was on an NFL roster with the Broncos.

2015 – Jamil Douglas

Douglas doesn’t get completely lumped in with Turner and Thomas because he was drafted in round four. He struggled like the other two and couldn’t get on the field. When he did, he was bad. He shares one thing in common with Thomas and Turner. Adam Gase released him the same day he released the other two.

2016 – Leonte Carroo

The verdict is still out on Carroo but the jury is in chambers deliberating. Carroo was supposed to be a viable slot option to Jarvis Landry. A plan ahead should Landry leave. Carroo has taken the field only a handful of times and has been jumped on the roster depth chart twice by an undrafted player. Carroo can’t seem to get out of his own way and he can’t seem to grasp an NFL playbook. He may not make it out of training camp this year and would become a big wasted third round draft pick.