2018 Miami Dolphins draft results: What went right and wrong
By Brian Miller
What went right.
Mike Gesicki -Round 2 – Many fans and media alike questioned this pick but for the Dolphins it makes sense. Gesicki can’t block to save his own rear-end they say but he can improve in that area. What he is however is what the Dolphins need more. They need a pass catching seam threat tight-end with a big body who can steal passes out of the air. A red-zone threat that Miami has been trying to find for over a decade and tried masking Jarvis Landry as.
Gesicki is a pass catcher. He isn’t a blocker. Rob Gronkowski doesn’t block and neither does Jimmy Graham. MIami didn’t want a blocking tight end in round one. They wanted an explosive play maker that could open the offense and allow Adam Gase to take his offense into a better direction.
Many wanted or thought that Dallas Goedert was the best choice. A far more rounded player who could block and pass. When the Eagles jumped ahead of the Cowboys to draft him, fans pointed to the Eagles history of drafting good tight-ends. But The Dolphins have made it clear, they want big school ball players who play against big school ball players. Goedert is from a smaller school.
Miami may have passed on Goedert because of the school he attended in college but they really wanted that one tight-end that could break open a game. A tight-end that has to be accounted for and game planned for. That is Mike Gesicki.
Durham Smythe – Round 4 – Sticking with the tight-end position the Dolphins doubled down when they were on the clock in round four. Whereas Gesicki is the pass catching monster Smythe is the big time inline blocker that can push around opposing defenders. If he were more well-rounded the Notre Dame product would have gone much higher.
This is not to say that Smythe can’t catch passes. At Notre Dame he wasn’t asked to very often given the way they play offense. He seems more like another Anthony Fasano. A grinder who can hold his own in the trenches and slide out from a block for a tight-end screen. He is a bruiser. And he gives the Dolphins that second tight-end to who can take over the edge of the line.
Miami will have to make a decision at tight-end this year because they now have five on the roster. The odd man out will likely be recently signed veteran Gavin Escobar. A former 2nd round pick by the Cowboys. It could be MarQueis Gray who has wondered out lout about his role with the team. It could also be last years addition of A.J. Derby who is still a bit raw but well rounded as a tight-end.
What is known is that the Dolphins have more options at the position than they did last year or the year before. After spending high in free agency for guys that simply didn’t pan out, they have two solid tight-ends and some young talen on the roster to mold.