If only we could redraft the Miami Dolphins 2017 draft

Miami’s early round picks in 2017 are on the brink of being labeled busts but which players would have been better options at their respective selections.

Selections in the early rounds of the NFL Draft, meaning on day 1 & 2, are particularly where and how a general manager is critiqued and graded in his position. Hidden gems in the latter half of drafts are found all the time because football is, arguably, the most competitive sport from top to bottom. However, teams and their fans know that they are building towards their future with those first few selections, and that it is essential to make the very best pick for your team.

The Miami Dolphins have had mixed results in this area over the past few seasons. It makes sense since Miami is typically selecting in the middle of rounds as a result of their average seasons. 2015 was absolutely horrendous for the Dolphins in their early selections of DeVante Parker and Jordan Phillips. The team has already moved on from Phillips, and by all accounts, Parker will be shown the door following season’s end. Miami surely could’ve made some better selections, but it was a weak draft class overall. They did draft Jay Ajayi in the fifth round, who would become a Pro Bowler, but only Bobby McCain remains a Dolphin as part of that class.

The following year in 2016, Miami nailed it with their first few selections. First, Laremy Tunsil, who many had projected to go #1 overall to Tennessee before they traded the pick, fell into their laps at pick 13 after the video of Tunsil smoking from a gas mask surfaced during the draft. It took Tunsil some time, but he has been absolutely terrific this season, and he most certainly should be Miami’s starting left tackle for years to come.

The same can be said for their second round pick that year. Xavien Howard has put himself into the argument of the league’s best cornerback. He has been playing at an All Pro level this season, and it is critical that Miami locks him up to an extension in the near future. Even Miami’s early third round selection of Kenyan Drake was very good, although head coach Adam Gase doesn’t utilize him nearly enough. Management’s decision to move back into the third round later that evening to take Leonte Carroo was horrible, but in a way they made up for it by grabbing Jakeem Grant in the sixth round.

Miami’s early selections in 2017, however, don’t appear to be very good, and could be a big part of why the Dolphins still cannot get over the hump. After reaching the playoffs in 2016, Miami was selecting a little further down than where they are usually. Picking at 22, a lot of people were pounding the table for Miami to take LB Reuben Foster. Foster was one of the highest rated linebackers in the 2017 class, and the Dolphins have needed linebacker help for over a decade so it made sense. With Foster came baggage, however, after he failed a drug test, and was sent home early from the Combine as the result of a heated exchange during a medical exam.

Knowing what we know now about Foster, and the off-the-field issues surrounding him with domestic violence accusations, it was certainly the right call for Miami to avoid the Foster headache. That doesn’t discount, however, that Charles Harris has been a huge disappointment. Highly praised coming out of Missouri, Harris was supposed to be groomed to take over as Miami’s leading pass rusher once Cameron Wake retires.

He hasn’t even shown flashes that he can be that player, and although he’s missed five games this season, he has yet to record a sack in seven regular season games this year. His play has been so disappointing that Miami may need to draft another pass rusher with an early round selection in 2019.

Looking at the players who were taken after Harris, it’s pretty easy to conclude that Miami could’ve taken a more impactful player than what Harris has provided. For starters, if they chose to stick with defensive end, they could’ve drafted Takkarist McKinley, who the Falcons picked up at 26 from UCLA. To date, McKinley has nine career sacks compared to Harris’ two.

My personal hope was that they would have selected T.J. Watt, who has been very good for the Steelers (30). Other players they could have had were Tre’Davious White (27) and David Njoku (29). Both players are really starting to come into their own for their respective teams, with White possibly becoming a Pro Bowl player this year.

More from Dolphins Draft

The big knock on Raekwon McMillan coming out of college was his speed along with his reaction time. We didn’t hear about any of it though in training camp when McMillan was a rookie. All reports were that he was quickly grasping the playbook, and taking on a leadership role. Unfortunately, he tore his ACL in the preseason, ending his rookie year before it started.

Following successful surgery and rehabilitation, we heard the same rumblings heading into this season. McMillan has struggled, however, and all the reports of his weaknesses coming out of college have come to fruition. It’s basically a rookie year for McMillan so there may still be time for him to turn it around, but he’s actually been outplayed by his college teammate, Jerome Baker.

Returning from ACL surgery can be tough for anyone, and we just don’t know if McMillan can be the player that we all want him to be. Prior to the 2017 draft, many of the early mock drafts had the Dolphins linked to LB Zach Cunningham. Most of these mock drafts, obviously, had Cunningham going to the Dolphins in the first round, but he was still on the board for them at pick 54, and I was certain that they were going to take him. They went with McMillan instead though and Cunningham came off the board a few picks later to Houston (57).

Cunningham has contributed to an already strong Texans defense. Last week against Cleveland, he even recorded his first career interception, returning it for a 38-yard touchdown. The stats of each player are not very different for this year, but Cunningham was graded higher coming out of college. Some of his strengths are his abilities to react quickly, and cover tight ends and running backs. These are areas that McMillan has struggled in, and it shows.

If Miami was not interested in Cunningham, there again were other players to fill their necessary needs remaining on the board. Miami desperately needed guard help, and they still do for that matter. Three guards went off the board in the next seventeen selections after Miami took McMillan. Yes, the Dolphins took a guard later on with Isaac Asiata in the fifth round, which looked like a steal at the time, but even with all of the injuries that Miami has endured, they are still reluctant to throw Asiata out there, which is very telling.

Other players they could’ve gone with here were CB Chidobe Awuzie (60), who has played well on an improving Cowboys defense. Miami could’ve also taken a center in Pat Elflein (70), since they had no intention of bringing back Mike Pouncey. Also, since Adam Gase seems to have little to no confidence in Kenyan Drake, there was Alvin Kamara (67) on the board should they had decided to take a running back early. There was definitely a variety of directions Miami could’ve and probably should have gone here.

And then there’s Cordrea Tankersley. After a promising rookie season, Tankersley appeared to be in the driver seat for the starting cornerback position opposite Xavien Howard. For whatever reason though, Tankersley has taken a huge step back. It began when Torry McTyer started taking more reps than Tankersley. Then reports started that the Dolphins weren’t happy with either, and that the team would look elsewhere for cornerback help.

In early November, Tankersley was placed on IR after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in practice. Prior to that, however, he was nonexistent, appearing in just six games, and totaling a combined five tackles. With Tankersley’s status on the Dolphins up in the air going forward, it looks like Miami would’ve been better off taking anyone else.

We may not know what’s going on with Tankersley, as he could be dealing with some serious personal issues. It’s a huge disappointment for the franchise though as they may look yet again come April at an early selection on a cornerback in a deep defensive draft. There’s a strong chance that Tankersley may not even be on the team next season.

It should be noted that Miami did make some nice selections in the late rounds of 2017 with a pair of defensive tackles, Davon Godchaux and Vincent Taylor. Even though Taylor suffered a season-ending injury a few weeks back, it’s clear that both players are filling the void nicely. They gave management and the coaching staff the confidence to cut Ndamukong Suh in the offseason, and Jordan Phillips early on in the season.

Regarding the Dolphins 2018 picks, it looks like they hit a home run with Minkah Fitzpatrick in the first round, and they found an impactful linebacker in Jerome Baker in the third. The jury is still out on Mike Gesicki, but it’s still early to give an evaluation.

With the Dolphins, we can often point to should of, could of, and would of. The truth is, no matter how much a player is evaluated, you never know how they’re going to be at the next level until they are there. It doesn’t help matters for a team like Miami that typically doesn’t play well enough to reach the playoffs, but aren’t selecting at the top of the draft either.

Regardless of what critics might say, however, Miami is not a bad team. They need just a few additional players that can help get them back to contention that we’ve all been longing for them to do. While they may be able to find some pieces in free agency, the draft is most crucial to restoring their dominance.

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