Local defender headlines Miami Dolphins mock draft
By Pablo Rosero
A Houston Texans loss, and a Miami Dolphins win sends draft picks in opposite ends of the draft board.
With the Houston Texans beginning to surge, Miami Dolphins fans were happy to see them lose as their first round pick returns to the top-10.
It does go to show that, even in a down year with a roster stripped of major talent, Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is a special player. A caliber of player many Phins fans hope Tua Tagovailoa hits.
After a poor showing in the first half this past Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, Tagovailoa seemingly picked it up in the second half and propelled the Dolphins to their eighth victory on the season.
So far, Tagovailoa is 4-1 with 7 touchdown passes and zero interceptions. While these are good numbers, it is clear that the Dolphins must give their franchise quarterback additional weapons.
In this week’s mock draft, we seek to solve the lack of offensive talent and bring additional defensive pieces that could help contribute in the upcoming clash between the Kansas City Chiefs.
This mock comes once again from the draft simulator from Profootballnetwork.com and it is our first seven round mock of the season. So let’s have some fun!
The Coconut Creek native could add a new dimension to the Miami Dolphins dominant defense.
Round 1, Pick 9
University of Miami (FL) EDGE Gregory Rousseau
This pick puts into consideration the tough task that lays ahead for the Dolphins with the end of their schedule.
After the Chiefs game, we still have the Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, and Las Vegas Raiders to play. That is Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Cam Newton, and Derek Carr left, all of which are great quarterbacks.
The best way to disrupt great quarterbacks? Persistent pass rush that disrupts the flow of an offense.
This iteration of the Dolphins have been very good at getting to the quarterback ranking 10th in the league in sacks with 31 on the year. With Emmanual Ogbah leading the way, the Dolphins defense have had eleven players contribute at least one sack on the season.
Adding University of Miami and Coconut Creek native to the front-7 would give the team an amazing pass rusher and a local talent.
After opting out of the 2020 NCAA season due to COVID-19 concerns, the Hurricanes lost their leading sacker from 2019. In that season, Rousseau put together a stunning campaign headlined by his 15.5 sacks on the season.
A trio of Rousseau, Ogbah, and Shaq Lawson would be scary and give the Dolphins many options to rush, especially with Kyle Van Noy and Andrew Van Ginkel being capable pass rushers of their own from the linebacker position.