The Miami Dolphins rocked the draft but they still have to play
By Brian Miller
We can get all excited and pumped up about this years Miami Dolphins draft but in the end, it won’t be on paper that is remembered.
Brian Flores has been handed a bunch of excellent prospects. Whatever input he had neither matters a little or a lot. The reality is simple, he has to coach them. Miami’s stellar draft, according to most in the media, only means that the Dolphins drafted high-grading players but as we have seen in the past, a high-graded player doesn’t equate to success on Sundays.
This is where the Dolphins have to “rock” it. For too long Dolphins coaches have failed the draft picks as much as the general manager making the pick has failed the team. The entire 2017 draft was an abomination and 2018 was only marginally better.
While 2018 brought Jerome Baker and Mike Gesicki to the team, the Dolphins failed to recognize the problem child that Minkah Fitzpatrick turned out to be. Durham Smythe wasn’t a bad pick but there is a question as to whether he makes it to September. Of course, who can discount Jason Sanders in round seven?
2019 was the Chris Grier going it alone draft and as of now, he has done well. Christian Wilkins is an impact starter that is getting better. Michael Dieter may be the future at center and Andrew Van Ginkel is becoming a fan favorite. Finally, Myles Gaskin in round seven is the team’s starter at running back and isn’t as bad as many would like to say. He just isn’t flashy.
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From 2019, only Isaiah Prince and Chandler Cox are gone. Prince was a sixth round lineman and Cox a seventh round fullback. All in all, not a bad miss. Considering that the Dolphins didn’t like anyone enough to spend their 5th round pick on, I would say the idea of late round picks is to take a few stabs in the dark and see what happens.
We are anxiously awaiting the post-COVID development of the 2020 draft class but what we can see without question is that Miami is drafting good players with a lot of potential and that now falls on Brian Flores and his staff to shape and mold into the team’s ultimate vision.
Miami should be heralded for a very good draft in 2021 but those players need to get on the field and produce and if they do, this will be one of the best drafts ever and maybe actually live up to the grades it has been given.