Miami Dolphins: Evaluations at many key non-player positions start now
By Kevin Hood
Matt Winston Is the current Assistant Director, College Scouting. He was a scout with the Miami Dolphins since the 2015 NFL season. He has worked his way up from college scout to national scout and was promoted to his current position in 2019.
After a rough start to the season in 2019, seemingly unwanted players within the organization started to blossom towards the end of the year. Undrafted and journey men climbed up the depth chart and played at a high level to finish the season with five wins.
Undrafted players such as Shaq Calhoun and Nik Needham secured starting positions on that young 2019 team. Also, undrafted wide receiver Preston Williams played a significant role as a rotational player.
Along with the impressive play of key undrafted college players, Miami had significant contributors from the 2019 Draft class. Christian Wilkins and Michael Deiter did start games. They had a decent year for rookies on a struggling and young team, with crucial reserve players Myles Gaskin and Andrew Van Ginkel being contributors regularly.
Matt Winston is not without merit in his current position. But questions remain.
Was it him and his department that strayed away from the many star players currently in the NFL that were taken after Miami drafted players presently struggling?
Did he not do enough work on the extensive list of running backs and linebackers this current team is desperate for?
What is his plan to identify needed college talent at positions of great need?
Does he have a grasp as to the type of players to fit Miami’s schemes?
Does he do enough with the scouts under him to get them to watch teams with talent at Miami’s most significant positions of need that have kept this roster from winning now?
Those are questions that need to be asked and answered within the organization. Now, Chris Grier needs to start having these hard conversations to ensure Miami’s College Scouting Department is in good, capable hands.