What are the Miami Dolphins best steals this off season?
By Marco Moor
Everybody sees highlights of their team’s drafted players and thinks that they got the steal of the draft. What are the Miami Dolphins best steals this off season?
Virtually all football fans love the off-season and in particular the draft. As a fan, scouting some players and evaluating how they may perform in the pros has always been something I love.
It always intrigues me as to how many highly drafted players end up as busts and how many lower grade draft prospects end up rocking the NFL. I’ve written articles before about which positions are more likely to succeed and/or fail based on where they were drafted.
We put so much emphasis on the 40, vertical, bench press, blah blah blah. Zach Thomas – fifth-round pick, Jason Taylor – third-round pick. Sam Madison – second round, Patrick Surtain – second round. Some of our best players ever! Some of our worst players ever were drafted in the first round. We all know that sometimes the NFL draft can feel like a crapshoot.
So each year, I like to play a little game with myself. I like to guess which of our Miami Dolphins draftees will do A LOT better or worse than expected. Oh, heck, I’m no professional scout. Who amongst us is? We are all just armchair Gms pontificating about our favorite teams.
So who is the steal of this year’s off-season? My first choice isn’t a player. I want to say that the best off-season acquisition is McDaniel. First-year head coach – growing pains – yes. McDaniel to my understanding has never called plays – growing pains – yes.
And you never know how much of the offensive scheme and execution was his doing or other coaches on the team. However, the more I watch his formations and use of personnel from his previous coaching stints the more excited I get. To me, McDaniel might be the steal of the off-season.
The second value steal of the draft is someone who didn’t actually get drafted, Zaquandre White, RB, South Carolina. I believe White is a perfect fit for a zone run blocking system. He has great vision, a good deal of wiggle, and looks like he can catch the ball pretty well.
The only knock on Zaquandre is that he might not be quite fast enough in the NFL and may need a year of seasoning. I’d be very interested to see where this kid ends up on the Dolphins’ depth chart this year or next. But, as an undrafted RB, I think he’s got a bunch of unappreciated talent.
Now, I will admit, I mostly watch SEC and east coast college teams so there are a lot of college players I know virtually nothing about. Soo, there is a high probability I’m completely wrong and there is a better ‘steal’ waiting to show me what a fool I am.
But, hey, that’s why Phinphanatic is here. There are a ton of super-intelligent, football-loving fans out there and Phinphanatic is a forum where everyone can give their point of view. So feel free to add your two cents as to whom you believe is the steal(s) of the off-season!!