Davis is widely regarded as one of the top two or three cornerbacks in the draft and has excellent size and speed, as well as being a sure and aggressive tackler. He plays very good man-to-man coverage and his tackling makes him an asset in run support. The knock against Davis is that he sometimes suffers from mental lapses and needs to work on his zone coverage skills.
Curt's Comments: Davis was the obvious choice for a defense in desperate need of a starting cornerback. There are some questions about whether or not he will ultimately be an elite player because of his occasional mental lapses on the field and his attitude off of it.
Acquired from the Redskins for DE Jason Taylor. White is probably the most suprising pick on the first day for Miami. As a small-ish (6'0", 197lbs) quarterback at West Virginia, White ran their offense from a spread shotgun formation that was the West Virginia version of the Wildcat. He was a two-time Heismann award finalist, lead the Mountaineers to 4 bowl games and holds the NCAA record for career rushing yards by a quarterback.
Despite that, most of the pundits are saying that White is too small and his arm is too weak to make it as a quarterback in NFL, but his overall athleticism is undisputed and the general consensus seems to be that he'll be an excellent player in a general purpose role. Despite that, Jeff Ireland says the Dolphins will put him in the mix at quarterback and allow him to compete with the Chads for the starting job.
Curt's Comments: Taking a bit of a gamble in the middle of the second round, the Dolphins took a chance on a player with amazing athletic ability that can help them immediately in the Wildcat offense. White will see the field as a role player from day one, but the real question is whether he can become a full time starter as a quarterback or a receiver or will always be an amazing athlete who never quite made it as a full time NFL player.
But Holy S***, is this kid fast and elusive! (See video below...)
Acquired from the Colts for the #24 pick in the 2nd round Sean Smith is a physical freak of nature as a cornerback - it is not often that you find a cornerback who is 6'4" tall and can provide tight man-to-man coverage on wide receivers. He is fast and is also known for his ability to jam wide receivers at the line of scrimmage. His drawbacks are that he may not be able to change direction quickly enough to stay with players like Wes Welker and there are some questions about his aggressiveness.
Curt's Comments: How often do you find a cornerback who is the same size as Randy Moss and can run with him? It will be interesting to see if he can play on the next level.
Turner is a big, strong wide receiver, physically similar to Brandon London and Ernest Wilford at 6'4" and 223 lbs. The Dolphins are apparently still looking for a player to fill the role that Wilford was originally signed to fill - namely, the big possession receiver who will out-jump the cornerback and catch the fade route in the corner of the endzone.
Curt's Comments: Despite Tony Sparano's public support of Ernest Wilford, I think it's fair to say that Wilford has been the biggest disappointment of any free agent the Dolphins have signed since Bill Parcells took over. Brandon London has shown flashes of becoming the possession receiver the Dolphins want, but has not produced on the field as well as he has in practice. Turner is clearly another attempt to find that receiver.
Acquired from the Raiders for C Samson Satele. Hartline is a good sized wide receiver who had a great combine and reportedly is very smart, tough and disciplined. However, he only caught 21 passes at Ohio State last year and did not have a standout college career.
Curt's Comments: I am suspicious of any player who has lots of talent but did not have an exceptional college career. Of course, great college stats do not necessarily translate to greatness in the NFL and I'll give Hartline some dispensation for playing in a system where passing was not a priority. Having said that, it seems as though Hartline was drafted on potential alone and would have been a better pick a little later in the draft.
4
26
(126)
Given to the Raiders; as part of the Samson Satele deal, the Dolphins swapped 4th round picks with the Raiders.
Nalbone has size (6'4" and 255 lbs) and strength and reportedly both blocks and catches the ball well. His speed, however, is not among the elite and he did not play in a major college football program against the best competition. Also, the Dolphins' starting pair of Fasano and Martin played very well last year, so Nalbone will have his work cut out for him.
News
- Picks lost due to trades or other deals
