FanPost

NFL Top 32 By Position And Where They were Drafted

I compiled a list of the 32 best players by position and what round they were drafted in to see if there are any unique trends. I also compared the league trends to the Miami Dolphins and their recent draft history ( last 10 yrs ). To compile the list, I started with the Top starting player by position on each team and then removed starters and replaced them with backups who are clearly better. Obviously the list will be subjective so I'll post the lists of players at the end for reference and feel free to debate who's deserving and missing or vice versa. Let's see what we find :


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WR POSITION TOP 32

With all the reports and buzz of 1st and 2nd rd WR's visiting the Dolphins lately let's start with the playmaking skill position. Based on the numbers, if these visits aren't smoke screens, it shows the Dolphins are very smart. 20 of the Top 32 WR's were drafted in rounds 1 and 2. The 4th rd and later you basically have to get lucky, it seems if you want to draft a stud #1 WR you have to get him early. What have the Dolphins done in the last 10 years of drafting at the WR position Early ? Only 1 single WR was drafted in the first 2 rounds in the entire decade, and we all know who that was. Ted Ginn Jr. And you wonder why our passing game has been so pedestrian all these years. The Dolphins avg. draft rd for WRs is 4.5 for the Decade. Here's the breakdown of the Top 32 by Round ( undrafted was assigned an 8 in calculating avg. )

1st rd picks : 12

2nd rd picks : 8

3rd rd picks : 4

4th rd picks : 1

5th rd picks : 0

6th rd picks : 2

7th rd picks: 3

Undrafted : 2

Avg. 2.9

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RT POSITION TOP 32

It seems almost every analyst or mock draft has us taking a right tackle at 19, that's why it's refreshing to see mocks that have us taking Mosley or Seferian Jenkins. The RT position is a bit of an enigma to me, first it's clearly not "valued" as high as LT and protecting most QB's blind side but there are a couple of factors that effect the numbers. Teams are drafting RT's and grooming them to become their franchise LT down the road. Also defensive Coord. are moving their pro bowl pass rushers from side to side to take advantage of the seemingly lower talent pool on the right side. FWIW, the highest drafted RT was Jonathan Martin in the 2nd Rd. ( of course it was ). Miami dolphins RT draft round Avg. was 3.8 for the decade. Looking at the numbers, the enigma continues 17 of 32 were drafted in first 2 rds yet undrafted and 7th rd picks combine for almost as many 1st or 2 rd picks.

1st rd picks : 9

2nd rd picks : 8

3rd rd picks : 4

4th rd picks : 3

5th rd picks : 2

6th rd picks : 0

7th rd picks : 1

Undrafted : 5

Avg. 3.3

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RG POSITION TOP 32

Another position that analysts say we "desperately" need is RG, and they tell us that the dolphins would be smart to fill these "glaring holes" in the first 2 rounds. Looking at the data of the top 32 RG's, it's clear that the position is less "valued" than the other offensive line positions and you can find a talented top tier guard at almost any point in the draft in most years. The Dolphins have drafted 10 interior lineman in the last decade with an avg. Rd of 3.9

1st rd picks : 6

2nd rd picks : 4

3rd rd picks : 6

4th rd picks : 5

5th rd picks : 2

6th rd picks : 3

7th rd picks : 2

Undrafted. : 4

Avg. 3.9

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TE POSITION TOP 32

Drafting a TE at 19 like Austin Seferian Jenkins is becoming one of my new favorite choices. I think he's going to go quick and I bet he won't make it out of the 1st rd and I could see Seattle or New England drafting him and having the twin towers out there for us to guard. With Jermichael Finley and Dustin Keller coming back from serious injuries teams like ATL, DET, PITT, NYJ, NE might snag him earlier than expected. Looking at the numbers it's not as dire to get a playmaker in the 1st rd like some other positions that you'll see later below, but you'd want to draft your TE in the first couple of rounds, 20 of the top 32 TE's have been taken in the first 3 rds. Ironically, the Miami Dolphins have only drafted 5 TE's in the last decade and zero in rds 1 or 2. Let me repeat that so it sinks in, ZERO 1st or 2nd rd TE's in a DECADE, and again, FWIW, our best TE in the last 10 years was/is Charles Clay who was drafted in the 6th rd. The Avg. draft rd pick at TE for the dolphins those 10 years is 4.6.

1st rd picks : 9

2nd rd picks : 8

3rd rd picks : 6

4th rd picks : 5

5th rd picks : 1

6th rd picks : 2

7th rd picks : 0

Undrafted. : 1

Avg. 2.7

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MLB POSITION TOP 32

Another player that is trending higher and higher in the draft and has been assigned to the Miami Dolphins at 19 a few times is CJ Mosley. I like the pick, franchise - playmaking ILB's don't grow on trees. And as you can see from the Data, if you want one you better get them early. Look at the barren wasteland after the first couple rounds. Almost everybody is getting their starting inside LBer in the 1st or 2nd rd. Where do the dolphins draft their LBers? Here's a sample of the last decade of drafting LBers inside or out by round: 4,5,7,4,7,7,7,3,7. And you wonder why we don't have a Patrick Willis on this roster. Misi was the only 2nd rd or earlier pick recently at LB. Dolphins Avg. rd for drafting LB's is 5.0 for the decade. And who is that lone undrafted starter who's defying the stats below? None other then our very own Dannell Ellerbe who is making 7.4 million this year. (Patrick Willis is getting 6.8 million ).

1st rd picks : 9

2nd rd picks : 15

3rd rd picks : 4

4th rd picks : 1

5th rd picks : 1

6th rd picks : 1

7th rd picks : 0

Undrafted. : 1

Avg. 2.3

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LT POSITION TOP 32

its a good thing we signed Branden Albert, first he's a legit pro bowler and a franchise LT but also because if you don't get a LT in the 1st rd, good luck protecting your QB's blindside. 20 of the Top 32 LT's are 1st rd picks including our very own Albert. If you are drafting tackles in middle or late rds in the hopes of finding a franchise LT, you're basically just buying a lottery ticket. Miami Dolphins have drafted 7 tackles in the last decade, only Jake Long was a 1st rd pick with an avg. Rd of 3.8 for those 7 picks.

1st rd picks : 20

2nd rd picks : 4

3rd rd picks : 2

4th rd picks : 2

5th rd picks : 1

6th rd picks : 0

7th rd picks : 1

Undrafted. : 2

Avg. 2.1

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RB POSITION TOP 32

First off, I love the Knowshon Moreno signing. I'd also love to add a RB like Tre Mason in the draft. It's strange because all I hear is about how "devalued" RB's are getting and teams are shying away from drafting them in early rounds yet most of the starting RB's in the league are 1st or 2nd RDers. 23 of the Top 32 RB's were drafted in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd rd. There's a major drop off after the 3rd rd as you can see in the numbers. The Miami Dolphins have drafted 8 RB's in the last decade with an Avg. Rd picked of 4.1. The Dolphins best RB (IMO) was drafted in the 1st rd with the 2nd overall pick in Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, who we traded for, was a 1st rd pick as well.

1st rd pick : 13

2nd rd pick : 6

3 rd rd pick : 4

4th rd pick : 1

5th rd pick : 2

6th rd pick : 2

7th rd pick : 0

Undrafted. : 4

Avg. 2.9

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TOTALS PER ROUND FOR ALL POSITIONS ABOVE: (WR,TE,LT,RT,RG,RB)

1st rd picks : 78

2nd rd picks : 53

3rd rd picks : 30

4th rd picks : 18

5th rd picks : 9

6th rd picks : 10

7th rd picks : 7

Undrafted. : 19

What I find amazing is there are more undrafted Top 32 players at these positions than 4th rd picks. And how important it is to do your homework on those small school players and undrafted free agents. It's interesting to see how the league values positions. Also, a lot of the late picks are for ST. This year I would target CJ mosley, Austin Seferian Jenkins ( although boards have him all over the place from 1-3 rd) , Odell Beckham Jr or Brandin Cooks with the 19th pick. Ideally I'd like to slide back a couple spots and pick up multiple 2nd rd picks. We can also let Ellerbe go next year and address MLB in '15 if we don't get Mosley.

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My Mock Draft:

1st rd pick : Odell Beckham jr (WR) LSU 5' 11" 198lbs. Blossomed in a pro style offense, fast, explosive, aggressive, gets the ball at the highest point, consistent. Stood out in the SEC, which tells you how gifted he is.

2nd rd pick : Austin Seferian Jenkins (TE) UW 6' 6' 276 lbs. ( trade up to secure him, if have to use 2015 pick to move up) It's time we give belichick nightmares having to guard OUR TE

3rd rd pick : Ja'wuan James (RT) TENN 6' 6" 311 lbs "Immediate plug and play at right tackle, the best offensive lineman nobody is talking about, length and power"

4th rd pick : Dion Bailey (FS) USC 6' 0" 201 lbs. Lanky, athletic, quick at diagnosing play and where to be, rarely out of position.

5th rd pick: Brandon Linder (G) THE "U" 6' 6" 311 lbs Not the most athletic but tough, high IQ, leadership qualities and bulldog mentality

Bill Lazor and Ryan Tannehill will have all the weapons and tools they need to dominate!

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PLAYERS USED BY POSITION :

WR : Calvin Johnson, Brandon Marshall, AJ Green, Dez Bryant, Jordy Nelson, Andre Johnson, Josh Gordon, Demaryius Thomas, Larry Fitzgerald, Julio Jones, Vincent Jackson, Antonio Brown, Desean Jackson, Percy Harvin, Anquan Boldin, Stevie Johnson, Reggie Wayne, Steve Smith, Dwayne Bowe, Alshon Jeffery, Marques Colston, Roddy White, Wes Welker, Michael Crabtree, Erick Decker, Randall Cobb, Mike Wallace, Pierre Garçon, Greg Jennings, TY Hilton, Julian Edelman, Victor Cruz

RT : Sebastian Vollmer, Phil Loadholt, Andre Smith, Gosder Cherilus, Anthony Davis, Orlando Franklin, Zach Strief, Mitchell Schwartz, Demar Dotson, Doug Free, Eric Winston, Lane Johnson, Justin Pugh, Mike Gannon, Marcus Gilbert, DJ Fluker, Breno Giacomini, Erik Pears, Michael Oher, Joe Barksdale, Mike Adams, Jeremy Trueblood, Eben Britton, Donald Stephenson, Austin Howard, Laadrian Waddle, Jason Fox, Byron Bell, Jah Reid, Bobby Massie, Derek Sherrod, Gabe Carimi,

RG : Marshal Yanda, Jahri Evans, Luis Vasquez, Chris Snee, Jon Asamoah, Rodger Saffold, Chris Chester, Kevin Zeitler, Alex Boone, Todd Herremans, Larry Warford, TJ Lang, David Decastro, Uche Nwaneri, Kraig Urbik, Brandon Fusco, Mackenzy Bernadeau, Willie Colon, Davin Joseph, Brandon Brooks, Chance Warmack, Shelley Smith, Kyle Long, Mike Pollack, Dan Connolly, Mike Briesel, JR Sweezy, Chris Spencer, Jamon Meredith, Jeff Linkenbach, Earl Watford, Jaromey Clary

TE : Jimmy Graham, Rob Gronkowski, Vernon Davis, Jason Witton, Greg Olsen, Jordan Cameron, Owen Daniels, Martellus Bennett, Dennis Pitta, Julius Thomas, Charles Clay, Zach Miller, Marcedes Lewis, Antonio Gates, Heath Miller, Brent Celek, Jermichael Finley, Delanie Walker, Jared Cook, Kyle Rudolph, John Carlson, Dustin Keller, Dwayne Allen, Coby Fleener, Zach Ertz, Ben Watson, Jermaine Gresham, Tyler Eifert, Scott Chandler, Anthony Fasano, Jordan Reed, Brandon Pettigrew

MLB : Patrick Willis, Luke Kuechly, Navarro Bowman, Derrick Johnson, Brian Cushing, Sean Lee, Daryl Washington, Lawrence Timmons, Karlos Dansby, Stephen Tulloch, Bobby Wagner, Brandon Spikes, D'Qwell Jackson, Donald Butler, James Laurinaitis, David Harris, Paul Posluszny, Daryl Smith, Demeco Ryans, AJ Hawk, Curtis Lofton, Erin Henderson, Dannell Ellerbe, Jon Beason, Johnathan Vilma, DJ Williams, Rey Maualuga, Mason Foster, Jaime Collins, Joe Mays, Akeem Dent, Jasper Brinkley

LT : Joe Thomas, Duane Brown, Joe Staley, Ryan Clady, Jake Long, Jason Peters, Andre Whitworth, Michael Roos, Tyron Smith, Trent Williams, Nate Solder, Russell Okung, Brandon Albert, Eugene Monroe, D'brickeshaw Furguson, Jordan Gross, Cordy Glenn, Jared Veldheer, Anthony Castonzo, Donald Penn, Matt Kalil, Jurmon Bushrod, Brian Bulaga, King Dunlap, Will Beatty, Riley Reiff, Luke Joekel, Sam Baker, Jared Gaither, Eric Fisher, Terron Armstead, Anthony Collins,

RB : Adrian Peterson, Lesean McCoy, Jamaal Charles, Marshawn Lynch, Matt Forte, Frank Gore, Arian Foster, Doug martin, Demarco Murray, Reggie Bush, Alfred Morris, CJ Spiller, Fred Jackson, Maurice Jones Drew, Darren Sproles, Knowshon Moreno, Chris Johnson, Steven Jackson, Eddie Lacy, Darren McFadden, Ryan Matthews, Jaquizz Rodgers, Giovanni Bernard, Ray Rice, Deangelo Williams, Steven Ridley, Ben Tate, Legarratte Blount, Zac Stacy, Andre Ellington, Trent Richardson, Danny Woodhead

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Phinsider's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of The Phinsider writers or editors.