FanPost

Platipus's 7 Round Mock Draft

Welcome to my 7 round mock draft right before the NFL draft. I will cover rules, the trade possibility for Josh Rosen and what I expect the defense to be going into 2019. All of these will dictate how I draft. Then I will go in order of draft position for all of Miami's draft picks. A short summary of why I drafted each player will follow the selection.

Rules

The rules for this 7 round NFL draft is that trades are possible and that previous drafts are needed to gauge when a player is available. Trades that do occur will use historical precedent and the NFL trade value for draft picks. Since none occur, I will not elaborate on that. I will be using the 2017 and 2018 drafts to figure out when the Nth player at a position was taken. For instance, the 15th best DE was taken in the end of the 3rd in 2017. 2017 was a DE heavy draft like 2019 is. This means I will expect the 15th best DE to not be available in the 4th round this draft.

My Opinion on the Miami Defense

The Miami Dolphins will not utilize the 34 much, if at all. Even the Patriots, where the 34 rumor starts, did not run a true 34 often. They played 7 DEs/LBs about a fifth as much as their true base defense, the 4-2-5 with three safeties. They played the 43 more than twice as often as the 34. They did play with 3 lineman a lot in a 3-3-5 and 3-2-6 formations. This means that having a true 34 defense is unnecessary. It is more important to have 3 good safeties and strong defensive linemen. This means the Dolphins need to get a true NT as well as get DEs that are good to great against the run.

The biggest take away from the Patriots is that they liked to play 3 safeties often. How they used their safeties depended on match ups and what team they were facing. Their FS they effectively played as a CB a lot, but played a true center fielder more often. One of their strong safeties essentially played as a LBer. It would not surprise me to see FitzPatrick play both center field and as slot corner next season. T.J McDonald will likely play in the box a lot covering man-to-man on good receiving TEs. Jones will likely take control of the middle of the field when FitzPatrick is playing slot. This will be a great opportunity for Jones to showcase that he still has the ability to be a huge playmaker as a roaming safety.



My Position on Trading for Josh Rosen

Rosen struggled with game speed last season. Rosen has the ability to play, but needs to process plays faster and read the defense faster. He would likely need to sit another year behind a starter to be NFL ready. I have no doubt that if he and a team were willing to wait a year, he would develop into a very good QB. The problem with this is that Rosen's ego won't allow him to sit behind someone and be a backup. Rosen's personality might just doom him professionally. It is for this reason I don't see him being a fit in Miami's plans.

Round 1

Rashan Gary, Defensive End, Michigan

Gary showed a lot of heart playing last season injured. The previous season, he played like the talent I expect him to be. Gary ran a 4.58 40 time. What this should mean is he has the speed to clean up any play broken up by pressure. Assuring sacks when the pressure gets to the QB is crucial. What the Dolphins struggled with last year was not pressures, but sacks. Gary is also fantastic against the run and would be able to withstand being a part of the 3 lineman formations a Patriots-style defense demands.

Round 2

Deebo Samuel, WR, South Carolina

Samuel is going to be a great #2 receiver. He is short at 5'11", but is built like a tank at 214 lbs. He is very shifty and uses this to get open. His speed is nothing to scoff at as evidenced by his 4.48 40 time. He isn't polished as a route runner, so it may take a year or two for him to peak. He is very good at contesting balls in traffic, which will be necessary with FitzPatrick throwing the ball. Samuel should come in an instantly be our best receiver. This will help our offense be much better than what it was last season.

Round 3

Isaiah Prince, OT, Ohio State

With the loss of Ju'Wuan James and Young being the only other OT that could start (shudders at prospect), getting a starting OT is priority. Prince is a very good player and one of the best when we are picking. Coming from the big ten, we should be getting a very good pro lineman as well. For those of you who don't know, the big 10 has the best conference for hitting on linemen, both offensive and defensive.

Round 4

Beau Benzschawel, G, Wisconsin

I really like this guard. He is a very good blocker in the run game and has been solid pass blocking all four years at Wisconsin. I think he will be the best player available at positions of note. What I mean by this is that safety is not a pressing need, so without someone dropping hard on draft day at that position, I rate OGs more highly as a result. He was the only one that I thought could come in and be an above average starter on day one. None of the other players that would be available in the 4th seemed like they were just a developmental player with huge potential either.

Round 5

Gardner Minshew, QB, Washington State

Gardner Minshew Film Analysis

Minshew is a very interesting QB prospect. He excelled in the air raid offense, which has produced stars such as RGIII, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, and Patrick Mahomes. He also comes from the coaching tree that produced those stars. The air raid offense require cerebral receivers and quarterbacks. It is the kind of offense that will have 10 variations of the same play that depends on pre-snap and during play reads. Being able to excel in such an offense means the QB has the 'football IQ' to play at the next level. Minshew is also great at extending time he has in the pocket. He doesn't tuck and run, but runs in order to throw the ball downfield. The reason Minshew is not being taken in the top 10 is mechanics. Minshew plays with too wide of a base that keeps him from being able to throw long. His mechanics mean he cannot use his legs to generate more force in his throws so he chronically underthrows balls thrown deep. Minshew's faults are all fixable with proper coaching. That is what makes him an excellent developmental QB - he could turn out to be a very good QB one day. Taking him in round 5 means we should cut off anyone looking to pick him up as he is rated to go in the late 6th or 7th round.

Round 7

Tyron Johnson, WR, Oklahoma State

Johnson produced his senior year and has decent size. He may develop into a good prospect.

Corbin Kaufusi, DL, Brigham Young

Kaufusi is an interesting athlete, as he doesn't fit the prototypical fit for a DE, pass rusher, nor OLB. His production and ability to beat tackles in college shouldn't be completely ignored. He will be interesting to watch develop.

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.