Grier Goes On A Home Run Rampage

I’m still waiting for the ball to come down . . .

After watching Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier swing and connect on several towering shots into the upper deck over the past few days, I’m left mesmerized and shell shocked at the amazing outburst of guts and genius put on display by the Dolphins front office executive. If Miami does, as so many of us are fervently hoping, eventually return to glory, this past weekend will almost certainly be one of the main reasons why.

First, Grier resisted the temptation of a number one pick, if he would also accept what would almost certainly have amounted to a one year rental of DE/OLB Jadeveon Clowney. He held out for a better offer, watched the Houston Texans ship Clowney off to Seattle, then parlayed two players and a fourth round pick into two number ones, a two players from Houston, one of which is an offensive tackle. The following day, Grier managed to pull off a trade with the New Orleans Saints, sending them a player who clearly wasn’t in the Dolphins’ plans, LB Kiko Alonso, for another linebacker, Vince Biegel. I know Biegel is still raw, and hasn’t yet started any games since being drafted in the fourth round by Green Bay a couple of years ago, but in the final preseason game against the Saints, he was all over the field, racking up tackles and assists for New Orleans.

The Dolphins also bolstered the interior of their offensive line, trading late round picks for a couple of linemen, thus eliminating the risk of losing them to team with a higher waiver wire priority. Perhaps most importantly, Grier made sure that the Dolphins almost certainly won’t be able to get hot and reel off a bunch of meaningless wins and ruin their chances at one of the top two picks in next year’s draft, which has happened too many times in previous years, most notably 2011. Contrary to what many folks believe, it doesn’t matter how much ammunition your favorite team has; if the guy many regard as the next Andrew Luck or Baker Mayfield is available in the draft, and your team doesn’t have the first pick, they aren’t getting him.

As hurricane Dorian brews, perhaps it’s fitting that we remember former Miami Dolphin Dorian Brew. A third round pick in 1996 by Jimmy Johnson, Brew, a cornerback, played in the league for several seasons but never really caught on with any team. That’s the wrap for today, have a great week, everybody.