Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Plenty of questions
Team has a lot to settle at scouting combine
A year ago the Miami Dolphins attended the NFL scouting combine as one of the rising stars of the NFL, the up-and-coming franchise that seemed to have the answers. This week the Dolphins attend the combine, which begins Tuesday, as just another franchise, an organization searching for answers.
Among the questions for the Dolphins as they head to Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium to scout college prospects for the April 27-29 NFL draft are what to do about wide receiver Jarvis Landry, what to do with the No. 11 overall pick, and what does the free-agent market have to offer?
Dolphins coach Adam Gase, who will attend the combine along with executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum, general manager Chris Grier and a host of Miami coaches, scouts and medical personnel, is scheduled to speak Wednesday afternoon.
Gase, whose team is coming off a sobering 6-10 season after finishing 10-6 and making the playoffs the previous year, will surely be asked numerous questions about Landry, the fourth-year wide receiver who led the league with 112 receptions last season.
Perhaps the biggest advantage for teams at the combine is that their medical staff will be able to examine the prospects and check out their knees, ankles, shoulders, etc.
Teams don’t get that privilege at the EastWest Shrine game, Senior Bowl or private Pro Day workouts.
The Dolphins have been linked in mock drafts to numerous players in the first round.
Teams also get 1-on-1 player interviews at the combine, which is important, but something they also get when they invite players to visit their facility.
And, of course, teams watch players go through a series of drills ranging from the bench press to the 40-yard dash.
The drills don’t give teams an idea of how a player performs on the field, rather it gives them a controlled, similar environment to judge all players. The thought process is it’s tough to judge how a player in the Pac-12 might have performed against Southeastern Conference talent, but conditions are the same for all players in the 40-yard dash and the other drills at the combine so there’s somewhat of a level playing field.
The Dolphins have been linked in mock drafts to numerous players in the first round. That list includes quarterbacks ranging from UCLA’s Josh Rosen, the Wyoming’s Josh Allen to Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, linebackers Roquan Smith of Georgia and Tremaine Edmunds of Virginia Tech, safety Derwin James of Florida State and guard Quenton Nelson of Notre Dame, to name a few.
Among Miami’s biggest needs, before free agency starts next month, are linebacker, tight end, defensive end (both run stopper and pass rusher) and offensive line, but the Dolphins also have needs at running back, and backup quarterback and backup cornerback.
The Dolphins have eight picks in the 2018 draft — one first-round pick, one second-round pick, one third-round pick, two fourth-round picks, one sixth-round pick and two seventhround picks.
Tannenbaum has showed a willingness to trade draft picks in recent years so that possibility will also be considered as the Dolphins scout players.
And although talks between teams and representatives for prospective free agents isn’t technically allowed, teams and agents will put feelers out at the weeklong combine to gauge the market.
As for local talent, the University of Miami is scheduled to have nine players at the combine — wide receiver Braxton Berrios, defensive tackle Chad Thomas, kicker Michael Badgley, cornerback Dee Delaney, guard Kc McDermott, running back Mark Walton, defensive tackles RJ McIntosh and Kendrick Norton and tight end Chris Herndon.