‘Alpha guy’ not afraid to take over
Dave George DAVIE — When Ted Ginn Jr., came from Ohio State to the Miami Dolphins in 2007, nobody in South Florida but coach Cam Cameron seemed happy about it.
You can feel better about Friday’s Buckeye addition, linebacker Raekwon McMillan, taken in the second round of the NFL draft and aimed at the immediate need of stopping the run.
Not even Ndamukong Suh can’t do it all, folks. Nobody can.
With this 1-2 punch of defensive muscle in the draft — defensive end Charles Harris in the fifirst round and McMillan in the second — Miami has a better chance at nipping long drives in the bud, before panic sets in. It means that Reshad Jones doesn’t have to make every tackle, and it gets Ryan Tannehill and friends on the fifield more often.
In the third round, 97th overall, Miami took Clemson cornerback Cordrea Tankersley, making Matt Burke the happiest that any Dolphins defensive coordinator has ever been on draft weekend. Threefor-three on his side of the ball, in other words, a franchise fifirst at the top of any draft.
Tankersley is a 6-foot-1 corner, which is a good start. There just aren’t that many small-stature Brent Grimes types who are Pro-Bowl productive at that position.
Getting another guy who won a national championship in college, like McMillan did at Ohio State, is a nice bonus, too. DAVIE — Having added an elite edge rusher in the first round of the NFL draft, the Miami Dolphins chose a sturdy tackler in the second round Friday night, linebacker Raekwon McMillan of Ohio State.
McMillan, 6 feet 2, 243 pounds, had 102 tackles, seven for loss in his junior season.
The addition of McMillan is part of a full-scale attempt by the Dolphins to bolster a defense that badly needed an injection of youth, talent and play-making ability.
“This is an Alpha guy, a twotime captain, a guy who makes all the calls,” Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said Friday night. “He is a tackling machine. He is a big body in the middle. The guy can run. This is a guy we feel really strongly about.”
The defensive theme continued when Miami closed out the second day of the draft by taking Clemson cornerback Cordrea Tankersley with their third-round compensatory pick at No. 97 overall. Tankersley led the national champion Tigers with fifive interceptions (one for a touchdown) and nine pass breakups.
Grier said how McMillan and linebackers Lawrence Timmons and Kiko Alonso will be aligned is yet to be determined, but like Alonso, they believe McMillan can play inside or outside.
Grier said McMillan was the highest-rated player on the board at the time of Miami’s selection.
According to a scouting report by NFL.com, McMillan reads his keys, plays with anticipation, can cover and read quarterback eyes and also added thickness to his frame during his college career.
The report suggests McMillan can get trapped, can be slow to disengage and tackle and doesn’t have quick, reactive change of direction. The report also suggests McMillan has some limitations in man coverage.
According to a scouting report by Pro Football Focus, McMillan’s strengths include power, attacking, ability to maintain gap integrity and ability to wrap up effffffffffffectively when tackling.
Among the ne gative s c ited by PFF are a lack of explosive- Marcus Maye, S, Florida Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State Quincy Wilson, CB, Florida
DeMarcus Walker, DE, Florida State
Teez Tabor, CB, Florida Rounds 4-7, noon, ESPN and the NFL Network