No sure thing among Dolphins’ draft QB options
The Dolphins haven’t picked a great year to go shopping for a young quarterback in the draft because the supply of potential starters is very limited.
Miami, selecting 13th, would need to trade up to land Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins, if he turns pro as many expect.
They probably wouldn’t need to move up to land any of the next three best QB prospects who will be in this draft — Duke’s Daniel Jones, Missouri’s Drew Lock or West Virginia’s Will Grier, and many analysts have Lock and Grier going in the second round. Then there’s Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray, who would join the first-round discussion if he bypasses his initial plan to join the Oakland A’s to pursue an NFL career instead.
After Haskins, Grier and Lock, ESPN’s Mel Kiper (omitting Murray because of his baseball plans) rates these as the next best quarterbacks who will be available in the draft: N.C. State’s Ryan Finley, Washington State’s Gardner Minshew and Auburn’s Jarrett Stidham.
Among Jones, Lock,
Grier and Finley, one AFC executive told me he’s not sure any will become longterm NFL starters. “You’re going to reach on Jones or Lock and have another [ Ryan] Tannehill,” that executive said. “And I don’t like Will Grier’s arm.”
Chatter on the Dolphins’ draft QB options aside from a trade-up for Haskins (who we’ll address on another day):
Jones was terrific against Temple in his bowl game (30 for 41, 423 yards, five TD, two picks) but his overall college stats haven’t been eye-popping (52 TDs, 29 INT, 59.9 completion percentage).
Kiper has him 25th among draft eligible players but he could end up being drafted far sooner. “The most impressive trait I’ve seen from Jones this season is his ability to buy time in the pocket and use his feet to get square and make a throw,” Kiper said. “[But] he forces passes at times.”
Murray is the wild card; ESPN’s Todd McShay said he would be a first-rounder. Kiper says he would go in the second because of his height.
“He’s listed at 5-11,” Kiper said. “If he were three inches taller, he would be the No. 1 pick hands down.”
But McShay disagrees: “I think the league is changing; it’s more about guys who can get the ball out and can move, and he does that as well as anyone in the country.”
Lock has followed an SEC-record 44-touchdown, 13-interception season in 2017 with a 28-touchdown, eight-interception season. He threw for fewer yards (3,964 to 3,498) but completed more of his passes (57.8 to 62.9) than a year ago. He has a strong arm, quick release and good size at 6-4.
But he has struggled when facing a pass rush, which has been an issue with Tannehill. Although he had 12 touchdowns and no picks against Tennes- see-Martin, Wyoming and Memphis, he had one touchdown and three picks — and completed 49 percent of his passes — in losses to Alabama and Georgia this year.
An NFL evaluator told ESPN’s Mike Sando: “He is capable of looking like an NFL starter but has been inconsistent in terms of his accuracy and his decision-making. Somebody will like him because he has all the physical tools.”
Grier, 6-2, put up monster numbers in West Virginia’s wide-open offense (37 touchdowns, eight picks, 3,864 yards, while completing 67 percent of his passes).
SI.com’s Pete Thamel quoted one scout as saying it’s a “huge curve” from West Virginia’s offense “to an NFL offense” but another scout said: “He’s got a good arm. He can throw from [the] pocket and on the move.”
Another scout told Thamel that Grier and Lock could end up as first-round picks even though scouts don’t give them first-round grades.
Finley: The Boise State A transfer had 25 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and completed 67.4 percent of his passes at N.C. State. But many consider him a backup at best.
Stidham: Like Lock, he A was a disappointment during the regular season, experiencing statistical drops from 2017.
But the 6-3 Baylor transfer was brilliant in Auburn’s 63-14 bowl annihilation of Purdue, going 15 for 21 for 373 yards and five touchdowns.
And an evaluator told Sando: “He has a good arm, but his decision-making, anticipation are not where you would like them to be. His ceiling is as a backup. He has been really inconsistent this year.”
Minshew, an East Carolina transfer, put up huge numbers in Washington State’s spread offense (4,477 yards passing, 36 TDs, nine picks, 71 percent completion rate), but so did Dolphins quarterback Luke Falk, and he lasted until the sixth round. Minshew is on the smallish side at 6-1 and a scout told SI.com’s Thamel that “he’s not super talented. He’s just a guy. Get in a great offense, though, and you’re up for the Heisman.”
CHATTER
We’re told new UM coach Manny Diaz accepted $3 million per year (plus incentives) as salary — less than the $4 million-plus Mark Richt was making — and by taking less, that helped cover much of the $4 million that UM had to pay Temple to pry Diaz loose. UM also paid Richt a severance package, which one trustee said equated to a year’s salary (more than $4 million).
UM sold 50 new tickets and renewed more than 300 in the first few days after Diaz’s hiring. … Players have encouraged quarterback Jarren Williams to stay, and he’s sticking with that decision for now despite family members being upset he didn’t play in the bowl game.
Cleveland forward
Tristan Thompson, on why the Heat’s zone defense has been so effective: “Their roster does a good job of having a lot of long guys over 6-7. At one point [Wednesday] they had Justise Winslow at 6-7, Derrick Jones at 6-7, James Johnson at 6-8, Hassan Whiteside at 7-0, and Josh Richardson, who’s 6-6. The zone is good for them just because they can take up so much space.”
The reason why the Marlins haven’t traded catcher J.T. Realmuto is they continue to hold out for a top prospect (or multiple good prospects) and a quality player who is already in the big leagues and under team control for several years. Houston and San Diego remain among suitors.