Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
In the trenches
Defensive picks build a foundation of hope
DAVIE — An old idea goes something like this: When actors get together they talk about money, and when investors get together they talk about movies. When coaches get together they talk about business, and when businessmen get together they talk about sports. But when football people and common fans talk about the NFL draft, they talk about the same idea: Hope. That’s it. Injected hope. Projected hope. Hope, hope, hope.
“Intellectuality and brutality,” is how new Dolphins guard Isaac Asiata described his play.
You hope that’s how it looks at this level, right?
New Dolphins defensive tackles Davon Godchaux and Vincent Taylor were asked the common question about who they pattern their play after — who, in other words, they look up to at their position. “Ndamukong Suh,” each said. They’re on the right team to meet their idol. The hope is they bring the right goods. Miami’s front office got what they wanted this draft. It wasn’t the kind of bright, shiny draft that left you tingly. The last Dolphins one to do that was when they traded up in 2013 for sure-thing Dion Jordan, right?
The Dolphins needed defensive help up
“I think we got good people. They’re tough. I think it takes a few years to judge a draft.” Mike Tannenbaum, vice president of football operations
front after giving up a franchise-high 4.84 yards a carry last season. They got it, too. They were the last team to draft an offensive player (Asiata in the fifth round).
The big debate is if the Dolphins got anyone to step in and start immediately in September. They might be ready, even vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum said. But top pick Charles Harris will benefit from working with a similar edge rusher like Cameron Wake, just as second-round linebacker Raekwon McMillan will with veterans Kiko Alonso and Lawrence Timmons.
“If Charles Harris plays one play or 15 against Tampa Bay, that will sort itself out,” Tannenbaum said. “Same with Raekwon. I think we got good people. They’re tough. I think it takes a few years to judge a draft.”
Draft projections are a funny thing, though. University of Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya is the latest example here. A year ago he was mock-picked as the No. 1 overall player in the draft by Sports Illustrated. On Saturday, he became the 215th player taken when Detroit drafted him in the sixth round.
His fall to the third day of the draft was no surprise, leading to the question why he left Miami early in the first place. The question works both ways. Why didn’t Kaaya want to return for his senior year? Or, perhaps, coach Mark Richt didn’t want him to return?
Maybe we’ll get the answer to that someday. Maybe not. But the widerlensed takeaway from this draft is college football is in a bit of trouble. Look at the narratives here. The two running backs who skipped bowl games, Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey, understandably saw no devaluation of their draft stock as they were drafted fourth and eighth overall.
Why would NFL teams care if a talented player skipped a final college game for fear of injury?
Those fears were underlined by Michigan tight end Jake Butt, who tore his ACL in December’s Orange Bowl game. He went from an expected high, secondround pick to being taken Saturday by Denver with the opening pick of the fifth round.
That represents a $3.5 million difference in guaranteed money. He did, however, get a reported $543,000 from a loss-ofvalue insurance policy. So you can do the math of how much playing in that one game cost him.
Bottom-line: Players skipping bowl games will become commonplace. It will spread beyond that, too. The question becomes when a top-tier player decides to skip his final season in college rather than risk injury. Do you think NFL teams would really care?
They care about talent. They make decisions based on needs. They bank on hope, just as they always have.
“We think we got better,” Tannenbaum said.
Think. Hope. Project. September’s scoreboard will provide answers.