2021 Draft Prospects

[hrubes20]

13 hours ago, Tetsujin said:

What happened to Flowers and Kindley?

 

11 minutes ago, FinSting said:

Lol, my exact same thoughts. 

To be fair, Kindley really did hit a rookie wall last year.  He was the worst lineman when he was in there towards the end of the year.  But I agree that it doesn't mean he can be forgotten about.  My ideal scenario is the Fins picking a new RT; Hunt kicking in to RG; and then Kindley overtaking Flowers at LG.  Flowers can then be easily jettisoned in the offseason, saving like $10 million in cap space.

[Tetsujin]

9 minutes ago, hrubes20 said:

 

To be fair, Kindley really did hit a rookie wall last year.  He was the worst lineman when he was in there towards the end of the year.  But I agree that it doesn't mean he can be forgotten about.  My ideal scenario is the Fins picking a new RT; Hunt kicking in to RG; and then Kindley overtaking Flowers at LG.  Flowers can then be easily jettisoned in the offseason, saving like $10 million in cap space.

We definitely need a G and C for 2022.

Edited April 14, 2021 by Tetsujin

[Dr A W Niloc]

13 hours ago, Tetsujin said:

What happened to Flowers and Kindley?

Nothing. 

They were born like that.

[mountainpd]

1 hour ago, hrubes20 said:

 

To be fair, Kindley really did hit a rookie wall last year.  He was the worst lineman when he was in there towards the end of the year.  But I agree that it doesn't mean he can be forgotten about.  My ideal scenario is the Fins picking a new RT; Hunt kicking in to RG; and then Kindley overtaking Flowers at LG.  Flowers can then be easily jettisoned in the offseason, saving like $10 million in cap space.

I agree. We need a centre and Right Tackle badly with Hunt pushing inside to RG. Kindley was not good second half of the season but should not be forgotten but needs to step it up.

I fully expect Flowers to start this year but hope he is overtaken in camp. 
 

[Swampbilly]

4 hours ago, FinSting said:

Lol, my exact same thoughts. 

Neither Flowers or Kindley had a very good season last year.  Kindley earned a starting spot and that is the extent on the hype for Kindley's season.  I'm not saying we should give up on Kindley, but I am saying we shouldn't pass on an upgrade nor should we remove RG from our list of needs.  Flowers is a solid pass protector, but a poor run blocker.  We look to be using a majority power run gap / man blocking scheme, so good aggressive run blockers are going to be essential for success.

[FinSting]

With the craptastic separation ability of the WR corps, and no-name RB stable, imma be saying the Bad Words if the Fins take O-line with any of their first three picks. I might can get onboard with the fourth pick going O-line if it's a Center.

But I don't want no RG. No sir, I don't like it. Center only.

In fact, I'd be ok with taking TWO receivers inside the top four picks. That's how much I feel the receiving group needs to change. 

[Phinsesq]

5 minutes ago, FinSting said:

With the craptastic separation ability of the WR corps, and no-name RB stable, imma be saying the Bad Words if the Fins take O-line with any of their first three picks. I might can get onboard with the fourth pick going O-line if it's a Center.

But I don't want no RG. No sir, I don't like it. Center only.

In fact, I'd be ok with taking TWO receivers inside the top four picks. That's how much I feel the receiving group needs to change. 

Many pedestrian RBs have career years behind great O lines. Great O lines keep the pocket clean and minimize the risk to the QB. We do not have a “great” O line. If one of those picks leads to a great O line I’m fine with it. Unless that pick is O line over Pitts/Chase.

I am with you though in that I view center as more of a concern than guard. 

[FinSting]

7 minutes ago, Phinsesq said:

Many pedestrian RBs have career years behind great O lines. Great O lines keep the pocket clean and minimize the risk to the QB. We do not have a “great” O line.

You can't expect an O-line with 3 rookies to be great. But Year 2, now there's a performance jump we can expect. The best part is that even with 3 rookies in 2020, the O-line was considerably better than it's been in years. Years I tell you, years! 

Fins invested heavily in O-line with 3 picks in the first 4 rounds last April. Last draft was the Trench Build, sorely needed and highly welcomed.

Now it's time to draft guys that actually touch the football and run 4.5 or faster. 

[mountainpd]

7 minutes ago, FinSting said:

You can't expect an O-line with 3 rookies to be great. But Year 2, now there's a performance jump we can expect. The best part is that even with 3 rookies in 2020, the O-line was considerably better than it's been in years. Years I tell you, years! 

Fins invested heavily in O-line with 3 picks in the first 4 rounds last April. Last draft was the Trench Build, sorely needed and highly welcomed.

Now it's time to draft guys that actually touch the football and run 4.5 or faster. 

Our Oline was poor again last season which is why Fitzmagic and Tua had to get the ball out a little too quickly and then not allowing seperation on receivers (still a huge issue I know) I expect Jackson to take a step forward and I like Hunt as a right Guard rather than tackle. I would keep Davis as the swing and back up across Oline. I know this is an unpopular take but I would take Pitts/Chase or Smith if they are both gone at 6 then I would take one of Darrisaw, Or Slater if they magically dropped to 18. I would target my the centre/Edge Rusher or Running back at 36 or 50 depending on 18 selection and would have no problem Dolphins moving up from either or both spots to get the guys they want. 
 

I could also see a trade down from 18 if one of the top prospects do not drop to gain an additional second rounder and cover all said positions and another wide receiver if they draft Pitts or maybe Safety if they draft a wideout at 6.

 

[FinSting]

47 minutes ago, mountainpd said:

Our Oline was poor again last season which is why Fitzmagic and Tua had to get the ball out a little too quickly and then not allowing seperation on receivers (still a huge issue I know) I expect Jackson to take a step forward and I like Hunt as a right Guard rather than tackle.

 

Typical noob O-line, some great plays and some terrible plays. Bringing in 3 rookie starters was always going to be a work in progress...and yet was still an upgrade over the 2019 line. 

According to PFF (I'm not the biggest PFF fan but still), after Week 12 til the end of the season, Hunt graded as the 5th-best RT out of 37 qualifying RT's. That's pretty awesome for a rookie. Do NOT move that guy away from RT. He paid his rookie dues early then settled into a groove towards the end of the season. 

[mountainpd]

8 minutes ago, FinSting said:

Typical noob O-line, some great plays and some terrible plays. Bringing in 3 rookie starters was always going to be a work in progress...and yet was still an upgrade over the 2019 line. 

According to PFF (I'm not the biggest PFF fan but still), after Week 12 til the end of the season, Hunt graded as the 5th-best RT out of 37 qualifying RT's. That's pretty awesome for a rookie. Do NOT move that guy away from RT. He paid his rookie dues early then settled into a groove towards the end of the season. 

I hear you but as you said that is pff. I do recognise he played better in last 6 games but pff metrics on run blocking v pass blocking is off in my opinion, hence why Flowers who can’t pass block seems higher than his performance indicates, I half expect Dolphins to roll with Hunt at tackle but he could be awesome at guard but will not imho be more than average as Tua’s blindside protector and that’s why I would be more inclined for someone better in pass protection. I also recognise the year 2 effect with the off-season could improve all three of them significantly, I also think if you get right tackle you solve two positions by moving Hunt inside.

[Phinsesq]

1 hour ago, FinSting said:

You can't expect an O-line with 3 rookies to be great. But Year 2, now there's a performance jump we can expect. The best part is that even with 3 rookies in 2020, the O-line was considerably better than it's been in years. Years I tell you, years! 

Fins invested heavily in O-line with 3 picks in the first 4 rounds last April. Last draft was the Trench Build, sorely needed and highly welcomed.

Now it's time to draft guys that actually touch the football and run 4.5 or faster. 

There are some fair points there. The line is young could be great but hasn’t proven it. Center is extremely important  and I fear that is the weak link and worth an early pick if the value is there. I’m all for weapons I’ve been banging the Pitts/chase drum a while. I definitely think a RB would be a great idea. They don’t have to be early picks to be valuable though, just have to be the right picks. Lots of RB depth in the draft, but if they draft one of the big 3 RBs early, I’m not going be upset. They added Fuller in the off season, will likely draft a wr( or TE) at 6. plus a RB at some point. I won’t begrudge them early picks in the trenches our Edge needs work too.

All in all I like the trajectory of this team. Bring on the draft.

[FinSting]

50 minutes ago, Phinsesq said:

All in all I like the trajectory of this team. Bring on the draft.

They seem to have a plan and are running with it. Good time to be a fan, when a young hungry team is being assembled via the draft. Young Fins haven't won anything yet of course so it's an invalid comparison, but still it reminds me of when the Golden State Warriors were building with young draft picks (Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes and more). 

5 picks in the first 2 rds last year, and 4 picks in the first 2 rds this year. Grier is str8 killin' it. With lots more early picks in 2022 and 2023. 

[Deadeye]

19 hours ago, FinSting said:

With the craptastic separation ability of the WR corps, and no-name RB stable, imma be saying the Bad Words if the Fins take O-line with any of their first three picks. I might can get onboard with the fourth pick going O-line if it's a Center.

But I don't want no RG. No sir, I don't like it. Center only.

In fact, I'd be ok with taking TWO receivers inside the top four picks. That's how much I feel the receiving group needs to change. 

I agree with the overall premise, but disagree with the specifics:

RB is a priority, but well behind WR, Edge, and interior o-line. If it's in fourth place, then it might not even be a priority.  The proper order of building an offense is franchise QB, o-line, WRs + TEs, then RBs.  The reasoning is simple, o-line becomes the top priority once a franchise QB is on the roster to keep them upright and healthy.  Once the o-line is in shape, you have to get all the pass-catchers so they can develop and gain chemistry with the QB. And RB is last because they have the shortest shelf life, and really good ones have an easier transition into the pros.

This is a deep draft at WR, thus one taken at the end of round two is likely the equivalent of a high round 2 in an average draft.  I'll be ok if our #6 pick and our late second rounder are both receivers.

I also want a center in round 2.  To me, the o-line isn't rebuilt until it's playing really well.  We saw glimpses of improvement, but I still think more talent is needed.  If the first second rounder is center, I'm happy with it.

I'll be thrilled if we go receiver, edge, center, receiver with our top four picks.

Edited April 15, 2021 by Deadeye

[FinSting]

4 hours ago, Deadeye said:

I agree with the overall premise, but disagree with the specifics:

RB is a priority, but well behind WR, Edge, and interior o-line. If it's in fourth place, then it might not even be a priority.  The proper order of building an offense is franchise QB, o-line, WRs + TEs, then RBs. 

Yes I agree, and 12 months ago one interior O-line selection was made, with another interior O-line big money FA. Hence, our work here is done, time to get skill guys.

RB is controversial, so many viewpoints. 

I'm with you on the receivers, if we took two receivers with the top four picks I'd be happy AF. Fresh legs (and hands) needed. I mean, just look at this BS right here: