Welcome Finatics! It's Tua Time!!!!!
Tua!!! (Photo from www.phinphanitic.com)
Hello and welcome to my new blog. It's exciting times for Fins fans after a high-rolling free agency and a whopping 2020 draft. There are so many things to discuss, but let's start with free agency.
Let's talk about the secondary, and that starts with Byron Jones (Connecticut, #27 in 2015, Pro-bowl 2018). 5 yrs , $82.5 million ($54M guaranteed) contract has bought us a lock-down corner. Byron Jones thrives in man-coverage situations - and the 2019 Dolphins ran man coverage defense the 3rd most of any team. Sounds like a fit so far. While he doesn't get many picks, we still have Xavien Howard for that. Howard was tied for the most interceptions in the league in 2018.
The next two signings - Shaq Lawson and Ereck Flowers - were both first round picks (Flowers - Hurricanes, #9 in 2015 and Lawson - Clemson, #19 in 2016). Shaq Lawson has developed throughout his career, improving each year and earned 6.5 sacks in 2019. Ereck Flowers struggled with the Giants as a tackle, but has thrived at left guard with the Redskins.
Kyle van Noy (Photo from Getty Images)
Kyle van Noy (BYU, #40 in 2014) was a big part of the Patriots defense and has worked with Coach Flores. Coming off a solid 2019 with a career high 6.5 sacks, van Noy brings an edge-rushing style and a seasoned veteran to a developing linebacker corps. Emmanuel Ogbah (Oklahoma State, #32 in 2016) brings another edge player in this group with 5.5 sacks in 10 games in 2019.
Are you noticing a lot of defensive players in this list? With the exception of Flowers, the Fins focused on defense in free agency. Given the defensive performance in 2019, the list looks encouraging. The secondary is looking really good, but also really expensive.
On to the draft....
Obviously we know where to start. The biggest relief - let's all admit it - was the Dolphins taking Tua instead Justin Herbert. How many of you were closing mock-draft tabs after seeing the Dolphins taking Herbert, and almost unable to watch the live draft for fear of another first round bust. Are the injuries a concern? Yes. But as Nick Saban noted, all of his injuries came from extending the play and trying to make something out of nothing. He needs to learn that there is no shame in throwing it away or hustling of out of bounds. Watching Russel Wilson might help. If we don't consider the injuries, there is a good argument that Tua would have gone number one - or at least there would have been more suspense than Burrow already holding a Bengals hat before the pick was announced. Should Tua start? That is a whole blog in itself, so we will move on to....
Austin Jackson at pick 18, from the slowly-recovering USC. This is complicated pick that probably reflects what Coach Flores looks for in a player. Jackson had a fantastic sophomore season and looked to be on track as one of the top tackles in the 2020 draft. During the 2019 off-season, Jackson's sister developed a life-threatening blood disorder and his donated bone marrow helped save her life. The event left him with a shortened off-season and he struggled in the beginning of his junior year. But Jackson finished strong and obviously made the right impression with Coach Flores.
Noah Igbinoghene (Photo from Shutterstock)
The next pick was very exciting. Noah Igbinoghene is hard to say and even harder to spell, but he looks like a really fabulous pick. Pick #30 from Auburn, he started his college career as a receiver, but switched to corner during is sophomore year. Both parents are Olympians in track and field, so we expect speed. His decent 4.4sec 40yd at the combine hides the fact the he takes a moment to get going and actually has elite speed. He is also a physical corner, both in coverage and in solo tackles. We can expect him to start as a slot corner, and probably share kick returns with Jakeem Grant. This pick really makes the Dolphins secondary look top 10, and fits with the Coach Flores comment "you can never have too many cornerbacks".
Other notable draft picks ... Brandon Jones at safety (Texas, #70) and Curtis Weaver as bargain OLB in the 5th round. To wrap up this first post, this looks like a great step in building a real defense. Next up, we look at the burning question of starting Tua.
That's a good first look and it was a good draft for the Dolphins. Really, the setup last year making trades for draft picks was pretty brilliant. Keeping Tua healthy is going to be huge. You mentioned a few O-line moves here, but like you said, the focus was really defense. If they can't protect Tua, it's going to be a frustrating season for finatics. Any weak spot in the line is going to be exploited and Tua is going to be forced out of the pocket and into those extend the play situations that are so dangerous. So how strong really is the O-line? What position on the line is the weakest point?
ReplyDeleteI think that O-Line has definitely improved a lot, but still needs help. Most likely, at least two of our starters next year are going to be rookies, if not more. I think that we should make an offer for Larry Warford, who is a pro bowler that could really help this unit. As far as the weak spots, I think the biggest thing is depth. It's almost impossible to go an entire season without one of your starters getting injured, and whoever takes their place is going to be the biggest weakness. However, for now lets not think about injuries. Week 1, I think the biggest weak spot will be Robert Hunt who is likely to play RT. I just see him more as a guard and a run blocker. We have less depth at RT so we moved him there, he will probably struggle in the passing game.
DeleteFantastic article!! Great work
ReplyDeleteThis was my first one!
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