Grade the Dolphins draft (with poll); Day 2 brings 2 WRs, TE, S, OT, OLB

     [Join the following at Twitter.com/gregcote]

     (Go to blog post just below this one to comment on Dolphins' Day 1 draft and vote in a poll specific to top pick Vontae Davis!) 

     The Dolphins' 2009 draft -- led by Illinois cornerback Vontae Davis and West Virginia Wildcat- specialist Pat White -- is complete. We'll know in a year or three how good the draft really was, but why wait! Take a dip in our poll and toss an instant grade at Team Tuna:

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    [Congrats! You all have made the above our 60th blogpoll to surpass 1,000 votes. Keep 'em coming...]

    NFL Day 2 Dolphin picks:

     3R (87th) -- Patrick Turner, WR, Southern Cal. An underachieving college career, but I like the pick from a balance standpoint. I advocated WR as a primary need and hoped they'd go there No. 1, so finally at least they target the position. Click on Patrick Turner (pictured right) for his bio and stats.

     4R (108) -- Brian Hartline, WR, OhioState. Well, two wideouts in a row to start Day 2. I think that's an acknowledgement this was a huge need. (Maybe even one that should have been addressed on Day 1, dare say!) Click on Brian Hartline (pictured left) for bio and stats.

     5R (161) -- John Nalbone, TE, Monmouth. Doesn't seem like a real position need. Click on John Nalbone (pictured right) for bio and stats.

      5R (165) -- Chris Clemons, S, Clemson. Depth at safety sounds like a fair idea. Still no pass rusher. Welcome back, Jason Taylor? Sure beginning to seem like it. Click on Chris Clemons (pictured left) bio and stats.

      6R (181) -- Andrew Gardner, OT, Georgia Tech. Depth on the O-line never a bad idea. First pick on either oline for Miami. Click on Andrew Gardner (pictured right) for bio and stats.

     7R (214) -- J.D. Folsom, OLB, Weber State. Finally, a pass rusher. But likely too low to make a difference. Meaning it's still JT time! Click on J.D. Folsom (pictured left) bio and stats.

     [Final pick (7r/237 )traded to Kansas City]

     One thing to look out for: Miami did not draft a pass rusher yesterday. If they don't hit that need hard and early today, it would seem to me to increase the likelihood they'll end up re-signing Jason Taylor.  

     Gems are harder to come by on Day 2 but they're out there to be mined. Dolphin draft picks in the third round or later have included, chronologically: Dick Anderson, Mercury Morris, Jake Scott, Vern Den Herder, Nat Moore, Doug Betters, Tony Nathan, Mark Clayton, Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor. (Also Larry Seiple, Jim Kiick, Ed Newman, Duriel Harris, Jim Jensen, Reggie Roby and ... you get the idea). Most recent Day 2 keepers have included Yeremiah Bell and Channing Crowder.

     Somebody drafted today will turn out to be a Dolphins star for years. Let's find out who. We'll update this blog post with Miami's Day 2 picks throughout the day and invite your astute commentary.

     ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

     GUESS-THE-NO. 1-PICK CONTEST RESULTS: Nobody wins! Actually four of our bloggerhood correctly had Vontae Davis in the first round: pjs918, rostrancane, jimbo and Herbal Minded aka HM. But none survived the tiebreaker by accurately guessing one of the second round picks. Sometime between now and the season we'll have another Dolphin-related contest and give away that media guide. Promise. Or maybe I'll take one media guide and split it four ways for the above disappointed sort-of winners.

     MOCK DRAFT RESULTS: Mixed results. My annual mock draft correctly included 29 of 32 first-round players, or 91 percent -- better than my career mark of 77% going in. But I had only 5 direct hits (exact player to exact team), or 16 percent -- below my career average of 23%. My Dolphins pick (Darrius Heyward-Bey) was doomed early when Oakland picked him 7th.

Comments

[Herbal Minded aka HM]

I really wanted that prize... U got some false advertising going on. this is America right, so i'm sure i can sue for that prize...

How bout this for the tie breaker. whoevers 2nd round choice is numerically closer to the DOlphins pick should win the prize.

[anti-christ]

I was labebled a under achiver in school, what the fu2k do they know??.. Oh wait a minute...." Would you like to super size that sir for an extra .99 cents??"

[Tom]

Finally a WR.

[anti-christ]

Has Lil Ginria returned to his home planet ????

[mike1]

The Shadow called it in the other blog. Patrick Turner. Of course, as a big USC fan, he would know.

I have to admit, I'm no expert in judging college football talent since teams play against vastly different opponents, how does the average joe really know who is great and who isn't. The Georgia QB? I would've never thought except for the recent hoopla.

[mike1]

ESPN said that Davis is a good pick, with work ethic problems. Maybe Parcells can fix that. Show him some "Rudy" films ..which I just saw this morning on AMC. What a raw deal Dan Devine got in that movie. It was his idea to suit up Rudy and let him play.

Could we have gotten P. White in the 3rd? Well, even if that was a bad pick, it let's us know that even if the Phins will be average, they're gonna give us some creative, fun football to watch with some good trickery. I enjoy a few good imaginative plays myself as a long time captain of local football leagues.

[the shadow knows]

Tom,

check last night's posts- patrick turner made it into two of my posts and it was stated by the ole shadow that he would be the dolphins' pick in round three. as stated, he is a big target who got open and his lack of blazing speed does not hurt him with our beloved #10 not being able to wing it downfield. i do't think that the dolphins have a history of drafting trojans- besides roy foster, i am at a loss for trojans drafted by miami. help me out!!!

[mike1]

What does everyone think of the fellow division teams' picks?

[Tom]

Another WR. Good. Unlike the family WR, Hartline is tough. Kind of Welker-like. The draft is getting better.

[mike1]

R. Duke, sorry I mis-read your Maude reference. Good one, though sad. Bea Arthur (Bernice Frankel) was a great comedian from the Carol Burnet era. The years of witty comedy without having to resort to adult humor.

[the shadow knows]

mike1,

the jets drafted mark sanchez- bad for them. the experts like what the bills have done and the patriots don't need to draft to fill their needs; they can throw old vets into their system and they will get production. patrick turner had 10 tds last year and USC had some low scoring games along the way in which their defense held the fort.

[the shadow knows]

CORRECTION:

USC had a lot of wipeouts in which turner got his tds; the games against cal, oregon state and arizona were reasonably close. turner had a nice game in the rose bowl, but which trojan didn't?

[the shadow knows]

PATRICK TURNER ROSE BOWL:

averaged 18 yards on 4 catches with a long of 27- meaning he got nice chunks of yardage each catch (as did everybody). USC threw to the fullback all season, threw to the transfer from arkansas and to joe deloach. ex out ernest wilfork and insert patrick turner. ohio state's passcatchers did nothing against penn state(QB problems for the buckeyes) and troy's passcatchers ran wild, owing to mark sanchez's best game of the year. the current talent appraisers like big guys who make catches in traffic-fasano. bess,camarillo- ad it seems like patrick turner fits the bill.

[the shadow knows]

WAS THERE A CONTEST FOR PICKING MIAMI'S 3RD ROUND SELECTION COLD? if so, send my prize to the miami foundation in honor of the reversion to our beloved format returned. it tooik a while, but the customers are happy!!!

[mike1]

Here are ESPN's comments:

1. Davis is the best pure cover corner in his class. He's fluid changing directions, shows great burst coming out of his cuts and is fast enough to run with wideouts downfield. Davis is more than a one-dimensional player, too. He's a playmaker and can defend the run when he puts his mind to it. So why didn't he come off the board earlier? There are questions about his work ethic and teams were likely wondering if he would to play to his ability

2. White is yet another player who doesn't have a great fit at the NFL level. He isn't tall or accurate enough to develop into an every-down quarterback and he is a raw receiver who is going to have to learn how to run routes before pushing for playing time in that kind of role. On the flip side, he can do a number of different things for your team and is the kind of player you want in your locker room.

2. Smith possesses an extremely rare blend of size and speed. Although there are some concerns about his ability to stay low and quickly change direction, Smith is able to mask these flaws with his outstanding length.

3. Turner is a bigger receiver who lacks the quickness and fluidity to create adequate separation at the NFL level. He also lacks the top-end speed to ever be considered a home-run threat. However, he does an excellent job using his frame to shield defenders from the ball and does not drop many balls when catching within his frame.

4. Hartline plays with the competitive edge and displays the toughness to go over the middle. He also shows good body control when catching the ball. However, we have some concerns with his fluidity changing directions and overall consistency with hands because he has a history of dropping balls he should catch.

[the shadow knows]

mike1,

your posting of ESPN's asessment of patrick turner sounds just like greg camarillo, who has proven to be a quite adequate passcatcher for miami. dump wilfork, trade ginn, and go with what they have. they won without any bombs, save the one ginn caught at the back-middle of the end zone, and with pennington's arm they will work the middle of the field with crossing patterns and whatever they call those patterns where bess runs diagonally to the LOS and then catches and immediately turns upfield aftera quick right angle move.

[the shadow knows]

Tom,

miami lost wes welker and it will be awhile before they find his repalcement; i love #15 but wes welker he ain't. texas tech had #18 who looked like welker in college but i am not sure he has been drafted or that he is a senior or eligible for the draft

[mike1]

Who is Nail bone and what is a Monmouth? Shirley there could've been a more useful pick in a pos. we need.

Shadow, we don't need a deep threat receiver since our starter can't throw deep. But it would be nice, just in case Penn gets hurt or Miami starts off bad (likely with that schedule) and decides to switch QBs.

Cote's thinking no pass rusher yet, meas Taylor. Sure, why not if they have cap room.

[r. duke]

Alas no Jerome Brown Jimbo. One of these days we'll get lucky though.

[r. duke]

would have liked to see O-Line get bigger and nastier too.

[r. duke]

Huh ask and you shall recive. How 'bout that Jerome Brown in the rough now.

[Devo]

I was labebled a under achiver in school, what the fu2k do they know??.. Oh wait a minute...." Would you like to super size that sir for an extra .99 cents??"

Now this is some FUNNY chit!

Bwahahahahahahahahaha!

[Toby]

I think mike 1 plays the skin flute in a 3 man marching band.

[r. duke]

mike1 Monmouth is a giant, hairy, elephant- like creature with enormous tusks that walked the earth during the Pliocene epoch. They had a good run from 4.8 million years ago to around 4500 years ago. We should be so lucky. Isn't that right shadow?

[r. duke]

Toby lol that wasn't very nice but I'm a whore for such inappropriate humor.

[Jimbo]

Pat White is a nice addition but a high second rd pick is too steep. Pretty much expected him to be around in the 3rd rd.

Beck didn't get the opportunity last yr to prove whether he belonged or not. Beck didn't get to play with the improved version of the Miami Offence. Jeeze Tom, Dan Marino woulda sucked with Cam as the coach. Beck will be dealt-for a pick in next yrs draft-before the final 53 man roster in August.

Don't wanna jinx anything but one of my astute Raiders fan I know made a pretty good argument that THEY made out in the C Grove vs Satele move. Grove didn't play that great, was injured often, was manhandled by big, stout NT's. We'll see, I trust Ireland and Tuna.

So far with who has been drafted the Fins are looking at 2 or 3 possible starters out of these rookies.

Jason Taylor AINT coming back, neither is Zach Thomas, Dan Marino or Napolian for that matter. No use dancing around that thought any longer.

Duke, I think the online is going to be great. G's Thomas, Smiley, Murphy gotta be healthy and ready to roll. C Grove has to improve that position also. T's Carey and Long are set.

I told you guys Miami was gonna chase 2 CB's in the first 2 rds this yr. They got 2 very good prospects.

[Jimbo]

sorry duke, i meant o-line not online....

[mike1]

you would talk with a name like Toby

[r. duke]

mike1 has anyone ever actually named their child Toby? It's just not a name that rings SUCCESS!

[r.duke]

Hmm i after c except when there should be an e. "recive"

[mike1]

r. duke, definition of Toby on wikipedia:

Indications that Toby is a hobbit!

"J.R.R. Tolkien "Toby" is used as a contraction of the hobbit name "Tobold" "

"Toby is an alternative name for the dish "shepherd's pie" "

there are other interesting definitions.

Other Toby's: Tobias Mcguire. Enough said on that one.

[mike1]

No explanation in the Herald yet, what KC gave us for our 2nd, 7th rounder. Zach?

[mike1]

One ESPN columnist rate NE, Bears and Bengals as having done the best job. He said NE did an awesome job with their picks and great moves to secure 2nd round picks next year.

More ratings to follow, I'm sure. Not knowing a whole lot about college players except through hype, only time will tell how we did. It seems somewhere between average and above average. Didn't have a lot to work with in not having low picks.

[Tom]

Good call Jimbo on the two CBs. This will be a good draft if Turner turns out to be a solid WR.

As far as Beck, you're right he'll be gone, but you're dreaming if you think the Fish will get anything for him. Why would anyone give anything for Beck when the whole world knows the Fish can't keep 4 QBs?

Hey Jimbo you have any recommendations on good calling cards for Afghanistan? I've seen a bunch online, but I've never heard of these companies. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

[ehemming]

You stupid Dolphins fans think you've got something in hartline. If you want a possession receiver who can't hold on to the ball and is SLOW AS MOLASSES, then he's your man. Congratulations!

[ehemming]

Hartline is a turd. Is that clear enough?

[r.duke]

ehemming?

[r.duke]

ehemming and hawing.

[oscar_g]

Solid draft. Love the Pat White pick, he's a playmaker no matter where they put him.

The rest filled needs but need to be coached up.

[oscar_g]

Oh and The Fins should sign J. Taylor if the price is right.
He still has a little gas in the tank. Maybe 2 seasons worth.

[Michael]

Lots of credit for printing the post-mortem on your mock draft. Most "experts" don't have the courage to hold themselves accountable for their predictions.

[Bruce]

Isn't part of the element of what makes the Wildcat work the fact that it uses your base players? When you bring in 4 WRs, the defense brings in 6 DBs, so you lose an element of surprise. But with the Wildcat, you huddle up with your regular personnel and suddenly line up in a crazy formation, making the defense react on the fly.

If that is the case, then how will Pat White help in the Wildcat? Will he replace Ronnie Brown or Pennington? Either way, as soon as he gets on the field, the defense will know it's a Wildcat. I get the idea that now, we can run or pass from the Wildcat (Ronnie was 2 for 3 with a TD passing last year), but we are also giving the defense time to prepare in the huddle.

[the shadow knows]

Bruce,

as the ole shadow has stated on past posts, pat white has an adequate arm and will be in the mix at qb. i believe that ron jaworski is correct in his assessment of pat white as a quarterback- the guy will wind up backing up henne in addition to his wildcat chores.

[mike1]

Bruce, this is how:

1. Don't always run the wildcat when P. White is in

2. They won't know what White will be doing on a given play. Will he run, will he pass, we he catch. This may be especially nifty if you have both Brown and White in the game, and you don't know who will run the wildcat. T

3. We still run the wildcat with Brown, when White is not in the game

All this assumes they are thinking the same way I'm thinking and that the Phins will still use Brown on occasion

[Flipper72]

I think the Dolphins did very well in the draft and stuck to the game plan in taking care of all their needs. If I were to give them a grade, I would give them a solid B.

[Flipper72]

Hey ehemm-stain..!!

What kind of a f**kin" name is that?

We are using Hartline on Special Teams moron...that's why we picked him up..!!

You must be Patty Twat in disguise?

[the shadow knows]

Flipper72,

i agree with you that in a draft full of less than sure things, the dolphins did just fine. as stated, sean smith is an intelligent young man and will prove to be a good player who understands a defensive system. i laugh when i hear the term "lockdown cornerback". in y almost 50 years of watching pro football, there are maybe 10-15 players that i would even suggest fit that description. 'lockdown" andre johnson, reggie wayne, jerry rice?tell me who coming out of college short of deion sanders fits that bill!! even the greatest of cornerbacks get beaten trying to cover guys all over the field if there is no pass rush or help from the safety