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thesportssoundoff · 5 years

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A Dumb Draft Exercise

It's a Friday night and we're all locked in so I decided to do something a touch different. I took the current NFL draft order and then looked up the last five NFL drafts (2015-2019) to see who was picked at spots. Using the teams as they stand after one long (and it feels it) week of free agency, I picked ONE player selected at that set position to try and do a retro draft. Each team picked ONE player picked over the last five years at that specific spot (so at 1 overall, you could only draft 1st overall). How different would your favorite team look? Welll.....

1. Cincinnati- QB Kyler Murray (2019)

The first round picks of the past five years consist of four QBs (Jameis Winston, Jared Goff, Baker Mayfield and Murray) alongside premiere edge rusher Myles Garrett. As is often the case with top pick QBs tasked with saving bad franchises, each becomes less and less attractive as the years go by and they hit the ceiling of "damn good but not quite franchise saver" over and over. I went with Murray because while I think Goff is vastly underrated by most fans, Murray's got the ability and personality to drastically change an organization that feels like it's been hankering for a chance over the past five years. Murray was one of the NFL's brightest stars last year and figures to only improve, especially if you put him under the watchful gaze of an offensive guru (of sorts) in Zac Taylor.

2. Washington- DE Nick Bosa (2019)

Was REALLY torn with Carson Wentz and Nick Bosa for the Redskins. There's a lot of dead-ish weight here with Mitch Trubisky and Marcus Mariota and while Saquon may be the best player in theory, no team needs to take a running back in the top 5 (or in the first round at all). Assuming the Redskins are truly comfortable with Dwayne Haskins then taking Nick Bosa and pairing him up in the front four along with the likes of Montez Sweat, Matt Ionidis and Daron Payne would probably be a formidable ass crew. Basically the Chase Young strategy.

3. Detroit- DE Joey Bosa (2016)

How about the Bosa Bros going back to back! One would assume tht if the Lions wanted a QB, they're GOING to have their pick of the proverbial litter on the back end. After all after Cincy, they'll have Tua, Herbert and Love at their disposal if taking a QB so amuses them. Instead operating under the belief that the Lions feel comfortable with Stafford for MAYBE one more year, it leaves us to choose from Joey Bosa, Solomon Thomas and Dante Fowler. Bosa is likely on his way to a multiple pro bowl career while Thomas may just grade out as average and Fowler is on his third team now. Easy choice if ya ask me.

4. NY Giants- WR Amari Cooper (2015)

The Giants would be picking from a variety of offensive players; two of which are current Dallas Cowboys. You have Amari Cooper, Zeke Elliott, Leonard Fournette on offense and then Denzel Ward at cornerback as pretty much your only other option. Give me Amari Cooper as he'd immediately step in and make an offense consisting of Daniel Jones, Barkley, Golden Tate and a two tight end threat of Evan Engram and Kaden Smith a pretty damn formidable one.

5. Miami- OLB Bradley Chubb (2018)

This WOULD be easy in theory. Cornerback Jalen Ramsey would've been a FINE choice here but the Dolphins have Xavien Howard and Byron Jones on the back end. With Jalen Ramsey out of the picture, you have an interesting linebacker in Devin White, a superb guard in Brandon Scherff and my selection Bradley Chubb. With so much locked in on the defense, Chubb (if healthy) steps in as an immediate premiere pass rusher. Barely edges out Brandon Scherff. BARELY.

6. LA Chargers- OG Quinton Nelson (2018)

Man! The Chargers would have their glut of talent to choose from if they so desired. Want an elite strong safety? Jamal Adams was picked 6th in 2018. Want a QB to groom and develop? Daniel Jones went here in 2019. If you want a flexible havoc inducing DL piece? Leonard Williams in 2015 went 6th overall. Ronnie Stanley is a pretty damn good tackle as well. Quinton Nelson is a top 3 guard in just two seasons and figures to continue to improve. It's not a premiere position for a lot of people but Nelson bucks the trend.

7. Carolina- QB Josh Allen (2018)

Funny bit? We have two Josh Allens here as Josh Allen from Wyoming and Josh Allen from Kentucky both went 7th overall. Both would be tremendous picks given the Panthers needs (an elite edge or a QB). Deforest Buckner finally hit on his potential and got paid paid for it as well, fitting in interestingly here as a potential flexible front line piece. The Panthers just paid Teddy Bridgewater relatively big time money but if you have the chance to take a really athletic strong armed QB who has shown strides in two seasons, you should do it. Imagine Allen throwing it to the likes of DJ Moore and Christian McCaffery.

8. Arizona- RB Christian McCaffery (2017)

THIS one was hard given the lack of obvious options. Do you need more receiving options? If so TE TJ Hockenson was picked 8th. Christian McCaffery is probably the best player at this spot but again, running backs and top 10s and etc etc etc. Nuke Hopkins, Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk are on paper a superb trio of WRs and you also have Kenyan Drake at RB. Vic Beasley is a good pass rusher who has sort of lost his way as a player (hence the one year prove it deal). Give me McCaffery I guess. I think he'd do wonders in Kingbsury's offense and I suppose you can make he and Drake work together. That's why head coaches get paid.

9. Jacksonville- OT Mike McGlinchey (2018)

There's not a lot of obvious fits for a tanking team like the Jaguars. DT Ed Oliver would be intriguing but I have no idea how he fits in with the Jaguars defense. The likes of Leonard Floyd (recently released), Ereck Flowers (failed tackle turned kinda failed guard), John Ross (oft injured speedster) are other options. Lastly there's Mike McGlinchey who was starting at right tackle for the Super Bowl 49ers. The Jaguars have spent picks at both tackle spots but McGlinchey is better.

10. Cleveland- QB Patrick Mahomes (2017)

Fuck. Would the Browns even with Baker Mayfield flirt with taking Patrick Mahomes? Who cares. Mayfield can be traded. If you have the chance to grab the best QB in the NFL, you do it. Easy peasy.

11. NY Jets- CB Marshon Lattimore (2016)

This one came down to Lattimore or Minkah Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick can do so much across a secondary and his swiss army knife toolset was amplified in a Pittsburgh secondary that left to his devices where he could roam free and fuck shit up. On the other hand, Marshon Lattimore represents one of the NFL's rare commodities; a star shutdown cornerback. Plus with Marcus Maye and Jamal Adams tie up the safety spots pretty well.

12. Las Vegas- QB Deshaun Watson (2017)

The Raiders are openly flirtatious with moving on from Derek Carr. Deshaun Watson would step in and be a massive upgrade. There's also not much here either given how 90% of the players are DL and the Raiders have plenty of names and faces they like there. Maxx Crosby, Maliek Collins, John Hankins and Clelin Ferrell to name a few.

13. San Francisco f/IND- OG Laremy Tunsil (2016)

Take the 49ers OL with Joe Staley, Mike McGlinchey and Laken Tomlinson and then slide in Laremy Tunsil at RG. That's an absurd OL. There also weren't many options to really delve into either depending on how you feel about Da'Ron Payne and Vita Vea.

14. Tampa Bay- DE Marcus Davenport (2018)

Pick 14 over the past five years is a bit of a dry spell unfortunately. The best player on the list is DeVante Parker and the Bucs clearly have a collection of damn good WRs. Shaq Barrett and JPP are in place for 2020 but could the Bucs use Davenport as a third rusher and move him inside on pass rush downs. Not a lot of good ideas here unfortunately.

15. Denver- RB Melvin Gordon (2015)

Easy peasy! I mean Denver just signed him! That's a bit of a cheapie but let's keep with it. Gordon fitshere (and nobody else does).

16. Atlanta- LB Tremaine Edmunds (2018)

Edmunds with Deion Jones? Sign me up! The only other option that makes sense here is Marlon Humphrey at corner which would be an equally fine pick.

17. Dallas- S Derwin James (2018)

Given that Arik Armstead and John Allen would be 3-technique types in this defense, it makes sense we would ONCE again look at the safety market! Yay! The Cowboys scheme in 2018 apparently didn't like Derwin James as much as the media thought they did but this is a brand new scheme and a new way to play. Derwin James would edge out Keanu Neal (who BTW when healthy is an amazing safety) by virtue of being more of the chess piece the Cowboys need.

18. Miami f/PIT- C Ryan Kelly (2017)

Again there's a glut of corners here but the Dolphins have their fair share. As such, turn your attention over to a glut of centers---who they also just signed a guy for. Ryan Kelly is a pro bowl center though and you can make exceptions for that.

19. Las Vegas f/CHI- LB Leighton Vander-Esch (2018)

One of the better linebackers in the NFL prior to his neck injury, LVE was a friggin' elite athlete who could still redefine what NFL linebackers look like. His defensive coordinator is there as well (as the DL coach) and I bet Gruden would love his leadership and his ability as an off ball linebacker. This one is easy enough.

20. Jacksonville f/LAR- TE Noah Fant (2019)

The Jaguars are in the midst of a rebuild of sorts but unfortunately there's no immediate building block pieces at 20. It came down to Frank Ragnow (a versatile OL with upside) or Noah Fant and I opted for tight end Noah Fant since Minshew could use a reliable safety blanket. Assuming Fant can control his drops of course.

21. Philadelphia- WR Will Fuller (2016)

The Eagles could REALLY use some targets for Carson Wentz. Last year in clutch games they were relying on JJ Arceaga-Whiteside and Boston Scott for targets outside of their tight ends. Wouldn't have a problem going with FS Darnell Savage either who also went at 21.

22. Minnesota f/BUF- DE Bud Dupree (2015)

I don't know if the Vikings NEED an edge but even if they don't, there's really no options here. Josh Doctson was a flop in Washington, Charles Harris was a flop in Miami, Rashaan Evans plays the same spot as their glut of damn good linebackers and Andre Dillard is an unproven tackle for Philly to this point. Hit or miss here.

23. New England- Isaiah Wynn (2018)

I mean they drafted him here. Easy enough. Although would they take TE Evan Engram all things being equal?

24. New Orleans- WR DJ Moore (2018)

The Saints did grab Emmanuel Sanders but DJ Moore, Sanders and Michael Thomas is a whole different world of WR depth. There's also pretty much nobody else here worthy of snagging either.

25. Minnesota- WR Marquise Brown (2019)

HOLLYWOOD! The Vikings just traded away Stefon Diggs and could use an infusion of playmaker at their WR spot to help assist their TE room, Dalvin Cook and Adam Thielen. Marquise Brown would give Kirk Cousins a souped up version of Jamison Crowder; a WR-3 he relied heavily on in Washington.

26. Miami f/HOU- DE Montez Sweat (2019)

So the Dolphins have signed a lot of DE and we also gave them Bradley Chubb earlier BUT Montez Sweat is going to terrorize the NFL for the next 5-10 years and so he and Chubb combined? That's big time pass rush. Also, again, not much to really select from here either.

27. Seattle- CB Byron Jones (2015)

If you drew up a make and model for a Seahawks DB? It looks like Byron Jones. Byron just got paid big time money by Miami It's Byron vs Tre White and Byron fits the mold a bit better. Could also see Seattle liking Kenny Clark. Lots of good defensive players at 27.

28. Baltimore- OG Laken Tomlinson (2015)

Let Tomlinson battle it out with the interior OL the Ravens have currently. There's really not much here, it's either Tomlinson or DT Jerry Tillery.

29. Tennessee- TE David Njoku (2017)

Funny story, the 2016 1st round pick here was forfeited via deflategate. With just four names to choose from (and not really much to talk about either way), the Titans take David Njoku. Njoku has struggled with his role in Cleveland and the Titans do have some solid tight ends already in place but Njoku would be a pretty nice flier. Most of the guys here at 29 are just not good unless you're a Taven Bryan truther.

30. Green Bay- LB TJ Watt (2017)

And Cowboys fans across the globe shudder in horror. Yes, the Packers have two really good DEs in the Smith brothers. There's nobody else here who comes remotely close to the pure value TJ Watt has. Let him rush from the left side and rack up the sacks. You can figure it out somehow I figure. Let Preston Smith play 3-tech or something!

31. San Francisco- LB Reuben Foster (2017)

On one hand, the less said about Foster the better. On the other, there's really nobody else here who would come close. Unless you're a Germaine Ifedi fan?

32. Kansas City- DT Malcolm Brown (2015)

For any other team in any other league, this is Lamar Jackson. The Chiefs are really set at QB for the next 10-15 years so we'll have to take a pass. Instead Malcolm Brown is pretty much the only other really good value play. Big thumpy 1-tech/nose tackles are usually found later on in the draft but Brown is a good one and the Chiefs truthfully don't need much else either.

#NFL #Draft #Thought exercise #fuckin' around

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junker-town · 5 years

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6 winners from Week 10 of the NFL season

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Ryan Tannehill secured the Titans’ biggest win of the year, while Lamar Jackson did Lamar Jackson things.

Week 10 featured less NFL action than any other regular season lineup this year. With six teams enjoying their bye week, only 11 games filled select stadiums and broadcasts across the country Sunday.

That week off also applied to a handful of starting quarterbacks. Andy Dalton learned he’d been benched for a winless Bengals team more than a week ago. Jacoby Brissett’s MCL sprain kept him off the field against the Dolphins. Matthew Stafford was a late scratch for the Lions’ rivalry game with the Bears.

In their stead, unheralded passers Ryan Finley, Brian Hoyer, and Jeff Driskel each earned their first starts of 2019. None of the three were victorious, though Driskel showed off enough skill against a tough Chicago defense to build confidence as a rising backup:

holy moly, Jeff Driskel pic.twitter.com/Cc4BrBl0us

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) November 10, 2019

There were still plenty of winners to go around, however. So who was the most impressive despite a fairly limited slate of games in Week 10?

It wasn’t ...

Not considered: Saquon Barkley, 7th-leading rusher (out of seven) in the Jets-Giants game

Barkley had played 22 games in a brilliant NFL career leading up to Sunday’s showdown with the Jets. In that span, he’d never rushed for fewer than 10 yards.

And then Week 10 happened. 13 carries, 1 net yard, 0 touchdowns.

Barkley was bottled up by the league’s top rushing defense and smothered into oblivion on a day when only quarterback Daniel Jones could find any kind of success on the ground for the Giants. Nine of Barkley’s 13 rushes ended at or behind the line of scrimmage. Although he gained 30 yards through the air in his team’s eventual 34-27 defeat, it was by far the least productive game of his professional career to date.

Those struggles persisted even when he didn’t have the ball. As a pass blocker, he missed key assignments that led to two of Daniel Jones’ three fumbles — including one that Jamal Adams returned for a touchdown.

Saquon Barkley had his worst game as a pro against the Jets today. On top of carrying the ball 13 times for just 1 yard, he was a liability in pass protection. Saquon is obviously not himself #Giants pic.twitter.com/JG7x3gJNyS

— Kevin Boilard (@247KevinBoilard) November 10, 2019

The Jets’ underrated defense played a role, but Barkley was also hampered by injury concerns. Head coach Pat Shurmur said he was “banged up” after the game, and Barkley wound up in the club’s X-ray room shortly after the final whistle. Losing him for another extended stretch — he missed three weeks with a high ankle sprain earlier in the season — would rob the Giants of their most versatile weapon.

And now, on to ...

This week’s actual winners

6. Jets-Giants, which was more entertaining than it had any business being

Few people were hyped for the all-North Jersey showdown between the 1-7 Jets and the 2-7 Giants. Selling football fans on a Sam Darnold-Daniel Jones gunfight turned out to be just as difficult as it sounds:

history being made today pic.twitter.com/hKOjaJpiOF

— charles (ronald) mcdonald (@FourVerts) November 10, 2019

That was an hour before kickoff, and the fans that trickled in later were rewarded for their faith. Even if the game was by no means a triumph of technical wizardry — the two sides combined for four fumbles and eight sacks — it was still a pretty damn exciting football game.

Jones led his team back from an early 14-0 deficit to take a 27-24 lead. All four of the Giants’ touchdowns came through the air, making Jones just the fourth quarterback since 2000 to have multiple four-touchdown games in his rookie season. He’d be one-upped by Sam Darnold, who overcame the ghosts that plagued him previously, en route to an efficient 230-yard, one-touchdown day.

Jamal Adams, still working through the sting of his team listening to trade offers that involved him, had a 25-yard fumble return touchdown. Embattled kicker Sam Ficken made six of his seven kicks, including a 53-yard field goal. Giants receivers Golden Tate and Darius Slayton combined for 216 yards and four touchdowns.

Was it poetry? Nope. But it was better than the 6-6 tie the 2019 Giants and Jets each deserved.

5. Andy Lee, who threw a legitimately great pass into coverage (despite being a punter)

Kliff Kingsbury is an innovator. He isn’t satisfied with just calling a fake punt. He’s going to fold a trick play into another trick play like a football turducken of laterals and unexpected passes.

On Sunday he dragged Andy Lee — a punter with one career pass in 15 seasons as a pro — atop his mountain of madness. And Lee, like any good Kingsbury charge, responded by throwing a masterpiece of a deep ball.

.@AndyLee4 out here dropping dimes like a QB pic.twitter.com/OgFgUmQwFo

— Arizona Cardinals ⋈ (@AZCardinals) November 10, 2019

That bold call — from fourth-and-10 at the Cardinals’ own 36-yard line — was vital to Arizona’s comeback hopes. Lee’s strike went for 26 yards and kept a crucial fourth-quarter drive alive. Three plays later, Kyler Murray delivered his third touchdown pass to Christian Kirk to take a 27-23 lead with a little more than seven minutes to play.

While the Cardinals couldn’t hold on in an eventual 30-27 loss, the Lee play is another wrinkle opposing coaches have to consider when facing Kingsbury. And with Rams punter Johnny Hekker tanking his career passer rating by throwing an interception against the Steelers — it dropped from 106.0 to 81.3 — it’s possible Lee is now the NFC West’s preeminent punter/quarterback (and not the other way around).

4. The Falcons, because if you’re only gonna beat a few teams this season, they better be rivals

Atlanta not only doubled its season total for wins (from one to two!), but also did so while weakening one of its biggest rivals. The Falcons ranked 30th in the league in scoring defense and had yet to hold an opponent to fewer than 20 points this fall before traveling to the Superdome. Then they held Drew Brees, Michael Thomas, and Alvin Kamara to nine points in the biggest upset of the regular season to date.

The Saints rolled into Week 10 as a 14-point favorite and then left the home fans with nothing to cling to but some pallid “28-3” jokes. An Atlanta defense that had recorded seven sacks in its first eight games got to Drew Brees six times for a net loss of 46 yards — and this included big plays on what were decidedly not blitzing downs.

OUR DEFENSE IS FIRED UP! pic.twitter.com/eWTZiBOmOd

— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) November 10, 2019

Younghoe Koo, signed 11 days earlier off the street as a free agent, converted all four of his field goal attempts. Matt Ryan, making his return after missing his team’s last game due to a high ankle sprain, only threw for 182 yards but didn’t need to do much more. The Falcons limited a hobbled Kamara (12 total touches for 74 yards) and refused to let a typically impactful day from Michael Thomas (13 catches) beat them. In the process, they chipped away at their rival’s case for a postseason bye.

3. Minkah Fitzpatrick, who was absolutely worth a first-round pick

Back when the Steelers freed Fitzpatrick from Miami, it looked like the former Alabama standout had just traded one scuttled boat for another. Pittsburgh was 0-2 when it added the playmaker to its secondary, and would be 1-4 with only a win over the lowly Bengals to its credit three weeks later. With Ben Roethlisberger out for the season, the team’s playoff hopes had been left for dead.

And Fitzpatrick has revived them.

The rangy safety has been electric his last four weeks, turning up on the happy side of five different turnovers (four interceptions, one fumble recovery) as the Steelers have rallied from 1-4 and a spot at the top of next year’s draft order to 5-4 and a spot on the periphery of the AFC playoff race. His last two turnovers were the key to upsetting the Rams, who’d arrived in Pittsburgh as 4.5-point favorites, in a 17-12 victory.

The first, a 43-yard fumble return touchdown, ensured the home team hit halftime with a 14-7 lead:

.@Jay_MostWanted with the sack.@minkfitz_21 with the score. pic.twitter.com/V4sB0dTmz7

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) November 10, 2019

The second didn’t end in a touchdown, but was arguably more important. The Rams had their backs against the wall when they got the ball with 61 seconds left. A 60-yard touchdown drive would give them the win. Instead, Fitzpatrick made sure quarterback Jared Goff wouldn’t redeem himself after a terrible start.

He was on the end of Goff’s final pass of the afternoon, a tip-drill interception that quashed Los Angeles’ comeback hopes and launched a thousand “are the Rams washed?” tweets across the universe.

Jared Goff was a borderline MVP candidate a year ago pic.twitter.com/UykH8cMEMd

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) November 11, 2019

In the Steelers’ four-game winning streak, Fitzpatrick has played 100 percent of his team’s defensive snaps and averaged 1.5 passes defensed and an interception per game. He’s also got two return touchdowns for a Pittsburgh team that would almost certainly rather have him than a mid-round Day 1 pick next spring.

2. Lamar Jackson, who we should all just assume is on this list unless otherwise noted

Jackson has been one of the league’s brightest stars throughout 2019. Even after proving he could beat an elite team a week earlier by toppling the Patriots, Sunday gave him the chance to turn the difficulty down from “expert” to “beginner” against winless Cincinnati. He then put together one of the finest games of his budding career.

The former Heisman Trophy winner’s 16th start saw him finish with 15 completions in 17 attempts for 223 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. That was good enough to make him one of just six quarterbacks to have multiple games with a perfect 158.3 passer rating in his career. He sliced up the Bengals’ AAA secondary with ease through the air, but also showed no mercy on the ground:

LAMAR. JACKSON. @Lj_Era8 TO THE HOUSE ‼️‼️ pic.twitter.com/DcR8A7S2Vy

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 10, 2019

Jackson got things done on his own, but he also used that rushing threat to lift his teammates — notably fellow former Heisman winners Mark Ingram and Robert Griffin III, with whom he teamed up to run a throwback college-style option. In a 49-13 rout, the Ravens emptied their bench and Jackson watched the last quarter wearing Dwight Schrute’s Terminator glasses:

Swaggy pic.twitter.com/hbbmcsTGP0

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 10, 2019

As for the Bengals, well ... at least their race to the top of the 2020 NFL Draft is going well.

1. Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill, the Titans stars we always knew they’d be

The theme of Sunday was upsets. The Steelers took down the Rams. The Falcons shut down the Saints. And the Titans, led by Tannehill and Henry, dropped Patrick Mahomes to 0-3 in the last three games he’s been healthy enough to finish.

Henry had only had one game this season with more than 90 rushing yards. He more than doubled that mark with a 188-yard, two-touchdown performance that hit the Chiefs’ run defense on fire and then trampled the ashes.

Feed that man. @KingHenry_2 #KCvsTEN pic.twitter.com/lSP2l9Dnwx

— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) November 10, 2019

But when the Titans needed a big drive to cap a comeback, Tannehill delivered. While Mahomes outgained him by 265 passing yards, the former Dolphin was responsible for all 61 yards of a drive that turned a 32-27 deficit into a 35-32 lead — including running in the two-point conversion that meant Kansas City could only tie the game up with a last-ditch field goal.

And what about the guys by Ryan Tannehill running over defenders numerous times today, sacrificing his body for points. pic.twitter.com/Jz2F8WAmgL

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 10, 2019

Instead, Harrison Butker’s 52-yard attempt was blocked, and the Titans got back to .500 — and one step closer to their 9-7 destiny — with an affirming upset in Nashville.

Tennessee has a shot to reel in the fading Colts and bully its way into the AFC South title race. That success starts with Tannehill, who has engineered game-winning drives in each of his three wins (in four chances) as a starter after replacing Marcus Mariota behind center.

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packernet · 6 years

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New Post has been published on https://www.packernet.com/blog/2018/04/03/2018-nfl-mock-draft-round-2/

2018 NFL Mock Draft Round 2

Today we continue on with the 7 round mock draft series for the 2018 NFL Draft.

See Round 1

For those interested, you can see the 2017 7 round mock here, and a Packers only 7 round mock drafts here –>(1, 2).

Something to keep in mind is the fact that this exercise started mid-March so some trades and player rankings will likely change over time but considering a 7 round mock can’t be done with any seriousness in a week, you’ll just have to tolerate a couple errors here and there.

The big board I’m using is from NFLBigBoard.com. It uses an aggregation of several of the top big boards around the web. Also I built it so there’s that.

33 Cleveland Browns Ronald Jones II, RB, USC

As I said, Chubb and Jones are a better option than Barkley and Hubbard and I’m standing by that here.

Darnold, the new franchise QB for the Browns, is also reunited with his RB so that’s kind of cool too.

34 New York Giants D.J. Moore, WR, Maryland

This was a very tough call. There are a lot of players here that could help but none of them felt quite right.

The Giants are likely going to be without Marshall and ODB for 2018 and need to reload at the position and quickly.

If Moore has a chance to be a WR1, the Giants could be okay with Moore, Shepherd, and Engram for receiving weapons.

35 Cleveland Browns Ronnie Harrison, S, Alabama

I wanted to take Harrison two picks ago but wasn’t really sure the role was as well defined as it would be for Jones.

As it stands Damarious Randall is the FS and Jabrill Peppers is the SS. We aren’t really sure how either of those things will turn out but it’s unlikely they will both develope very well in their roles.

Harrison has the ability to play FS as well as SS and could win out one of those jobs starting in 2018.

36 Indianapolis Colts James Daniels, C, Iowa

Castonzo is a good LT, Slauson is now paired with Quenton Nelson, which could be pretty solid depending on Slausons ability to bounce back, and now we have James Daniels to play center in place of Ryan Kelly who can’t seem to get it together.

After 2 rounds the Colts might just need to find a little help at left tackle to have a functioning starting offensive line in 2018.

37 Indianapolis Colts Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M

Our team is Andrew Luck, period. We invested to protect him with offensive line, now we are going to find him some weapons. We really would like to find a RB but Kirk in the slot with TY on the outside? Come on that’s pretty solid work in just 3 picks.

38 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Mike Hughes, CB, UCF

For a minute I thought doubling down on DB’s with Minkah going in round 1 was overkill but to have Hughes and Grimes on the boundary, Hargreaves in the slot and Fitz and Conty at safety? That’s a solid DB group.

Hughes was also a fantastic value here.

39 Chicago Bears Kolton Miller, OT, UCLA

The Bears offensive line isn’t anywhere near as impressive as it was in 2017.

Outside of Leno and Whitehair there isn’t much to be overly excited about. I suppose Long at RG isn’t terrible if you don’t factor in his massive paycheck.

Miller is a 6’9 behemoth that was knocked for a lack of athletic ability but he tested off the charts at the combine.

Either way he should stack up pretty well at RT and be an upgrade over their current tackle.

40 Trade – Detroit Lions Sam Hubbard, EDGE, Ohio State

Lions receive pick 40 Giants (from round 1 trade with Broncos) receive 2nd (51) and 3rd (82)

Hubbard has limitations but is projected to be a real good strong side 4-3 defensive end which is what the Lions need.

Hubbard paired with Ansah could make for 2 very good players on the edge for Detriot.

41 Oakland Raiders Dallas Goedert, TE, SDSU

I’m not a fan of many of the players at the top of my board but Dallas is intriguing. We have Jared Cook but that isn’t as lethal as we had hoped. Beyond that, Cook is 30, we’re paying him $5M, and there is 0 dead cap this year, meaning, if we so chose to, we could cut him and it wouldn’t cost us a dime.

Probably makes more sense to let him play out his last year and coach up Dallas but either way the pick makes sense.

42 TRADE – Green Bay Packers Carlton Davis, CB, Auburn

Packers receive pick 42 Dolphins receive 2nd (45), 5th (172), and 6th (186)

Dolphins didn’t feel comfortable with the top of the board and could use the picks. Davis is at the top of the board so it didn’t take long to find a suitor in GB. The Packers made it easy for the Dolphins offering two picks to move back 3 spots.

Carlton Davis is a big, long, physical corner that dominates receivers in press man coverage.

The Packers defensive backfield now consists of Carlton Davis, Kevin King, and Tramon Williams at corner and HHCD, Derwin James, and Josh Jones at safety. They may not be the top unit in the NFL but try and find a bigger, faster, and more physical group. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

43 New England Patriots Sony Michel, RB, Georgia

James White is a good receiving back but the Patriots could use a Mel Blount type north and south pounder on their roster. Michel fits that mold perfectly.

44 Washington Redskins Harrison Phillips, DT, Stanford

The Raiders snagged Vea 1 spot before the Redskins in the first round but Phillips is a good consolation and fell on our board making him a good value.

It’s not certain whether Phillips can play nose but regardless of his exact position, he’ll be an upgrade somewhere.

45 Miami Dolphins (From Packers RD 2) Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State

Tannehill isn’t the worst QB in the league but is he ever going to take them to a SB?

The way I see it, the team will be rebuilding for another couple years. Grab Rudolph, let him sit and when the team is ready to go, Tannehill will be in his 30’s and at the end of his contract. We’ll have Rudolph ready to take the new and improved Dolphins to the promise land.

That’s the plan anyway.

46 Cincinnati Bengals James Washington, WR, Oklahoma State

1 pick after his QB gets taken by hte Dolphins, Washington finds a home in Cinci and to be honest, I don’t hate how things are shaking out. We have Cordy Glenn and Clint Boling on the left side of the line and drafted Isaiah Wynn to hold down the RG spot. Joe Mixon is in his sophmore year and we now have James Washington and AJ Green on the outside.

Our defense isn’t horrible but if we can hit a couple more linemen and a few defensive pieces the Bengals might surprise some people.

If nothing else they’ll have the weapons to be one of those terrible teams that blow a few teams out of the water once in a while.

47 Arizona Cardinals Arden Key, EDGE, LSU

Chandler Jones had 17 sacks in 2017. The man is a freak. With that said, the team as a whole had 27.

That’s 17 for Jones, 10 for everyone else combined. That’s actually really pathetic. Jones needs help and although there are concerns with Key, he’s physically gifted and was considered a front runner for number 1 overall in the 2018 draft less than a year ago. The potential is certainly there.

48 Buffalo Bills Mike Gesicki, TE, Penn State

One of the best things you can do for a young QB is give him a safety valve. The Bills get that guy in Mike Gesicki. Mayfield now has Kelvin Benjamin and sophomore Zay Jones on the outside, Shady in the backfield, a young stud TE, and a solid defense. It’s on him to make this team a contender.

49 Indianapolis Colts Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia

Marlon Mack has some potential but the Colts came out and said they want to find a RB compliment for their QB.

With the addition of Quenton Nelson, James Daniels, and now Nick Chubb, Andrew Luck should have a better run game than he’s seen in quite some time (ever?). A couple more defensive pieces and the Colts are quickly going to remind everyone why they were SB favorites not long ago.

50 Dallas Cowboys Orlando Brown, OT, Oklahoma

I’m sticking with my theory that the Cowboys success is dependant on them reviving their glorious offensive line. Smith, Frederick, and Martin still remain but RG and RT aren’t really set.

Cam Flemming isn’t terrible but hasn’t proven to be dominant by any stretch. Brown has terrified people with his stunningly terrible combine but the man was considered the best tackle in the class by a lot of people prior to the combine.

By putting him on the right side they can minimize the impact of his limited athleticism.

51 New York Giants (From Lions RD 2) Justin Reid, S, Stanford

Reid has been top of the board for a while and if he’s able to play FS should be a great fit. He played SS for Stanford but his 4.40 40 time leads me to believe he can manage as a FS.

Either way he should be a massive upgrade over Darian Thompson.

52 Baltimore Ravens Anthony Miller, WR, memphis

Reaching a little bit according to our board but we need some help at WR. We’ve gone out and gotten a ton of veteran help the last few years, and maybe that’ll be fine, but at some point we need some young blood. For that reason we decide to pull the trigger rather than risk losing him by trading back.

53 Los Angeles Chargers Lorenzo Carter, OLB, Georgia

Labeled an edge rusher, Carter is going to be an OLB in our 4-3 defense which is something the Chargers desperately need. Their DL is elite but their linebackers aren’t getting it done.

54 Kansas City Chiefs Donte Jackson, CB, LSU

Kendall Fuller had an unbelievable sophomore season. Assuming he continues to dominate, the Chiefs are still devoid of any talent at corner aside from Fuller.

Jackson is an athletic corner that blazed a 4.32 40 at the combine.

55 Trade – San Francisco 49ers Mark Andrews, TE, Oklahoma

49ers receive pick 55 Panthers receive 2nd (59) and 4th (128)

The Panthers aren’t thrilled with the way the board is stacked up so they make some calls.

Yes, I heard Andrews fell into the 3rd round too but just try to act like the 49ers did something stupid.

Their new stud QB now has Goodwin, Garcon, and Andrews with a promising Trent Taylor in the slot; An underrated RB in Jerrick McKinnon running behind a pretty decent offensive line; and a pretty scary defense that added Roquan Smith yesterday.

56 Buffalo Bills Malik Jefferson, LB, Texas

The Bills added some DL help with Maurice Hurst in round 1 but still have some work to do in the center of the defense and LB might be the biggest need.

Jefferson is a high ceiling player that was at one point thought of as an early 1st round prospect.

He’ll contribute right away.

57 Tennessee Titans Tim Settle, DT, Virginia Tech

The Titans D line isn’t horrible but the NT spot could be better.

313 pound Austin Johnson is young and can continue to get better but why mess around. Tim Settle is a 335 pound monster that could likely upgrade the position immediately.

58 Atlanta Falcons Rasheem Green, DT, USC

The Falcons need another lineman to play next to Grady Jarrett and where I’m sittin’ there aren’t very many good options currently on the roster. Green is 6’5 275 and is an ideal fit for the team.

59 Carolina Panthers (From 49ers RD 2) Chukwuma Okorafor, OT, Western Michigan

The Panthers grabbed Matt Kalil from the Vikings. I’m not sure the point of this other than his brother being on the team. It certainly can’t have anything to do with actually wanting him to play left tackle. That can’t be…

Let’s just say we draft a left tackle to be safe, eh?

60 Pittsburgh Steelers Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, EDGE, Oklahoma

I’m certainly concerned about Okoronkwo’s size and whether or not he can manage on the strong side but it seems clear the Bud Deupree experiment was a massive failure. They need help opposite Watt and here it is.

61 Jacksonville Jaguars Braden Smith, OG, Auburn

Yes I considered a TE but let’s play it smart. Protecting your QB and helping your star RB, Fournette is far more important than converting a couple third downs.

The Jags got Andrew Norwell and now added one of the top guards in the draft.

Oh and Smith was higher on our board so there’s that.

62 Minnesota Vikings Tyrell Crosby, OT, Oregon

There are never sure things but if everything pans out, the Vikings could have an okay line.

Reiff is serviceable, they drafted Billy Price who can play any guard spot and center (we’ll say LG), Elflein is going into his sophomore year so there is reason for optimism, and now Crosby can hold down the right tackle spot.

This still requires everything to go very well, no injuries, and an additional guard at some point… but they could be okay…

63 Trade – Houston Texans Kerryon Johnson, RB, Auburn

Texans receive pick 63 Patriots receive 3rd (68), 6th (177), and 6th comp (214)

Lamar Miller was expected to explode when he went to the Texans. That wasn’t the case. Miller isn’t very productive at all and can certainly be upgraded or at the very least, replaced this year or the next when the Texans feel ready to move on and free up the cap space.

Johnson, according to the all knowing big board was a fantastic value and fell quite a ways until the Texans could take it no more.

64 Cleveland Browns D.J. Chark, WR, LSU

So let’s break this down. On offense the Browns now have Darnold at QB. Josh Gordon and DJ Chark at WR with Jarvis Landry in the slot. Ronald Jones and Duke Johnson at RB and Njoku at TE.

On defense we have Garrett and Chubb off the edge. Gaines and Carrie at corner with Calhoun in the slot. And we also added Ronnie Harrison at safety.

All this just through 2 rounds. How in the world is this team not in the playoffs in 2018?

#2018 Draft

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junker-town · 5 years

Text

How the Dolphins are tanking, in 3 steps

Dolphins quarterback Josh Rosen sacked by Ravens pass rusher Matthew Judon.

The Dolphins gutted their roster and now they are — surprise, surprise — a very bad football team.

The Miami Dolphins are awful.

That’s no surprise. They were expected to be after they mostly spent their offseason getting rid of talent rather than acquiring it. But it was still staggering to see just how bad the Dolphins were when they kicked off the 2019 season by getting destroyed by the Ravens, 59-10.

While head coach Brian Flores continues to insist the team’s not tanking, there’s no way around it at this point. The Dolphins are bottoming out in a way that’s usually only seen in the NBA.

The one-sided loss to Baltimore was, in all likelihood, the first of many butt kickings Miami will endure in 2019. That’s even apparent to Dolphins players, some of whom asked their agents to get them traded out of South Beach, according to Pro Football Talk.

“The players believe that the coaching staff, despite claiming that they intend to try to win, aren’t serious about competing and winning,” the report said.

Those players are correct. The Dolphins organization is not trying to be a contender in 2019. Its goal all year has been to load up on cap space and draft picks in lieu of wins. That’s a textbook tank job.

Dolphins players aren’t trying to lose, though. Roster spots are too hard to come by and careers are too short in the NFL. They’ll all give 100 percent on the field. Miami is just too far behind other teams in terms of skill to truly keep up and compete.

So how did the Dolphins get to this point? They followed a simple three-step process

Step 1: Gut the roster

Dec. 31, 2018: The best place to start is the day Adam Gase was fired as head coach of the Dolphins after a 7-9 season.

Miami finished the year 31st in total offense and 29th in total defense. The Dolphins were bad at everything, but by still managing seven wins, they didn’t even have a top-12 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Being stuck in that 6-to-8-win middle ground — somewhere the team was for most of a decade — prompted coaching and executive changes.

Along with Gase’s firing, football operations were removed from executive vice president Mike Tannenbaum’s control and given to general manager Chris Grier. Former Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie was later hired as a senior personnel executive and Patriots linebackers coach Brian Flores, a first-time head coach, replaced Gase.

March 7, 2019: The first signs of tanking didn’t come until March. It started with the Dolphins releasing veteran defensive end Andre Branch and starting offensive guard Ted Larsen. Still, neither move was too surprising considering they saved the Dolphins about $9 million in combined cap space. Branch signed with the Cardinals, but didn’t make the final roster. Larsen is now a backup for the Bears.

March 13, 2019: The Dolphins made another move on the offensive line by releasing Josh Sitton. He played just one game for the team in 2018 before a rotator cuff tear landed him on injured reserve. It saved the team $5 million in cap space and Sitton retired in April.

That was also the same day free agency began in the NFL. The Dolphins allowed offensive tackle Ja’Wuan James, defensive end Cameron Wake, wide receiver Danny Amendola, and running back Frank Gore, among others, to walk and sign elsewhere.

March 15, 2019: Quarterback Ryan Tannehill was traded to the Titans after seven years and 88 starts with the Dolphins. The two teams swapped late-round selections in 2019 and the Dolphins received a 2020 fourth-round pick.

Tannehill was due to count $26.6 million against Miam’s cap in 2019, a pricy number for a player who struggled to stay healthy or ascend into a top-tier passer. Following the trade — and an agreement to pay $5 million of his signing bonus on the Titans’ behalf — the Dolphins saved a little over $8 million and ate about $18.4 million in dead money. Tannehill will be off the books entirely in 2020.

March 18, 2019: Career journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick was signed to a two-year contract to be the team’s new starting quarterback. The deal provided the Dolphins with a cheap stopgap solution under center. The two-year, $11 million contract given to Fitzpatrick constituted the most expensive acquisition the Dolphins made in free agency. Only the Cowboys and Rams — two Super Bowl contenders — spent less.

March 28, 2019: Pass rusher Robert Quinn, who came over in a trade from the Rams in March 2018, was sent to the Cowboys for a 2020 sixth-round pick. He led Miami in sacks during the 2018 season with 6.5. The trade saved the Dolphins close to $12 million in cap space and stuck them with only around $1.1 million in dead money.

April 25-26, 2019: Miami selected Clemson defensive tackle Christian Wilkins in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft and traded its second-round pick for quarterback Josh Rosen. Rosen, a top-10 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, started one season for the Cardinals.

May 13, 2019: The most significant investment made by the Dolphins in the offseason was a five-year, $76.5 million extension given to cornerback Xavien Howard. He was their only Pro Bowler in 2018 and is now tied to the team through the 2024 season. DeVante Parker, Jakeem Grant, and Jesse Davis received more moderately sized extensions at other points in the offseason.

Aug. 31, 2019: A week prior to their regular season opener, the Dolphins traded starting left tackle Laremy Tunsil and wide receiver Kenny Stills to the Texans. The package of picks sent back to Miami was quite the haul:

Official terms of now completed trade: Houston receives: T Laremy Tunsil WR Kenny Stills 2020 4th round pick 2021 6th round pick Miami receives: 2020 1st round pick 2021 1st round pick 2021 2nd round pick T Julien Davenport CB Johnson Bademosi

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 31, 2019

Following the trade, Julién Davenport was slotted in as the Dolphins’ new starting right tackle. No offensive lineman in the NFL allowed more quarterback hits (14) in 2018 or drew more penalties (16) than Davenport.

He lasted just one game for the Dolphins before landing on injured reserve.

Sept. 15, 2019: Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reported the Dolphins have been calling around the league in an attempt to trade running back Kenyan Drake. He led the team in rushing in 2017 and yards from scrimmage in 2018.

Sept. 16, 2019: The Dolphins allowed 2018 first-round pick Minkah Fitzpatrick to pursue a trade after their Week 1 loss, and found a partner after Week 2. Fitzpatrick was sent to the Steelers for a 2020 first-round pick, a potentially great investment considering the Steelers’ many problems in 2019.

Oct. 28, 2019: One day ahead of the trade deadline, the Dolphins traded running back Kenyan Drake to the Cardinals for a sixth-round pick that has a chance to become a fifth-round pick if Drake reaches certain milestones.

Oct. 29, 2019: Instead of trading away any more players on the last day before the trade deadline, the Dolphins made a surprise move and acquired one. The deal was still absolutely a tank-oriented move, though. The Rams sent Aqib Talib and a fifth-round pick to Miami in exchange for a 2022 seventh-round pick. The Dolphins will essentially eat Talib’s salary on LA’s behalf for a little extra draft capital.

Howard summed up the state of the roster following the trade of Fitzpatrick in September:

pic.twitter.com/wLbhtqqNv5

— Xavien Howard (@Iamxavienhoward) September 17, 2019

On the bright side for Howard, the first-round pick acquired from the Fitzpatrick trade is just one of the reasons why the roster around him could be upgraded massively.

Step 2: Stockpile cap space and draft picks

Altogether, the offseason moved the Dolphins to the top spot in salary cap space for the 2020 season. The team is due to carry only $6.9 million in dead money in 2020 and none in 2021.

It also owns the following picks in the next two drafts:

2020

1st round (Dolphins)

1st round (Texans)

1st round (Steelers)

2nd round (Dolphins)

2nd round (Saints)

3rd round (Dolphins)

5th round (Steelers)

5th round (Rams)

6th round (Dolphins)

6th round (Cardinals)

6th round (Cowboys)

7th round (Dolphins)

2021

1st round (Dolphins)

1st round (Texans)

2nd round (Dolphins)

2nd round (Texans)

3rd round (Dolphins)

4th round (Dolphins)

5th round (Dolphins)

6th round (Steelers)

That draft capital and the Dolphins’ ample cap space was the point of the offseason teardown. It’ll be even better if they land the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

It’s expected to be a good year to draft a quarterback with Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa and Oregon’s Justin Herbert among the top arms in the class. That’d likely be an appealing route for the Dolphins and — by the look of the team so far — a probable outcome.

Step 3: Lose a lot

There have only been two winless teams over the course of a 16-game schedule in NFL history: the 2008 Lions and the 2017 Browns. The Dolphins can look to both as a source of optimism.

Detroit followed its 0-16 season by drafting Matthew Stafford first overall in 2009. By 2011, the Lions were a playoff team. The Browns also tanked to acquire loads of picks, then selected Baker Mayfield at the top of the 2018 NFL Draft after their winless year. That plan seems to be paying off for Cleveland.

Anything can happen in an NFL game — like a team putting their oft-injured, lunky tight end in on defense, for instance — so it’s not a foregone conclusion that the Dolphins will finish 0-16. But whew, they’re a putrid football team. Right here, we’ll keep track of their season as it unfolds:

Week 1 — Ravens 59, Dolphins 10

There are many ways to dice up the carnage of the blowout, but here are a few stats that put in context just how absolutely terrible the Dolphins were in their opener:

Baltimore had 643 yards of total offense (the most ever allowed by Miami). The Dolphins had 200 yards. That 443-yard difference is the worst disparity in an NFL game since the Vikings trounced the Lions in 1988.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson joined Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, and Drew Brees as one of only four players who has finished a game with more than 20 adjusted yards per attempt in a game with at least 20 passes thrown.

The Dolphins had a time of possession of 19:53. It was their first time having the ball for less than 20 minutes in a game in 14 years.

That’s a good ol’ fashioned steamrolling.

Week 2 — Patriots 43, Dolphins 0

Miami hung in the game longer than expected and trailed only 13-0 at halftime. The game busted open in the second half with the Patriots recording two pick-sixes in the fourth quarter.

At the end of the game, the Dolphins had 189 yards of total offense. It made them the first team since the 2010 Bills to start a season with 200 yards or less in their first two games. That team finished 4-12 with Ryan Fitzpatrick starting at quarterback for almost the entire year.

Miami won’t have to worry about a similar fate ...at least when it comes to Fitzpatrick. The veteran was benched in favor of Josh Rosen the week following that shutout home loss to New England.

Week 3 — Cowboys 31, Dolphins 6

Like the week prior, the Dolphins kept the game close early. They trailed 10-6 at halftime before the Cowboys pulled away with three touchdowns in the second half.

Miami even threatened to take its first lead of the season at the end of the second quarter, but that was ruined by a Kenyan Drake fumble.

HELLO #HOTBOYZ @Thejaylonsmith forces the fumble & @tanklawrence recovers #MIAvsDAL | #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/HgCpqEh1zg

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 22, 2019

The Dolphins gave up 476 yards of total offense to the Cowboys and managed just 283 yards of their own.

Week 4 — Chargers 30, Dolphins 10

The Dolphins actually led a game for the first time in 2019 with an early touchdown that put them ahead of the Chargers, 7-3. It stayed close in the first half with Josh Rosen playing well early and leading the team to a 10-10 tie late in the second quarter.

Los Angeles turned on the jets in the second half, though. The Chargers scored 20 unanswered points and Rosen’s solid day of work was undermined by a baffling interception.

first career pick ✊ pic.twitter.com/INAa3IIig4

— Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) September 29, 2019

The Dolphins lost their first four games by a combined 137 points, the worst for any team since 1950.

Week 6 — Washington 17, Dolphins 16

The Dolphins came oh so close to getting into the win column after a Week 5 bye. Washington took a 17-3 lead into the fourth quarter, but Miami started a come back after Josh Rosen was benched and replaced by Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick led the team down the field on a nine-play, 55-yard touchdown drive early in the fourth quarter and then a nine-play, 75-yard drive in the final minutes. The latter was capped with an 11-yard touchdown pass to DeVante Parker. However, a two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful when Fitzpatrick’s screen pass to Kenyan Drake was dropped.

The Dolphins two point conversion to win, did not succeed pic.twitter.com/gXSIgdd0p0

— Vikings Blogger (@firstandskol) October 13, 2019

Drake may not have made it in even if he caught the pass. Either way, in the long run, the drop was probably a good thing for the Dolphins.

Week 7 — Bills 27, Dolphins 17

In the middle of the third quarter, the Dolphins had a 14-9 lead and were in the red zone threatening to go up two scores over Buffalo. Then Ryan Fitzpatrick threw an interception and the Bills went on a 98-yard drive that ended with a touchdown.

That was the first of three fourth quarter touchdowns for the Bills, who won despite losing in the stat books to the Dolphins.

Miami had 381 yards while Buffalo had 301. The Dolphins also won in first downs (24 to 17) and time of possession (33:31 to 26:29). Still, they fell to 0-6 with the loss.

Week 8 — Steelers 27, Dolphins 14

A 14-0 start for Miami made the possibility of a victory look attainable. Then the Steelers roared back with 27 unanswered points to win 27-14.

Pittsburgh’s comeback got jumpstarted by a 45-yard connection between Mason Rudolph and Diontae Johnson for a touchdown just before halftime. The Dolphins’ baffling decision to blitz with eight players on the play was so bad that viewers couldn’t help but wonder if there was an ulterior motive for the decision.

All I know is that if I was tanking, this is probably the defense I’d call on 3rd-and-20. pic.twitter.com/5S8ZxubyYs

— Chris Burke (@ChrisBurkeNFL) October 29, 2019

The Dolphins had a lead for more than 37 minutes during the Monday Night Football loss. That was more than double the time Miami had a lead in its first six losses.

Week 9 — Dolphins 26, Jets 18

A win!

The Dolphins fell behind 7-0 after the Jets’ opening drive of the day, but scored the next 21 points to take a commanding lead that they never gave up. Ryan Fitzpatrick led the way with 288 passing yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions to get Miami in the win column for the first time in 2019.

That’s probably not a great thing in the long run, but it’s not exactly a disaster either. The win didn’t drop out of the top five of the draft order, and the No. 1 pick is still very much a possibility.

Week 10 — Dolphins 16, Colts 12

Out of absolutely nowhere, the Dolphins found themselves on a winning streak by beating the Colts.

The upset victory came with Jacoby Brissett sitting out with a knee injury, forcing Brian Hoyer into the lineup. The replacement quarterback completed just 18 of his 39 passes and three interceptions to only one touchdown.

Another win for Miami isn’t great news for the tanking project, but the Dolphins are still in line for a top five pick.

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junker-town · 5 years

Text

Will the Patriots lose a game before the Dolphins win one? NFL fans weighed in

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Which will happen first? Fans weighed in via our weekly FanPulse survey.

The Patriots’ and Dolphins’ trajectories could not be more different at the midway point of the 2019 NFL season. The Patriots remain undefeated, and the Dolphins are still winless.

That raises an important question: Which of those things will change first?

The Patriots are ... well, they’re the Patriots. They’re the team everyone just assumes will be in the Super Bowl each season, and they’re usually correct. Bill Belichick is a real-life super-villain. Maybe there’s something to that whole avoiding strawberries thing because Tom Brady is ageless. And the Patriots defense leads the league with 19 interceptions. Honestly, it’s not even fair.

The Dolphins, on the other hand, are just a mess. They rank dead last in the league with just 11 points per game. The dynamic duo of Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen have thrown a total of six — SIX — touchdowns and 12 — TWELVE — interceptions over seven games. The Dolphins have traded away five starters — Laremy Tunsil and Kenny Stills to the Texans, Kiko Alonso to the Saints, Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Steelers, and Kenyan Drake to the Cardinals. Miami is embracing the tank, and it shows in that empty win column.

NFL fans participating in our weekly FanPulse survey think it’s more likely that the Patriots will lose a game before the Dolphins win a game. It’s hard to see any path toward a win for Miami, a team that has been outscored 237-77 this season.

Maybe it’s all the draft capital that the Dolphins acquired in trades this season, but Dolphins fans seem pretty unfazed by the team’s performance. A whopping 54 percent of Dolphins fans who responded to our Week 9 FanPulse survey said they’re confident in the direction of the team.

That’s much better than the other remaining winless team, the Bengals. Only 9 percent of Bengals fans said they’re confident in the direction of the team right now, but they may be more confident next week after the Bengals opted to bench starting quarterback Andy Dalton on his actual birthday.

When your team wins the Lombardi Trophy, or is in a position to win one, pretty much on an annual basis, that breeds confidence. So it seems about right that 90 percent of Patriots fans feel confident in the direction of the franchise right now.

There’s just one other unbeaten team standing in the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers, and 99 percent of Niners fans said they’re confident in the direction of the team. It’s hard to argue with San Francisco’s results.

Of course, the Patriots’ consistent success may be less automatic once Tom Brady does decide to call it a career. Pats Pulpit, SB Nation’s team brand covering the Patriots, polled fans this week about where they think Brady will be next year. Brady has said he hopes to play into his mid-40s, and most fans think he’ll still be behind center for the Pats next season.

Only 15 percent of respondents said Brady will be retired in 2020. One percent expects Brady to be playing for a different NFL team ... which is impossible to imagine.

If you’d like to participate in our weekly FanPulse survey, you can sign up here. Just select your favorite team, look for our emails on Mondays, and let your voice be heard!

0 notes

junker-town · 5 years

Text

How the Dolphins are tanking, in 3 steps

Dolphins quarterback Josh Rosen sacked by Ravens pass rusher Matthew Judon.

The Dolphins gutted their roster and now they are — surprise, surprise — a very bad football team.

The Miami Dolphins are awful.

While head coach Brian Flores continues to insist the team’s not tanking, there’s no way around it at this point. The Dolphins are bottoming out in a way that’s usually only seen in the NBA.

“The players believe that the coaching staff, despite claiming that they intend to try to win, aren’t serious about competing and winning,” the report said.

So how did the Dolphins get to this point? They followed a simple three-step process

Step 1: Gut the roster

Dec. 31, 2018: The best place to start is the day Adam Gase was fired as head coach of the Dolphins after a 7-9 season.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 31, 2019

He lasted just one game for the Dolphins before landing on injured reserve.

Howard summed up the state of the roster following the trade of Fitzpatrick in September

pic.twitter.com/wLbhtqqNv5

— Xavien Howard (@Iamxavienhoward) September 17, 2019

On the bright side for Howard, the first-round pick acquired from the Fitzpatrick trade is just one of the reasons why the roster around him could be upgraded massively.

Step 2: Stockpile cap space and draft picks

Altogether, the offseason moved the Dolphins to the top spot in salary cap space for the 2020 season. The team is due to carry only $6.9 million in dead money in 2020 and none in 2021.

It also owns the following picks in the next two drafts:

2020

1st round (Dolphins)

1st round (Texans)

1st round (Steelers)

2nd round (Dolphins)

2nd round (Saints)

3rd round (Dolphins)

5th round (Steelers)

6th round (Dolphins)

6th round (Cardinals)

6th round (Cowboys)

7th round (Dolphins)

2021

1st round (Dolphins)

1st round (Texans)

2nd round (Dolphins)

2nd round (Texans)

3rd round (Dolphins)

4th round (Dolphins)

5th round (Dolphins)

6th round (Steelers)

That draft capital and the Dolphins’ ample cap space was the point of the offseason teardown. It’ll be even better if they land the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Step 3: Lose a lot

There have only been two winless teams over the course of a 16-game schedule in NFL history: the 2008 Lions and the 2017 Browns. The Dolphins can look to both as a source of optimism.

Week 1 — Ravens 59, Dolphins 10

There are many ways to dice up the carnage of the blowout, but here are a few stats that put in context just how absolutely terrible the Dolphins were in their opener:

The Dolphins had a time of possession of 19:53. It was their first time having the ball for less than 20 minutes in a game in 14 years.

That’s a good ol’ fashioned steamrolling.

Week 2 — Patriots 43, Dolphins 0

Miami hung in the game longer than expected and trailed only 13-0 at halftime. The game busted open in the second half with the Patriots recording two pick-sixes in the fourth quarter.

Miami won’t have to worry about a similar fate ...at least when it comes to Fitzpatrick. The veteran was benched in favor of Josh Rosen the week following that shutout home loss to New England.

Week 3 — Cowboys 31, Dolphins 6

Like the week prior, the Dolphins kept the game close early. They trailed 10-6 at halftime before the Cowboys pulled away with three touchdowns in the second half.

Miami even threatened to take its first lead of the season at the end of the second quarter, but that was ruined by a Kenyan Drake fumble.

HELLO #HOTBOYZ @Thejaylonsmith forces the fumble & @tanklawrence recovers #MIAvsDAL | #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/HgCpqEh1zg

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 22, 2019

The Dolphins gave up 476 yards of total offense to the Cowboys and managed just 283 yards of their own.

Week 4 — Chargers 30, Dolphins 10

Los Angeles turned on the jets in the second half, though. The Chargers scored 20 unanswered points and Rosen’s solid day of work was undermined by a baffling interception.

first career pick ✊ pic.twitter.com/INAa3IIig4

— Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) September 29, 2019

The Dolphins lost their first four games by a combined 137 points, the worst for any team since 1950.

Week 6 — Washington 17, Dolphins 16

The Dolphins two point conversion to win, did not succeed pic.twitter.com/gXSIgdd0p0

— Vikings Blogger (@firstandskol) October 13, 2019

Drake may not have made it in even if he caught the pass. Either way, in the long run, the drop was probably a good thing for the Dolphins.

Week 7 — Bills 27, Dolphins 17

That was the first of three fourth quarter touchdowns for the Bills, who won despite losing in the stat books to the Dolphins.

Miami had 381 yards while Buffalo had 301. The Dolphins also won in first downs (24 to 17) and time of possession (33:31 to 26:29). Still, they fell to 0-6 with the loss.

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junker-town · 5 years

Text

6 NFL teams that should have a fire sale at the trade deadline

Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

The Dolphins aren’t the only ones that should tank the rest of the 2019 season. Here’s a look at the other teams likely to be sellers and which players they could trade away.

There are usually two distinct groups when the NFL trade deadline arrives.

Buyers believe only a few tweaks need to be made to set up a Super Bowl run. Sometimes it’s a fringe playoff team hunting for a missing piece, like the Cowboys trading for receiver Amari Cooper in 2018. Other times, it’s an elite team going all-in on its championship run — like the Rams adding pass rusher Dante Fowler Jr. en route to a Super Bowl 53 appearance.

The sellers are a much smaller bunch. There aren’t many franchises that decide that competing for a spot in the playoffs is no longer realistic before the end of October. Fortunately for the long list of potential buyers, there are several putrid teams in 2019 that might be willing to part with a top player.

With the deadline coming Oct. 29, here are six teams that could be ready to trade players away, ranked by how likely they are to be sellers.

6. Washington (1-6)

Washington is easily one of the worst teams in the NFL — its only win this season came when it edged the hapless Dolphins, 17-16. But the comments made by team president Bruce Allen after he fired head coach Jay Gruden suggest he doesn’t realize it.

Like this gem about a team that’s averaging 12.9 points per game:

Bruce Allen: “the pieces are here for a winning team.”

— John Keim (@john_keim) October 7, 2019

If Allen still believes that, he may turn down trade requests due to his belief that Washington can still compete for a playoff berth. If he’s smart enough to realize that’s not happening, there are a few players on the roster who could be moved to free up cap space and give Washington extra picks in 2020.

Potential trade bait

Trent Williams, OT: Trade him already! The seven-time Pro Bowler has made it abundantly clear he’s no longer interested in playing in Washington and hasn’t shown up all season. For some reason, the team is turning away all interested callers and telling them to check back in the offseason about a trade for Williams. That’ll probably just lower his value, but maybe someone can make an offer Washington finally won’t refuse. It’s not easy to find a good left tackle and Washington can get a sizable haul.

Ryan Kerrigan, LB: While he’s five sacks away from becoming the franchise’s all-time leader in the category, Kerrigan may be showing signs of slowing down. He has just two sacks through seven games in 2019. The four-time Pro Bowler is set to count $11.75 million against the salary cap in 2020 and then hit free agency in 2021. Washington could anoint Montez Sweat as the future of the pass rush by moving Kerrigan.

Josh Norman, CB: Norman has been a liability in coverage in recent years. He’s already given up five touchdowns in 2019 and quarterbacks have a 134.2 passer rating when they throw his direction. So if any team thinks it has a chance to get the 2015 All-Pro version of Norman, Washington should take the deal without thinking twice. Considering he’s through the guaranteed portion of his contract, it wouldn’t be that weird if a team rolled the dice.

5. Denver Broncos (2-5)

Back-to-back wins after an 0-4 start made the Broncos look a little less terrible. However, a 30-6 loss in Week 7 to the Chiefs — who had Matt Moore at quarterback for more than half the game — should’ve hammered home the fact that Denver’s not a contender this year.

If the Broncos decide the playoffs are an unrealistic goal in 2019, they should trade away players who aren’t long-term pieces.

Potential trade bait

Emmanuel Sanders, WR: The two-time Pro Bowler is still a good player, but he’s 32 and set to become a free agent in the offseason. He probably won’t be re-signed by a team that needs an offensive overhaul, and that means a trade makes sense. Even he seems to know it. Sanders tweeted out a GIF of himself looking thoughtful after a report from ESPN said the Broncos are getting calls about the receiver.

Chris Harris, CB: Like Sanders, Harris is set to reach free agency in the offseason and he’s on the wrong side of 30 years old. There are plenty of contenders that would love to have Harris in their secondary for the remainder of the season. If the Broncos don’t plan to bring back Harris in 2020, now would be a good time to get a draft pick.

Von Miller, LB: Yes, it’s a long shot. He now has more than 100 career sacks for Denver and is the kind of cornerstone player a team never wants to trade. Here’s why it could still happen, though: Miller is due to count over $25 million against the Broncos’ salary cap next year. That’s a ton of money for a player who just turned 30 and only has 2.5 sacks through seven games in 2019. Denver would want a lot in return, but if the price is right, it could be time for Bradley Chubb to lead the Broncos pass rush moving forward.

4. Cincinnati Bengals (0-7)

The Bengals are the only team averaging less than three yards per rushing attempt, and they’re dead last in rushing yards allowed per attempt. Andy Dalton’s time as the starter in Cincinnati is presumably done after this season too. Now is the time to start worrying about the future instead of the present.

Luckily for the Bengals, their salary cap is already in pretty good shape. They’ve got about $60 million in projected space, and Dalton is the largest cap commitment in 2020 at $17.7 million.

Potential trade bait

A.J. Green, WR: The Bengals insist Green isn’t on the block, but that hasn’t stopped speculation that a deal could happen. He’s 31 and his contract will expire in the offseason. That means Cincinnati is set to have a tricky negotiation with a receiver who has now missed 20 games due to injury since the beginning of the 2016 season. If a receiver-needy team comes calling for Green — which may be unlikely because of his ankle injury — Cincinnati might be better off taking a draft pick instead of keeping an aging and oft-injured star.

Carlos Dunlap, DE: Dunlap’s streak of six straight seasons with at least 7.5 sacks could be coming to an end. The 30-year-old defensive end has just one sack in 2019 and has missed a couple games due to a knee injury. Although Dunlap’s best days are seemingly behind him, he can still be a plug-and-play starter who could contribute to a team in need of defensive line help.

Tyler Eifert, TE: Second-round rookie Drew Sample is the Bengals’ tight end of the future. Eifert no longer looks like the player who caught 13 touchdowns during a Pro Bowl season in 2015. He’s getting phased out of the Bengals’ offense and likely won’t be on the team in 2019. If there’s a buyer out there that thinks they can turn Eifert back into a 6’6 touchdown-grabbing machine, then Cincinnati would be silly not to make the deal.

3. New York Jets (1-5)

Mike Maccagnan was fired as the Jets’ general manager in May. The timing was curious, because it came after New York allowed the executive to dish out well over $100 million in guaranteed money in free agency in March and make draft picks for the franchise in April.

That leaves current GM Joe Douglas with a roster almost completely filled with players he didn’t acquire.

So don’t expect the Jets to be sentimental about their recent acquisitions. They don’t have much cap space to work with in 2020, and Douglas could try to rid himself of a few of the cumbersome contracts that Maccagnan dished out.

That especially makes sense after a 33-0 beatdown from the Patriots showed Sam Darnold isn’t the miracle elixir who can fix the Jets on his own.

Potential trade bait

Leonard Williams, DL: The addition of Quinnen Williams may have punched Leonard Williams’ ticket out of New York. Leonard Williams is playing on a fifth-year option and hasn’t done much of anything in 2019. Six games into the season, he is still searching for his first sack of the year. It seems more likely than not that he’ll hit free agency in the offseason, so the Jets could get a jump on his value and trade him now.

Jamison Crowder, WR: The former Washington receiver signed a three-year, $28.5 million contract with the Jets in March. Even though he had a 14-reception day in Week 1, he hasn’t been all that productive since. With a $10.5 million cap hit on the way in 2020, the Jets could undo one of the free agency moves they made this year by shipping Crowder to one of the many teams looking for receiver help.

Le’Veon Bell, RB: Yes, it’d be a wild move. It’s not that far-fetched, though. Jets coach Adam Gase reportedly didn’t want the team to spend big to acquire Bell and if Douglas feels the same way, the running back could end up on the block. He’s due to be one of the Jets’ largest salary cap anchors for the next three seasons, but the team can recoup some of that space by trading Bell.

2. Miami Dolphins (0-6)

Of course the Dolphins are going to be ready for a fire sale at the trade deadline. They’ve already been in full-fledged tank mode for months.

In 2019, Miami has traded Ryan Tannehill, Robert Quinn, Laremy Tunsil, Kenny Stills, and Minkah Fitzpatrick. The Dolphins are clearly willing to swap veterans for draft picks and probably wouldn’t hesitate to do it again if the price is right.

The real question is how many players are left on the roster that are tradable?

Potential trade bait

Kenyan Drake, RB: There are already reports that the Dolphins are receiving calls from teams about the running back. Drake had 1,012 yards from scrimmage and nine touchdowns during the 2018 season. While he’s struggled so far in 2019, that’s understandable considering his supporting cast. If the Dolphins don’t plan to re-sign Drake in the offseason before he reaches free agency, it’d make sense to snag another draft pick.

Reshad Jones, S: The 10th-year safety signed a five-year, $60 million extension in 2017, but now he’s a high-priced veteran who turns 32 in February. He’s still playing relatively well, which is exactly the type of player that the Dolphins have parted ways with all year.

Josh Rosen, QB: This is the least likely of the candidates, though there’s some logic. The Dolphins traded a second-round pick for Rosen and gave him the reins early in the season. Unsurprisingly, he floundered with just one touchdown and five interceptions in an offense that’s a disaster. Now Ryan Fitzpatrick is starting again and Rosen’s on the bench. If Miami thinks he’s a long-term fixture, then keep him. The much more probable scenario is that the Dolphins plan to draft a quarterback early in 2020. So why not pass Rosen along if another team decides he’s worth developing?

1. Atlanta Falcons (1-6)

There’s not much reason to be optimistic about the Falcons. The defense is 31st in the league in both points allowed and takeaways. Atlanta is averaging just 3.7 yards per rushing attempt, while Matt Ryan is third in the NFL in interceptions with eight.

Even when Ryan was just about perfect against the Cardinals in Week 6 with four touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 144.9 passer rating, the Falcons still lost because of their awful defense.

Now Atlanta’s 1-6 and, somehow, there are even more dark clouds on the horizon. The Falcons are headed straight toward salary cap hell:

Matt Ryan and Julio Jones will consume 27% of the Falcons cap in 2020. Add Jake Matthews, Grady Jarrett, and Desmond Trufant, Top 5 will consume 50.6%. Add Alex Mack, Deion Jones, Devonta Freeman, Mo Sanu, and Ricardo Allen, Top 10 will cost 73.6%. Good luck.

— Zack Moore (@ZackMooreNFL) October 20, 2019

Some contract restructures could help, but the Falcons are going to need to make moves to find some wiggle room. Since a playoff run isn’t going to happen, that means it’s time to deal players who won’t be around for the long haul.

Potential trade bait

Vic Beasley, DE: The former first-round pick hasn’t done much since his 15.5-sack explosion in 2016. He had 10 sacks in the last two seasons combined. He’s due to become a free agent in March and it’s more likely than not that he’ll be moved before the deadline, considering Beasley has been informed by the team that he’s on the block.

Mohamed Sanu, WR: The veteran is set to count $7.9 million against the cap in 2020, but his stats doesn’t quite match that number. He’s averaging 44.7 yards per game and he has a career-worst 9.5 yards per reception. With Calvin Ridley looking more than ready to be the No. 2 wideout across from Julio Jones, Sanu could fetch a pick from a team needing a receiving boost.

Desmond Trufant, CB: He’s one of five Falcons players with at least a $15 million cap hit in 2020. Trufant’s been a good-not-great cover corner for Atlanta and that’s the kind of player who might need to get trimmed from this roster.

Devonta Freeman, RB: Only four running backs — Ezekiel Elliott, Todd Gurley, Le’Veon Bell, and David Johnson — have a higher average salary than Freeman. It’s been a while since he played up to that contract. His production dipped a bit in 2017 and then he missed all but two games in 2018 due to knee and groin injuries. This season, he’s averaging 3.5 yards per carry and still doesn’t have a rushing touchdown after seven games. If the Falcons get a chance to offload his $9.5 million 2020 cap hit, they should take it.

0 notes

junker-town · 5 years

Text

How the Dolphins are tanking, in 3 steps

Dolphins quarterback Josh Rosen sacked by Ravens pass rusher Matthew Judon.

The Dolphins gutted their roster and now they are — surprise, surprise — a very bad football team.

The Miami Dolphins are awful.

While head coach Brian Flores continues to insist the team’s not tanking, there’s no way around it at this point. The Dolphins are bottoming out in a way that’s usually only seen in the NBA.

“The players believe that the coaching staff, despite claiming that they intend to try to win, aren’t serious about competing and winning,” the report said.

So how did the Dolphins get to this point? They followed a simple three-step process

Step 1: Gut the roster

Dec. 31, 2018: The best place to start is the day Adam Gase was fired as head coach of the Dolphins after a 7-9 season.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 31, 2019

He lasted just one game for the Dolphins before landing on injured reserve.

Howard summed up the state of the roster following the trade

pic.twitter.com/wLbhtqqNv5

— Xavien Howard (@Iamxavienhoward) September 17, 2019

On the bright side for Howard, the first-round pick acquired from the Fitzpatrick trade is just one of the reasons why the roster around him could be upgraded massively.

Step 2: Stockpile cap space and draft picks

Altogether, the offseason moved the Dolphins to the top spot in salary cap space for the 2020 season. The team is due to carry only $6.9 million in dead money in 2020 and none in 2021.

It also owns the following picks in the next two drafts:

2020

1st round (Dolphins)

1st round (Texans)

1st round (Steelers)

2nd round (Dolphins)

2nd round (Saints)

3rd round (Dolphins)

5th round (Steelers)

6th round (Dolphins)

6th round (Cowboys)

7th round (Dolphins)

2021

1st round (Dolphins)

1st round (Texans)

2nd round (Dolphins)

2nd round (Texans)

3rd round (Dolphins)

4th round (Dolphins)

5th round (Dolphins)

6th round (Steelers)

That draft capital and the Dolphins’ ample cap space was the point of the offseason teardown. It’ll be even better if they land the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Step 3: Lose a lot

There have only been two winless teams over the course of a 16-game schedule in NFL history: the 2008 Lions and the 2017 Browns. The Dolphins can look to both as a source of optimism.

Week 1 — Ravens 59, Dolphins 10

There are many ways to dice up the carnage of the blowout, but here are a few stats that put in context just how absolutely terrible the Dolphins were in their opener:

The Dolphins had a time of possession of 19:53. It was their first time having the ball for less than 20 minutes in a game in 14 years.

That’s a good ol’ fashioned steamrolling.

Week 2 — Patriots 43, Dolphins 0

Miami hung in the game longer than expected and trailed only 13-0 at halftime. The game busted open in the second half with the Patriots recording two pick-sixes in the fourth quarter.

Miami won’t have to worry about a similar fate ...at least when it comes to Fitzpatrick. The veteran was benched in favor of Josh Rosen the week following that shutout home loss to New England.

Week 3 — Cowboys 31, Dolphins 6

Like the week prior, the Dolphins kept the game close early. They trailed 10-6 at halftime before the Cowboys pulled away with three touchdowns in the second half.

Miami even threatened to take its first lead of the season at the end of the second quarter, but that was ruined by a Kenyan Drake fumble.

HELLO #HOTBOYZ @Thejaylonsmith forces the fumble & @tanklawrence recovers #MIAvsDAL | #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/HgCpqEh1zg

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 22, 2019

The Dolphins gave up 476 yards of total offense to the Cowboys and managed just 283 yards of their own.

Week 4 — Chargers 30, Dolphins 10

Los Angeles turned on the jets in the second half, though. The Chargers scored 20 unanswered points and Rosen’s solid day of work was undermined by a baffling interception.

first career pick ✊ pic.twitter.com/INAa3IIig4

— Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) September 29, 2019

The Dolphins lost their first four games by a combined 137 points, the worst for any team since 1950.

Week 6 — Washington 17, Dolphins 16

The Dolphins two point conversion to win, did not succeed pic.twitter.com/gXSIgdd0p0

— Vikings Blogger (@firstandskol) October 13, 2019

Drake may not have made it in even if he caught the pass. Either way, in the long run, the drop was probably a good thing for the Dolphins.

Week 7 — Bills 27, Dolphins 17

That was the first of three fourth quarter touchdowns for the Bills, who won despite losing in the stat books to the Dolphins.

Miami had 381 yards while Buffalo had 301. The Dolphins also won in first downs (24 to 17) and time of possession (33:31 to 26:29). Still, they fell to 0-6 with the loss.

0 notes

junker-town · 5 years

Text

How the Dolphins are tanking, in 3 steps

Dolphins quarterback Josh Rosen sacked by Ravens pass rusher Matthew Judon.

The Dolphins gutted their roster and now they are — surprise, surprise — a very bad football team.

The Miami Dolphins are awful.

While head coach Brian Flores continues to insist the team’s not tanking, there’s no way around it at this point. The Dolphins are bottoming out in a way that’s usually only seen in the NBA.

“The players believe that the coaching staff, despite claiming that they intend to try to win, aren’t serious about competing and winning,” the report said.

So how did the Dolphins get to this point? They followed a simple three-step process

Step 1: Gut the roster

Dec. 31, 2018: The best place to start is the day Adam Gase was fired as head coach of the Dolphins after a 7-9 season.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 31, 2019

He lasted just one game for the Dolphins before landing on injured reserve.

Howard summed up the state of the roster following the trade

pic.twitter.com/wLbhtqqNv5

— Xavien Howard (@Iamxavienhoward) September 17, 2019

On the bright side for Howard, the first-round pick acquired from the Fitzpatrick trade is just one of the reasons why the roster around him could be upgraded massively.

Step 2: Stockpile cap space and draft picks

Altogether, the offseason moved the Dolphins to the top spot in salary cap space for the 2020 season. The team is due to carry only $6.9 million in dead money in 2020 and none in 2021.

It also owns the following picks in the next two drafts:

2020

1st round (Dolphins)

1st round (Texans)

1st round (Steelers)

2nd round (Dolphins)

2nd round (Saints)

3rd round (Dolphins)

5th round (Steelers)

6th round (Dolphins)

6th round (Cowboys)

7th round (Dolphins)

2021

1st round (Dolphins)

1st round (Texans)

2nd round (Dolphins)

2nd round (Texans)

3rd round (Dolphins)

4th round (Dolphins)

5th round (Dolphins)

6th round (Steelers)

That draft capital and the Dolphins’ ample cap space was the point of the offseason teardown. It’ll be even better if they land the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Step 3: Lose a lot

There have only been two winless teams over the course of a 16-game schedule in NFL history: the 2008 Lions and the 2017 Browns. The Dolphins can look to both as a source of optimism.

Week 1 — Ravens 59, Dolphins 10

There are many ways to dice up the carnage of the blowout, but here are a few stats that put in context just how absolutely terrible the Dolphins were in their opener:

The Dolphins had a time of possession of 19:53. It was their first time having the ball for less than 20 minutes in a game in 14 years.

That’s a good ol’ fashioned steamrolling.

Week 2 — Patriots 43, Dolphins 0

Miami hung in the game longer than expected and trailed only 13-0 at halftime. The game busted open in the second half with the Patriots recording two pick-sixes in the fourth quarter.

Miami won’t have to worry about a similar fate ...at least when it comes to Fitzpatrick. The veteran was benched in favor of Josh Rosen the week following that shutout home loss to New England.

Week 3 — Cowboys 31, Dolphins 6

Like the week prior, the Dolphins kept the game close early. They trailed 10-6 at halftime before the Cowboys pulled away with three touchdowns in the second half.

Miami even threatened to take its first lead of the season at the end of the second quarter, but that was ruined by a Kenyan Drake fumble.

HELLO #HOTBOYZ @Thejaylonsmith forces the fumble & @tanklawrence recovers #MIAvsDAL | #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/HgCpqEh1zg

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 22, 2019

The Dolphins gave up 476 yards of total offense to the Cowboys and managed just 283 yards of their own.

Week 4 — Chargers 30, Dolphins 10

Los Angeles turned on the jets in the second half, though. The Chargers scored 20 unanswered points and Rosen’s solid day of work was undermined by a baffling interception.

first career pick ✊ pic.twitter.com/INAa3IIig4

— Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) September 29, 2019

The Dolphins lost their first four games by a combined 137 points, the worst for any team since 1950.

Week 6 — Washington 17, Dolphins 16

In the long run, Drake’s drop was probably a good thing for the Dolphins.

0 notes

junker-town · 5 years

Text

How the Dolphins are tanking, in 3 steps

Dolphins quarterback Josh Rosen sacked by Ravens pass rusher Matthew Judon.

The Dolphins gutted their roster and now they are — surprise, surprise — a very bad football team.

The Miami Dolphins are awful.

While head coach Brian Flores continues to insist the team’s not tanking, there’s no way around it at this point. The Dolphins are bottoming out in a way that’s usually only seen in the NBA.

“The players believe that the coaching staff, despite claiming that they intend to try to win, aren’t serious about competing and winning,” the report said.

So how did the Dolphins get to this point? They followed a simple three-step process

Step 1: Gut the roster

Dec. 31, 2018: The best place to start is the day Adam Gase was fired as head coach of the Dolphins after a 7-9 season.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 31, 2019

He lasted just one game for the Dolphins before landing on injured reserve.

Howard summed up the state of the roster following the trade

pic.twitter.com/wLbhtqqNv5

— Xavien Howard (@Iamxavienhoward) September 17, 2019

On the bright side for Howard, the first-round pick acquired from the Fitzpatrick trade is just one of the reasons why the roster around him could be upgraded massively.

Step 2: Stockpile cap space and draft picks

Altogether, the offseason moved the Dolphins to the top spot in salary cap space for the 2020 season. The team is due to carry only $6.9 million in dead money in 2020 and none in 2021.

It also owns the following picks in the next two drafts:

2020

1st round (Dolphins)

1st round (Texans)

1st round (Steelers)

2nd round (Dolphins)

2nd round (Saints)

3rd round (Dolphins)

5th round (Steelers)

6th round (Dolphins)

6th round (Cowboys)

7th round (Dolphins)

2021

1st round (Dolphins)

1st round (Texans)

2nd round (Dolphins)

2nd round (Texans)

3rd round (Dolphins)

4th round (Dolphins)

5th round (Dolphins)

6th round (Steelers)

That draft capital and the Dolphins’ ample cap space was the point of the offseason teardown. It’ll be even better if they land the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Step 3: Lose a lot

There have only been two winless teams over the course of a 16-game schedule in NFL history: the 2008 Lions and the 2017 Browns. The Dolphins can look to both as a source of optimism.

Week 1 — Ravens 59, Dolphins 10

There are many ways to dice up the carnage of the blowout, but here are a few stats that put in context just how absolutely terrible the Dolphins were in their opener:

The Dolphins had a time of possession of 19:53. It was their first time having the ball for less than 20 minutes in a game in 14 years.

That’s a good ol’ fashioned steamrolling.

Week 2 — Patriots 43, Dolphins 0

Miami hung in the game longer than expected and trailed only 13-0 at halftime. The game busted open in the second half with the Patriots recording two pick-sixes in the fourth quarter.

Miami won’t have to worry about a similar fate ...at least when it comes to Fitzpatrick. The veteran was benched in favor of Josh Rosen the week following that shutout home loss to New England.

Week 3 — Cowboys 31, Dolphins 6

Like the week prior, the Dolphins kept the game close early. They trailed 10-6 at halftime before the Cowboys pulled away with three touchdowns in the second half.

Miami even threatened to take its first lead of the season at the end of the second quarter, but that was ruined by a Kenyan Drake fumble.

HELLO #HOTBOYZ @Thejaylonsmith forces the fumble & @tanklawrence recovers #MIAvsDAL | #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/HgCpqEh1zg

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 22, 2019

The Dolphins gave up 476 yards of total offense to the Cowboys and managed just 283 yards of their own.

Week 4 — Chargers 30, Dolphins 10

Los Angeles turned on the jets in the second half, though. The Chargers scored 20 unanswered points and Rosen’s solid day of work was undermined by a baffling interception.

first career pick ✊ pic.twitter.com/INAa3IIig4

— Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) September 29, 2019

The Dolphins lost their first four games by a combined 137 points, the worst for any team since 1950.

0 notes

junker-town · 5 years

Text

How the Dolphins are tanking, in 3 steps

Dolphins quarterback Josh Rosen sacked by Ravens pass rusher Matthew Judon

The Dolphins gutted their roster and now they are — surprise, surprise — a very bad football team.

The Miami Dolphins are awful.

While head coach Brian Flores continues to insist the team’s not tanking, there’s no way around it at this point. The Dolphins are bottoming out in a way that’s usually only seen in the NBA.

“The players believe that the coaching staff, despite claiming that they intend to try to win, aren’t serious about competing and winning,” the report said.

So how did the Dolphins get to this point? They followed a simple three-step process

Step 1: Gut the roster

Dec. 31, 2018: The best place to start is the day Adam Gase was fired as head coach of the Dolphins after a 7-9 season.

March 28, 2019: Pass rusher Robert Quinn, who was came over in a trade from the Rams in March 2018, was sent to the Cowboys for a 2020 sixth-round pick. He led Miami in sacks during the 2018 season with 6.5. The trade saved the Dolphins close to $12 million in cap space and stuck them with only around $1.1 million in dead money.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 31, 2019

Following the trade, Julie’n Davenport was slotted in as the Dolphins’ new starting right tackle. No offensive lineman in the NFL allowed more quarterback hits (14) in 2018 or drew more penalties (16) than Davenport.

He lasted just one game for the Dolphins before landing on injured reserve.

Sept. 12, 2019: Less than a week after Pro Football Talk’s report that several players wanted out of Miami, the team allowed 2018 first-round pick Minkah Fitzpatrick to pursue a trade.

Step 2: Stockpile cap space and draft picks

Altogether, the offseason moved the Dolphins to the top spot in salary cap space for the 2020 season. The team is due to carry only $6.9 million in dead money in 2020 and none in 2021.

It also owns the following picks in the next two drafts:

2020

1st round (Dolphins)

1st round (Texans)

2nd round (Dolphins)

2nd round (Saints)

3rd round (Dolphins)

4th round (Titans)

6th round (Dolphins)

6th round (Cowboys)

7th round (Dolphins)

2021

1st round (Dolphins)

1st round (Texans)

2nd round (Dolphins)

2nd round (Texans)

3rd round (Dolphins)

4th round (Dolphins)

5th round (Dolphins)

7th round (Dolphins)

That draft capital and the Dolphins’ ample cap space was the point of the offseason teardown. It’ll be even better if they land the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Step 3: Lose a lot

There have only been two winless teams over the course of a 16-game schedule in NFL history: the 2008 Lions and the 2017 Browns. The Dolphins can look to both as a source of optimism.

Week 1 — Ravens 59, Dolphins 10

There are many ways to dice up the carnage of that blowout, but here are a few stats that put in context just how absolutely terrible the Dolphins were in their opener:

The Dolphins had a time of possession of 19:53. It was their first time having the ball for less than 20 minutes in a game in 14 years.

That’s a good ol’ fashioned steamrolling.

0 notes

junker-town · 5 years

Text

7 familiar names (and more!) on the NFL roster bubble

Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Carlos Hyde, T.J. Yeldon, and other players who weren’t Jaguars last season.

NFL teams have several tough decisions to make heading into the final weekend of the offseason. Rosters will be sliced from 90 to 53 players in advance of the regular season, leaving large swaths of gridiron hopefuls looking for jobs. Many of these players will be young, overmatched, and undrafted camp bodies. Some will be veterans who were once Pro Bowlers, fantasy mainstays, and longtime starters.

The Patriots already got a head start on the process by releasing Mike Pennel, a useful defensive lineman they’d signed away from the Jets with a two-year, $5 million contract in March. T.J. McDonald had started 75 games in his six seasons as a pro, including 14 last fall with the Dolphins. That wasn’t enough to keep the safety in camp through August in Miami. Semi-notable young players like Josh Jones, D’Onta Foreman, and Kevin White were all served their walking papers before they could finish the preseason slate.

These releases ranged from mildly surprising to predictable, but the action will ramp up with final cuts looming. So which well-known veterans could be changing addresses — or wrapping up their careers — when teams finalize their rosters?

Carlos Hyde, RB, Chiefs

Kansas City signed Hyde to help ease the pain of Kareem Hunt’s release, but the five-veteran has made little impact so far. Fresh off a season in which he averaged only 3.3 yards per carry, Hyde has struggled to earn reps in the Chiefs’ high-impact offense.

Hyde looks like a near-certain casualty of final roster cuts. He’s no longer practicing with the first-team offense and has just eight carries through three preseason games — while averaging a consistent 3.3 yards per touch.

His production has fallen off significantly the past two years as he’s developed from a potential breakthrough tailback to an unreliable space-filler. He had 59 receptions in 2017 to help establish himself as part of the 49ers’ passing game, but that number fell to only 10 in 14 games last season between the Browns and Jaguars — for an inefficient 33 yards. That trend has continued this summer; he hasn’t earned a single target this preseason.

Potential landing spot: Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers need warm bodies in the backfield, and Hyde could be a useful short-term replacement while the club hopes Ronald Jones can find his groove. It’s very possible Hyde’s days as an active roster participant are behind him, though.

T.J. Yeldon, RB, Bills

Yeldon is another former Jacksonville back who could be looking for a new home. He never quite followed up on a promising rookie campaign, but his ability to contribute as both a runner and receiver made the now 25-year-old a versatile tool for Jaguars offenses that ranged from competent to awful.

Unfortunately for him, he may not get the chance to prove he can level up outside of Florida. The Bills have plenty of talent and big names in their backfield for 2019, starting with LeSean McCoy and Frank Gore. While McCoy entered the offseason as a potential cut candidate, general manager Brandon Beane has reassured the press the back will be with the team for the regular season. The ageless Gore has remained effective through the preseason (6.4 yards per carry). Throw in rookie third-round pick Devin Singletary (66 rushing touchdowns in three seasons at Florida Atlantic) and you can see how Yeldon gets squeezed out of Orchard Park and onto the open market.

Potential landing spot: Houston. The Texans have a gaping hole in their backfield after Lamar Miller’s ACL injury. Yeldon could be the most sought-after runner on the September market. Houston would give him the greatest opportunity to rebuild his value as a tailback.

Laquon Treadwell, WR, Vikings

Minnesota has been trying to move away from its disappointing young wideout the past couple years. The Vikings have previously searched for trade partners for the former first-round pick, but haven’t been able to find a buyer for a receiver with just 56 receptions in three NFL seasons. They can still try to recoup some value for Treadwell, though a conditional seventh-round pick may be the best for which they can hope.

It’s more likely the club cuts its losses with a pending 2020 free agent who may not be able to crack the top four of its wideout rotation in 2019. Treadwell has scored only one touchdown in his three seasons as a pro. His longest play only sprang for 25 yards.

Potential landing spot: Seattle. The Seahawks need wideouts. Doug Baldwin retired. D.K. Metcalf is fighting off a knee injury. David Moore is fighting through a broken arm. Taking a flier on a reclamation project makes sense for Pete Carroll. The opportunity to catch passes from one of the league’s most consistent QBs would make this an enticing destination for Treadwell, too.

DeShone Kizer, QB, Packers

Kizer was thrown to the wolves in a 22-interception rookie season with Cleveland in 2017. A change of scenery after a 2018 trade to Green Bay has failed to jumpstart his career. The former second-round pick struggled mightily in relief of Aaron Rogers last season, completing only 47 percent of his passes while getting sacked on nearly nine percent of his dropbacks.

He could lose his understudy role to undrafted free agent Tim Boyle. Boyle wasn’t much in college — he wrapped up his career with a 11:13 TD:INT ratio at Eastern Kentucky — but has been one of the Packers’ top performers this preseason. More tellingly, he was the player head coach Matt LaFleur turned to when he needed a starter to replace Aaron Rodgers on an 80-yard field for a Week 3 exhibition in Winnipeg. Boyle showed out that evening, throwing for 191 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Kizer, comparatively, threw only seven passes for 24 yards ... and an interception.

Potential landing spot: Indianapolis. The Colts have a sudden need for quarterback help, and it’s gotten to the point where they’ve introduced Brock Osweiler into their search. Kizer may be actively worse than Osweiler at the moment, but his arguably higher ceiling could make him an option for a team that needs to develop a franchise passer all over again.

Paxton Lynch, QB, Seahawks

Lynch is in a similar position as Kizer; a onetime valued prospect who risks being the third man in a two-person QB room. The former Broncos starter is battling Geno Smith for the opportunity to back up Russell Wilson this fall, but has failed to separate himself from his competition. In two preseason games so far he’s averaged only 5.9 yards per pass attempt.

He didn’t play at all in Seattle’s preseason Week 3 win over the Chargers. Instead, he watched as Wilson and then Smith handled the team’s offense in a game many teams consider their “dress rehearsal” before the regular season.

Potential landing spot: Dallas. Jerry Jones loved Lynch before the 2016 NFL Draft. If nothing else, pushing Lynch into a competition with Cooper Rush for backup duties would sound like the most Arlington suburbs position battle of all time.

Duke Dawson, CB, and Obi Melifonwu, S, Patriots

Dawson and Melifonwu aren’t household names and haven’t been in the league long, but each was seemingly destined for bigger things not long ago. Melifonwu, a 2017 second-round pick for the Raiders, hasn’t been able to turn his otherworldly athleticism into a consistent role in the NFL. While he played a minor role in the Pats’ Super Bowl run after being released by Jon Gruden, his inability to grasp complex coverage schemes could outweigh his special teams value for the Pats.

Dawson’s tenure in New England may come and go without playing a single regular season snap. Bill Belichick invested the 56th pick of the 2018 draft on the slot cornerback, only to see him miss his rookie season due to injury. He hasn’t been able to keep up with the Patriots’ starters this preseason, and while he’s been trending upward recently he may not have the repertoire needed to crack a deep defensive back rotation in his second year.

The Patriots also have another semi-big name who could end up on the market. Brian Hoyer has been Bill Belichick’s preferred backup for a significant chunk of his pro career, and he could lose his job to rookie fourth-round pick Jarrett Stidham. The former Auburn and Baylor signal caller has been one of the preseason’s top passers — but he may need more experience before Belichick trusts him to play understudy to a 42-year-old stalwart.

Potential landing spot: Buffalo for Melifonwu, New York for Dawson. The Bills and Jets have been happy to scoop up Patriots’ draft busts in recent years, adding players like Conor McDermott (Bills, 2017) and Antonio Garcia (Jets, 2018) to their offseason rosters.

The Bills have a solid backline defense with Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, but have room to add a high-upside project like Melifonwu. Dawson could fight for a spot on an unsettled cornerback depth chart in New York.

Approximately 60 percent of the Dolphins roster

Miami’s in the midst of a rebuild, leaving their depth chart in a greater state of flux than anyone else in the league. We’ve already seen general manager Chris Grier be proactive with his decisions. He cut presumptive starters like McDonald, Akeem Spence, and Jordan Mills between his third and fourth preseason game, leaving a handful of empty lockers waiting to be filled by rising prospects. With the team focused on youth, almost every tenured and semi-expensive option on the roster is vulnerable.

Based on a combination of potential, production, and dead cap space investment, only about 15 players are rock-solid locks to make the Dolphins’ roster in 2019. That includes building blocks like Xavien Howard, Reshad Jones, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Christian Wilkins alongside role-filling veterans like Albert Wilson, Jakeem Grant, and Ryan Fitzpatrick.

So if you’re a veteran role player taking up a spot that could be filled by a higher-ceiling, lower-cost prospect, you may not be long for South Florida. Linebackers Raekwon McMillan and Kiko Alonso could each be looking for new homes this September. Same with oft-disappointing wideout DeVante Parker — though his release would only save around $300,000 in cap space — and his depth chart mate Kenny Stills, whose activism and declining production may have pushed him to the roster bubble.

A pink slip could be a blessing, though. This year’s Miami team will be trusting the process all the way to the top of the 2020 NFL Draft order.

Possible landing spots: Pretty much anywhere. The Dolphins aren’t likely to cut any superstars or sure-fire starters on other teams, but Miami could throw off some useful depth as it discards ballast headed into the season. Players who escape the Dolphins’ foundering ship could find themselves on a contender this winter.

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