Dolphins draft 2008:  Ranking the defensive needs

By Joe Mayes  |   Wednesday, April 23, 2008  |  Comments( 5 )

Miami Dolphins
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When Bill Parcells took the job of Dolphins executive vice president of football operations back in December, he inherited a defense that finished the 2007 season ranked 23rd in the NFL in total yardage, 30th in scoring, and dead last (32nd) against the run. So it goes without saying that as he approaches his first draft with the Dolphins, there are numerous defensive holes to fill.

The good news is that Miami's pass defense finished the year ranked fourth in the league, though that is somewhat misleading. Teams ran for more than 150 yards per game against the Dolphins, meaning they didn’t need to pass. There are areas of improvement in the defensive backfield, but the obvious focus in the draft will be on the front seven.

As in yesterday’s column, using a 1-10 scale based on the four factors of 1) importance of the position, 2) 2007 performance, 3) offseason moves, and 4) level of uncertainty, here are the team's defensive areas of need as it approaches the draft:

DEFENSIVE END – 10: The Dolphins certainly need to add proven ends to whatever defensive alignment they go with. While head coach Tony Sparano has said that the team would like to install a true 3-4 defense, he maintains that the system will depend on the players. There are still widespread rumors that the Dolphins are shopping 2006 Defensive Player of the Year Jason Taylor, an end. If the team does commit to the 3-4, Taylor will likely line up at outside linebacker (if he’s still in Miami), meaning it will have no proven defensive ends on the roster.

OUTLOOK: As much as the Dolphins would love to add another first-round draft pick to take a top-shelf defensive end such as Derrick Harvey or Phillip Merling, it will be a miracle if the team can pull this off. But the team should be able to pick up a versatile end like Quentin Groves from Auburn or Calais Campbell from Miami with its first pick in the second round (No. 32 overall).

LINEBACKER – between 5 and 8: The defense's “if” position. If Taylor comes back ready to play and if three-time Pro Bowler Joey Porter can return to his 2005 form, the Dolphins' starters at outside linebacker will be set. But those are big “ifs.” If Taylor’s gone and if Porter continues to show his age, the Dolphins could be in trouble at the outside linebacker position. On the inside, the loss of Zach Thomas leaves a gaping hole that the team will need to address. The addition of Reggie Torbor and Charlie Anderson will add depth at the outside and either should be able to shift to the inside in the 3-4.

OUTLOOK: This year’s draft class is fairly deep at linebacker, so the Dolphins should be able to pick up a prospect such as Purdue’s Cliff Avril, Bruce Davis from USC or Georgia Tech’s Phillip Wheeler in the third round (No. 64 overall).

DEFENSIVE TACKLE – 6: Regardless of what defensive set the Dolphins use in 2008, no team can stop the run without the big guys in the middle. Obviously last year’s interior linemen didn’t get the job done, so it wasn’t surprising that Parcells unceremoniously dumped tackles Keith Traylor, Anthony Bryant and Marquay Love. He added Randy Starks and Jason Ferguson to go along with 11-year veteran Vonnie Holliday, Rodrique Wright and two unproven youngsters in Paul Soliai and Steve Fifita.

OUTLOOK: Because the Dolphins will use their higher picks to fill the many holes they have, they’ll have to hope someone like Texas A&M’s Red Bryant or Iowa State’s Ahtyba Rubin are still around when they get to the 100th pick in Round 4. However, it’s more likely that general manager Jeff Ireland will have to work his talent-finding magic by pulling a productive tackle out of the sixth or seventh round.

Based on the comparative rankings of the offense and defense, Miami's 2008 draft will look like this:

Round 1, Pick 1 (No 1 overall): offensive tackle (Jake Long)
Round 2, Pick 1 (32): defensive end (Quentin Groves, Calais Campbell)
Round 2, Pick 26 (57) (from Chargers): quarterback (Chad Henne, Joe Flacco)
Round 3, Pick 1 (64): linebacker (Cliff Avril, Bruce Davis, Phillip Wheeler)
Round 4, Pick 1 (100): guard (Drew Radovich, Mick McGlynn, Robert Felton)
Round 6, Pick 29 (195) (from Cowboys): tight end (Cottam, Kellen Davis, Martin Rucker)
Round 6, Pick 38 (204) (compensatory selection): wide receiver (Dexter Jackson, Eddie Royal)
Round 7, Pick 1 (208): defensive tackle (DeMario Pressley, Nick Hayden)
Round 7, Pick 38 (245) (compensatory selection): best player available

While nine picks won’t fill every hole on the roster, the offseason acquisitions and a solid draft will put the Dolphins in much better position than they were just four short months ago.
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About Joe Mayes

Joe Mayes is an award-winning writer with credits ranging from national sports columns to local newspapers and commercial and technical writing. Joe is the host of "The Morning Wrap," a morning drive-time sports talk radio show on WTKE-FM in Northwest ...
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CommentsComments: 5  |  Sign Up  View all comments
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No.1
11:35 AM
04/24/2008
I'd think that defensive tackle is closer to 7 or 8. The team needs a solid young starter to serve as the foundation of their ...
No.2
JimmyD		12:23 PM
04/24/2008
I am with you Hugo, gotta acquire a hoss up front to keep the running backs from killing us. The eastern division alone has some ...
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No.3
Joe Mayes		03:38 PM
04/24/2008
The addition of Ferguson and Starks bumped them up at DT. Keep in mind these are relative rankings...if they were set on offense ...
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