Armed with 14 picks -- including five in the 1st two rounds -- the Dolphins were positioned to forge a new direction to get the franchise. They filled a lot of
holes, acquired some talent and generally earned respectable marks in the mass
media (one NFL.com NFL
Plastic Effect Logo breakdown gave Miami an A-, while ESPN's Mel Kiper gave
the Fins NFL
Shield Logo a B). But Miami's draft elicited a few "meh" responses from NFL
employees evaluators. "Sensed that with a team with so many resources to control
the draft, they made some good value picks but also reached on some guys
unnecessarily," a single veteran NFC scout said. An AFC exec pointed to the
first-round selections of USC tackle Austin Jackson (No. 18 overall), Auburn
corner Noah Igbinoghene (No. 30) and Texas safety Brandon Jones (No. 70) as
reaches -- good players who probably would have been available later. The
Dolphins did a masterful job with smokescreens surrounding the No. 5 pick, which
they used on Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. But they had the capital to
maneuver up and down like no-one else. The Dolphins chose the sensible route,
making most of their moves on Day 3, most NFL
Phantom Logo notably acquiring San Francisco 49ers working back Matt Breida.
In the initial NFL
Santa Claus Logo round, Miami moved back four areas with Green Bay to take
Igbinoghene, whom some regarded more of a Time 2 pick. One NFC exec gave the
Dolphins a "C-plus" overall, but noted Tagovailoa might be the best offensive
weapon in the draft, with shades of Russell Wilson.