Miami Dolphins: How A Receiver Sets Up a Perfect Second Round Draft

If we’re looking at last year, the least of the Miami Dolphins’ worries should be a wide receiver. Yes, injuries decimated the unit, offensive line, and quarterback inconsistency stalled the offense, and irrational play calling kept them stuck in neutral. The only problem is there’s no one fix to the Dolphins offense. It’s going to take some creative work to get the job done. Sure, Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson were dynamic playmakers for the Dolphins but let’s face it, Miami needs an explosive playmaker on offense and Devante Parker just isn’t it. Argue that he’s not there “yet” all you want, but that’s the demise of the Dolphins for years. The team is forever waiting on guys who just aren’t there “yet”.

Save the talk of Ryan Tannehill not having the time to throw passes, when he did he often made poor decisions. Save the talk of a poor offensive line, comparatively speaking Tom Brady does have a good line but also gets the ball out faster than any other quarterback. His ability to believe he’s going to make every throw and his receivers will be there to catch it leads to the majority of his success. Blame the line, blame the quarterback, blame the plays but why not the wide receivers.

How is it that every season the Patriots have just two receivers who stand out from the pack? One plays the slot (Edelman), the other plays tight end (Gronkowski). The rest of their receiving unit has been a merry-go-round of journeyman receivers who’s job is made easier by teams accounting for the other two? How is it with guys like Wilson, Grant, Parker, and Stills can they not emulate this success. At any given time any of those 4 could be the fastest guy on the field but can’t find ways to get open.

Fast-forward to the 2019 NFL Draft. While the Miami Dolphins have the 13th pick overall, it’s highly unlikely it will be a receiver. Miami will more than likely draft a defensive or shoehorn in another rookie quarterback. However, come the second round all is fair game. The second round can be a treasure trove for breakout receivers with names like JuJu Smith-Schuster, Torrey Smith, Michael Thomas, and Jarvis Landry all being found in round 2.

Of course, the Dolphins needs to find a way to keep their quarterback safe and upright in 2019, but find proven talent in free agency. While the Dolphins have thrown money at the problem year after year, wasting picks on rookies against proven NFL defenders in the AFC is a tough gamble. Look for Miami to once again fill the void with stop-gap lineman for a season longer. However, if they waste too many years piecing together a patchwork line, they miss the prime years of cornerstone Laremy Tunsil’s young career.

Rebuilding is the word being thrown around all offseason long. Swallow your pride Miami Dolphins fans, the team is officially in rebuild mode. While it’s not the favorite move, it had to be done. Expect the team to go with little known names in free agency and build their trenches with above average/below elite players. The only way to rebuild a team is to develop young talent. To get this done, the team has to go all-in on a rebuilt line in the offseason and focus on depth in the draft.

Yes, that might mean one more year of “not there yet” Ryan Tannehill. Don’t expect big names like Le’Veon Bell or Nick Foles in free agency. As much as it’s time to move on from Tannehill unless the team can work out one hell of a trade, it’s unlikely he’ll be cut and they have other fish to fry. Any talent they can get late round picks for to add depth will be gone. Playmakers on team friendly deals might stick around but again, no one is safe in a rebuilding year. There’s no guarantee that guys like Stills or Wilson could be there next season. If the market is right, trades could happen with a thin free agent year.

There’s even an off chance that if the Dolphins can end up with a second pick in round 2, they can kill two birds with one stone. If Miami chooses defense in the first round, the duo of Ryan Finley and Kelvin Harmon could fall into their lap. As much as the Dolphins’ fans would love to hit the ejector seat on Tannehill, a game-managing quarterback in Finley could play into their fortune. Between not having to be thrown directly into the fire, and having a wide receiver he already has chemistry with coming out of college their offense could be set up for success. Throw in the fact that Harmon won’t have shoulder the brunt of being the lone receiver on a sinking ship of a team and the dominoes could begin to fall.

Harmon might not be the fastest or the biggest guy in the field, but his skill set stands out. His ability to run clean routes, body control, and YAC is exactly what the Dolphins should be looking for. Harmon is the type of receiver they expected out of Parker and could easily benefit if the Dolphins can hang out to both Stills and Wilson. While he might not be a true number one receiving threat in some pro scouts eyes, if he falls into round two because of it, Miami would be foolish not to scoop him up no matter who they put under center.