No. 15 Pick in 2011 Reader Mock: Dolphins on the Clock

[Walter]

Voting for the No. 15 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Who will be the pick?

Results and some comments will be posted here.


http://walterfootball.com/draft2011reader.php


1. Panthers - Blaine Gabbert, QB, Missouri
2. Broncos - Marcell Dareus, DT, Alabama
3. Bills - Cam Newton, QB, Bengals
4. Bengals - A.J. Green, WR, Georgia
5. Cardinals - Von Miller, DE/OLB, Texas A&M
6. Browns - Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU
7. 49ers - Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska
8. Titans - Nick Fairley, DT, Auburn
9. Cowboys - Tyron Smith, OT, USC
10. Redskins - Julio Jones, WR, Alabama
11. Texans - Robert Quinn, DE/OLB, North Carolina
12. Vikings - Da'Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson
13. Lions - Anthony Castonzo, OT, Boston College
14. Rams - Aldon Smith, DE, Missouri


Akeem Ayers
Mark Ingram
Colin Kaepernick
Ryan Kerrigan
Jake Locker
Ryan Mallett
Christian Ponder
Mike Pouncey

[KyleCleric]

I think the Dolphins will actually take Ryan Mallett in the real draft, but I gave them Locker here since that's the highest rated QB on most draft boards remaining.

I see Ronnie Brown re-signing and the Dolphins drafting a RB in the 3rd or 4th round where there is the best value in the available talent. I doubt Williams, though, returns to the Phins.

Pouncey is a good selection as well.

[RazorStar]

It's the popular pick, but I'm going to make it anyway. I think Ingram is really underrated, and for a team that relies on the run so much, getting a Curtis Martin type player is not the worst you could do. He's not gonna give you a big burst ability, but 4-5 yards a carry without fumbling is worth a lot more in a pass first league.

[whatdoyouwant711]

Miami could easily move down, since the top prospects available hardly match their needs (ILB, FS, QB, RB, TE, and interior O-line). That being said, if they were to stay at 15, it has to be Ingram. MAYBE Pouncey.

[rphx88]

No Tackles to pick for the Dolphins? I heard something about the Dolphins moving Vernon Carey inside leaving a glaring hole at right tackle. But since no tackle is an option here, I am going with Mark Ingram. Ingram can be a beast in the NFL and I see him dropping like Adrian Peterson did except more steeply. In Miami he can be productive behind a decent offensive line and with no qb set he will be guranteed handoffs. Ingram to the Dolphins seems like a lock without anybody trading up for him.

[vikingsteve26]

Voted Mike Pouncey. A prospect I am still very high on. Miami could use interior line help (less so since they resigned Incognito) and Pouncey is an elite guard prospect. I know I'm in the minority here, but I would take him at 15 (and I'd take him at 12 as well)

[chrispepper]

The miami front office have made it clear there looking to trade down at this position, but with no trades involved i've taken Ryan Mallett. Mark Ingram is the "lazy" choice, too many people are mocking him to Miami, but really, there's no value in taking a running back in the first round, especially somebody with a knee problem. If you look at the list of Miami Dolphins draft selections, they've only ever spent 2 1st round picks on quarterbacks in there history.. and they both turned out to be hall of famers. It's time for Miami to break the trend of trying to find a "steals" in the later rounds, and invest in a franchise signal caller. Quarterback play is there biggest need and they NEED to address it in the first round this year.. Trade down to the end of the 1st, pick up a 2nd rounder then Draft QB,RB and Interior Line or Tight End in that order.

[vikingsteve26]

The miami front office have made it clear there looking to trade down at this position, but with no trades involved i've taken Ryan Mallett. Mark Ingram is the "lazy" choice, too many people are mocking him to Miami, but really, there's no value in taking a running back in the first round, especially somebody with a knee problem. If you look at the list of Miami Dolphins draft selections, they've only ever spent 2 1st round picks on quarterbacks in there history.. and they both turned out to be hall of famers. It's time for Miami to break the trend of trying to find a "steals" in the later rounds, and invest in a franchise signal caller. Quarterback play is there biggest need and they NEED to address it in the first round this year.. Trade down to the end of the 1st, pick up a 2nd rounder then Draft QB,RB and Interior Line or Tight End in that order.

Tell that to Adrian Peterson. A terribly dumb thing to say.


Mallett isn't even worthy of being a first rounder. No team is going to take him in the first round.

[SanchoPanza]

Time for Mark to be Ingrained into the Dolphins game plan

[Daniel Brown]

I think they'll trade down but for the sake of the vote I'll go Ingram.

[whatdoyouwant711]

No Tackles to pick for the Dolphins? I heard something about the Dolphins moving Vernon Carey inside leaving a glaring hole at right tackle. But since no tackle is an option here, I am going with Mark Ingram. Ingram can be a beast in the NFL and I see him dropping like Adrian Peterson did except more steeply. In Miami he can be productive behind a decent offensive line and with no qb set he will be guranteed handoffs. Ingram to the Dolphins seems like a lock without anybody trading up for him.

Nate Solder, Gabe Carimi, and Derek Sherrod aren't top half of the first round prospects.

[Tom]

And Ingram wins in a landslide. At first I really didn't like any of these picks. It makes more sense for the Dolphins to trade down to 25-40 and get a QB. Henne has all the accuracy of a drunken monkey, and with the lockout they can't even try to get a veteran. Who knows if they'd get a good prospect without drafting one. I don't like the idea of taking a RB in round one. But then again I'm a Packer fan and clearly we all think RBs are worth a 6th rounder. But AP, Steve Jackson, Chris Johnson, DeAngelo Williams are all first round picks, and that does say something. So fine, take Ingram here, but they need one of those QBs. Preferably one with less downside like Ponder.

[stevenlourie]

This isn't going to be a quarterback. They're not that desperate at the position. I've heard the argument that the dolphins' blocking is the bigger problem with their run game, but i think it's both the blocking and the backs, especially with brown and williams being free agents. it makes a lot more sense to take a running back like ingram in the first. you can always get quality guard talent in the 3rd-5th round. there aren't anymore mark ingram's this year. he's the only back who deserves to go in the first round this year and it's not even close.

[pheltzbahr]

Will the Fins set their Mark on Ingram? I think they resign one of Brown/Williams and pass. How about QB? I think Henne gets one more year to show he can do it, leaving the FO to Ponder the future. Pounce-y on a Guard? A little early. I think they Kerrigan to select a front 7 playmaker and make the defense even stronger. He's the pick.

[aaah]

I agree with Ingram if all 4 big arm QBs are off the board. That's why if the draft goes this way (it won't) I voted for Mallett.

[chrispepper]

Tell that to Adrian Peterson. A terribly dumb thing to say.


Mallett isn't even worthy of being a first rounder. No team is going to take him in the first round.

So your comparing Mark Ingram to Adrian Peterson? Sorry but that's a terribly dumb thing to say. It's been proven the last few years that theres as much talent in the later rounds as there is in the 1st.. Hell last year, the 7th-Unrestricted had more success than the 1st round picks.. Cj spiller and matthews were both non exisstent whilst we had players like Chris Ivory and Starks of the packers lighting it up..

Especially considering miami only drafted ronnie brown number 2 overall 5 years ago, and with his injury plagued career do you think there really going to risk drafting Ingram, even if it's 99% guaranteed his knee is checked out?

[Classic Silver and Black]

Like everybody else I have to go with Mark Ingram. He's the only player that meets their present needs without being a reach at nr. 15.
Their defense is ok, with depth at all the key positions. Their offense lacks talent at a few skill positions, but Ingram is the only offensive back or end with a mid first round grade.

The only realistic alternative to this scenario is if Bill Parcells still has some influence on the Dolphins front office. Christian Ponder looks very much like a 'Big Tuna QB' and could be a surprise pick here.

[miamidolphin4life]

Just like the Lions and Rams this would suck for the Dolphins. None of their needs correspond with the current players on the board and they will probably be looking towards trading down.

The Dolphins needs are at QB/RB/OG/C/OLB. They are pretty much set at defense but were and are quietly one of the worst offensive teams in the NFL. Chad Henne struggles with inconsistency and is best when he has a powerful running game which sets up the play action pass, unfortunately the Dolphins can't run the football at all because they have nothing upfront and Ronnie/Ricky both struggled. If the Dolphins were to add a QB to the roster, I'd hope it would be a veteran because they have a solid defense already and would enable them to focus in on their other needs.

It comes down to two players to me: Mark Ingram and Mike Pouncey. Both would be starters from day one and would immediately address a need. I wouldn't be upset with either but I went with Pouncey because he's versatile enough to play both G/C which Tony Sperano hasn't had since he's come to Miami. The value of RB's has fallen off though because how the NFL has changed and you can still find quality starters in later rounds(Blount/Starks/Bradshaw/Foster), and there's still solid capable potential starters in Leshoure/Williams/Thomas/Vereen later in the draft.

[whatdoyouwant711]

The Dolphins needs are at QB/RB/OG/C/OLB.

Free safety?

[miamidolphin4life]

Free safety?

I'm a beliver in Reshad Jones. Didn't get much playing time, but when he did he looked solid. I belive he will get a shot next season.

[vikingsteve26]

So your comparing Mark Ingram to Adrian Peterson? Sorry but that's a terribly dumb thing to say. It's been proven the last few years that theres as much talent in the later rounds as there is in the 1st.. Hell last year, the 7th-Unrestricted had more success than the 1st round picks.. Cj spiller and matthews were both non exisstent whilst we had players like Chris Ivory and Starks of the packers lighting it up..

Especially considering miami only drafted ronnie brown number 2 overall 5 years ago, and with his injury plagued career do you think there really going to risk drafting Ingram, even if it's 99% guaranteed his knee is checked out?

No, you said no RB is worth taking in the first round. That IS a dumb thing to say. Mark Ingram is worthy of a first round selection. Talent at RB is like talent at any other position, the best of it is in the first round. Don't give me that dumbass logic that good RBs are in later rounds. You might find maybe 1 of them. Relying on later rounds to find your starting running back is just not smart. The best RBs in the NFL have been drafted in the first round. I'm sure that's just a coincidence though, right?


Mathews was hurt, CJ Spiller was under-utilized (and when he did play he was great)


Oh, and if you're saying you would take AP in the first round, congratulations, you just contradicted yourself.

[whatdoyouwant711]

So your comparing Mark Ingram to Adrian Peterson? Sorry but that's a terribly dumb thing to say. It's been proven the last few years that theres as much talent in the later rounds as there is in the 1st.. Hell last year, the 7th-Unrestricted had more success than the 1st round picks.. Cj spiller and matthews were both non exisstent whilst we had players like Chris Ivory and Starks of the packers lighting it up..

That's the clear exception to the rule. A list of the NFL's top running backs would probably consist of AP, CJ2K, Charles, MJD, Deangelo Williams, McFadden, Rice, Lesean McCoy, Mendenhall, Gore, Foster, and Peyton Hillis, not necessarily in that order.

Of that list, you have 2 Top 10 picks, 3 other first rounders, 3 2nd rounders, 2 3rd rounders, a 7th rounder and an UDFA. It's also worth noting that the 7th rounder and UDFA (Peyton Hillis and Arian Foster) each have only one good season in their respective careers; it's entirely possible that neither of them match it and frankly likely.

One other point is that 1st round busts at running back are still far more productive than failed mid-round picks. Cedric Benson, Thomas Jones, Ronnie Brown, and Cadillac Williams are considered busts; they've still had better careers than most mid/late-round picks, including the two guys you just listed (Chris Ivory and James Starks).

Moreso than any other position, talented running backs are consistently found outside of the first round. But like any other position, the truly elite talents (in this case, Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson) found in Round One.

[trisoman]

Hm I'm a little surprised at the votes for Pouncey, not because the Dolphins don't need an upgrade in the interior but simply because Mike isn't nearly the prospect that his brother was - and Maurkice only went at #18.

Not a Fins fan, but I would expect them to trade with someone who might want to jump the Jaguars for Kerrigan? But that's just me speaking aloud.

[vikingsteve26]

Mike Pouncey is just as good a prospect as Maurkice. He can play center too (and don't cite the ****ed up snaps, that **** is easy to teach) with success.

[JoeLegend]

LOL at the 2 votes for Christian Ponder. 1 has to be Greg Cox. Stand by that mock draft