This is a pretty poor draft to have a Top 10 pick in, in my opinion, as the bottom falls out fairly quickly after the first few players. That said
S Thom Darden and
OLB Stan White look like quality men. A horrible draft for a high pick on offense. The WR pool in particular is lacking in anything close to top-shelf talent. We're picking at #28 throughout the draft to start and I feel good about landing a player or two who can contribute right away.
1972 Draft 1st Round
1. OLB Stan White - Atlanta Falcons
2. QB Brian Sipe - Minnesota Vikings
3. S Thom Darden - New Jersey Jets
4. ILB Jim LeClair - Houston Oilers
5. CB Willie Buchanon - Cincinnati Bengals
6. RB Lawrence McCutcheon - Philadelphia Eagles
7. RB Lydell Mitchell - Cincinnati Bengals through Oakland Raiders
And now you know why the Bengals are so bad a team, one of only two franchises never to make the playoffs in this universe (The Vikings the other one). They make stupid moves like this. The cost was ridiculous: Oakland gets the Bengals' 2nd rounder in this draft, along with Cincy's 1973 and 1974 1st round picks. Raiders looking good in draft trade.
8. TE Riley Odoms - St. Louis Cardinals
9. ILB Mark Arneson - New Orleans Saints
10. WR Glenn Doughty - Carolina Panthers
11. WR Cliff Branch - Buffalo Bills
12. DT Mike Kadish - San Diego Chargers
13. S Ralph McGill - Washington Redskins
14. ILB Ed Bradley - New York Giants
15. CB Nelson Munsey - Detroit Lions
16. QB John Reaves - New England Patriots
17. T Greg Sampson - Denver Broncos
18. ILB Jeff Siemon - San Francisco 49ers
19. S Tommy Casanova - Baltimore Ravens
20. OLB John Bunting - New Jersey Jets
21. ILB Tim Kearney - Dallas Cowboys
22. G Conrad Dobler - Kansas City Chiefs
23. RB Franco Harris - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
24. DT Otis Sistrunk - Pittsburgh Steelers
25. WR Ahmad Rashad - Jacksonville Jaguars
26. DE Sherman White - New Jersey Jets through Cleveland Browns
The Jets are really re-making themselves defensively here in this draft. 3 1st rounders and 3 defensive picks. The cost was a bizzare one, with New Jersey surrendering their 1974 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rounders. If they don't pick up some extra picks along the way, 1974 will be a quiet draft year for our division opponents.
27. C John Hill - Chicago Bears
We're now in a tough spot, as there's a number of players we didn't think would fall down this far have. The smart money says to trade down, but the more and more I look at the players available, the more and more one guy stands out to me, a guy who can ressurect the glory days of
Don Fleming and
Ross Fitchner with
Glen Edwards and so
S Chuck Crist is our newest Dolphin.
28. S Chuck Crist - Miami Dolphins
29. DE Martin Imhof - Green Bay Packers
30. ILB Joe Caroll - Los Angeles Rams
31. DT Larry Brooks - Seattle Seahawks
32. RB Henry Matthews - Tucson Titans
In round 2, I decide it's time to address our gaping hole at DT and take
Don Croft, who I have a hunch can step in and start right away for our shoddy line, even though there's probably better players available on the board.
The tackle I was hoping would drop to me in round 3 didn't, so I snag
ILB Tom Graham, who not only looks like a breakout candidate, but should be able to contribute immediately on special teams.
I got hosed again in the 4th, when the WRs I thought would drop that far both went off the board, as did the RB I was looking mostly heavily at. I grab
RB Herb Mul-Key, who looks like a returner extraordinnare and a possible contributor on special teams. He actually could get a look on passing downs as well.
P Bob Parsons,
Paul Maguire's eventual replacement, gets snapped up in the 5th as the last truly useful player available to this team.
I take
DT Kelvin Korver in the 6th, just to throw another body into the mix at our weakest position and because hey, maybe he'll break out.
Finally,
TE Ethan Staat in the 7th, just on the offchance that he becomes a useful long-snapper.
Late Free Agency
Week 2 Signings
RB Junior Coffey - 1 year, $100k* (Oakland)
-Was a one year rental back in 1970 for us as well. Returns to serve as a mentor to our young guys and be an incredible chemistry captain. No less than 2 strong affinities and 1 exceptional affinity!
Week 3 Signings
MLB Robert Leake - 1 year, $110k* (Oakland)
-Signed strictly as a mentor for
Tom Graham. If the mentorship doesn't work out, Leake will be the first guy cut.
S David Plump - 1 year, 100k* (New Jersey)
-An original Dolphin returns home. Our 1965 3rd round pick could see himself in the mix at backup safety and will definitely help mentor
Chuck Crist, our 1st round pick.
Post Training Camp
Code:
S Chuck Crist 1.28 33/75 35/72 +2/-3
DT Don Croft 2.28 24/49 25/47 +1/-2
ILB Tom Graham 3.28 14/45 15/42 +1/-3
RB Herb Mul-Key 4.28 24/46 24/42 -0/-4
P Bob Parsons 5.28 40/45 40/47 +0/+2
DT Kelvin Korver 6.28 12/26 12/24 -0/-2
TE Ethan Staat 7.28 0/0 0/0 -0/-0
Draft Grade: A- (#5 draft)
Staat actually has a fair shot of making the team, as his LS skill is 61. Crist's potential may have dropped, but it's hard to ignore that beautiful a number. We'll have problems though, as
Hagood Clarke, our current FS starter, is 50/50.
So I'm not sure whether to start Clarke or roll the dice on Crist.
Parsons will be an adequate replacement for Maguire, but Paul has to retire first. Mul-Key is everything I hoped for in terms of return ability and more, but I'll discuss that when I post the roster analysis.