The NFLDraftguys staff is going simulate playing the GM of each of the 31 teams picking in the first round and justify their picks. You can look forward to a new pick every other day leading up to April 28, when the staff will be in Radio City Music Hall to see if they took our advice.
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Follow the progress of the On The Clock Draft Board, where you can see exactly how the first round would play out if the NFLDraftguys staff were making the calls in the war room.
Sean Baca
With the 9th pick in the 2007 NFL Draft the Miami Dolphins SHOULD take Greg Olsen,TE, Miami
To be honest the Dolphins should try to somehow find a quarterback in this draft, but everyone outside of the top two are a couple of years away. The recent release of tight end Randy McMichael leaves a gap that needs to be filled. The Dolphins converted only 38% of their third downs last year and that is flat out awful.
In steps the best tight end in the Draft. They are old on the defensive side of the ball but the depth in this years class should land them a solid player later on. Olsen is a work horse who is a technician in his route work and will be a great underneath man to complement Chambers over the top. He basically will allow the Dolphins another level of the field to work that was not there with the bigger McMichael. Olsen, at the combine, was running routes with more "umph" than any of the receivers and looked better doing it. He is average and can improve in the run blocking areas but he is stellar in the short and intermediate passing game. I was not an Olsen fan early on but seeing is believing and I don't have to enjoy the man to enjoy what the man can do on a football field.
Marc Faletti
With the 9th pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins should select Amobi Okoye, DT, Louisville.
I'm beginning to wonder if Atlanta's Bobby Petrino didn't leapfrog the Dolphins to land this emerging talent from his previous place of employment, a 19-year-old wunderkind who already holds a psych degree and an impressive college football resume.
Not only can Okoye bottle up the middle by anchoring with a low center of gravity, he was second on his team with 8 sacks last year. While his pass rush output may not translate to the NFL, those numbers suggest Okoye continuously pursues the play until the whistle blows. He blows up the pocket with a good burst and push, and he usually requires a double-team if you want any chance of keeping him out of the rush lanes.
Dolphins DT Keith Traylor is almost 40 and coming off an injury. Okoye could learn a lot from him as part of their rotation in 2007 before becoming a foundational pillar of the Miami D in 2008.
Cecil Lammey
With the 9th pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins SHOULD take Levi Brown, OT, Penn State.
The Dolphins need a ton of help in any number of positions. Passing up Brown at this point would be a mistake because franchise LT's are hard to come by. Damion McIntosh has moved on to the Chiefs, and Levi Brown would be a great addition to the team. Brown could be penciled in day one to start at a very crucial position.
Levi Brown has great size, but is not a lumbering OL. He has good athleticism for his size and he uses his nimble feet to nuetralize edge rushers. He has a good initial pop and uses his long arms to keep defenders at bay.
The OL should be one of the first positions that a team strengthens. Levi Brown would be a good fit for the offense (he's a great run blocker), and could mature into a championship caliber LT.
Sigmund Bloom
With the 9th pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins SHOULD take JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU.
I hear you out there, Russell available at #9 makes this an unrealistic mock. I agree. However, this is the mock of what we would do if we were every single GM, and my philosophy is that QBs are overrated in the draft. In my mind, the teams most needing a QB at the top of the draft (Oakland and Cleveland) would be better served taking franchise players at other positions. The teams picking in the middle of the top 10 don't need a QB enough to justify passing on franchise level talent at other positions. Hence, Quinn and Russell fall. In reality, the chances of this happening are slim.
Russell would give the Dolphins Daunte Culpepper with a sound knee, a better arm, and without the weight of recent failure. Too bad there's no way he'll fall to them.
