Jerry Hughes, DE/OLB, Texas Christian University.
Playing the role of Bill Parcells for Miami is 'Sunlion333.' He writes:
I know I'm going to get as many groans as when the Giants picked Phil Simms from Morehead St, but let me explain: OK, we know that Jeff Ireland is not the final say on personnel in Miami, so we get a familiar mind to emulate in our beloved "Tuna".
The Dolphins needs, in order of importance are as follows:
Rush Linebacker:
Nose Tackle:
A 3-4 defense simply does not work without a "Power Pig" in the middle. Jason Ferguson is coming off an injury and is getting a little long in the tooth. He is also suspended for the first 8 games of the year. Solai played ok in his absence, but is far from a replacement.
#1 Receiver:
Similar to what was thought about the Giants before last year, the Phins have a roster loaded with No. 2 type pass catchers and no deep threat.
Free Safety:
They just cut Gibril Wilson, weren't that solid with him in the lineup, and Chris Clemons is still developing.Tuna's Tendencies:
We have a large body of work to draw some conclusions from.#1. Parcells does not draft receivers in the first round, Ever.
Some may try to point to Keyshawn Johnson or Ted Ginn Jr., but they were drafted the year before Bill took over the reigns with the Jets & Dolphins, respectively.
#2. Tuna likes his linebackers.
Parcells has taken a linebacker in the first round a whopping six times. He also doesn't care what value others have on a player and does his own evaluation of linebackers. You could say that he has a knack for the position and I doubt I'll get much argument disputing that fact.
#3 Big Bill likes to develop defensive linemen.
He prides himself at finding players that show him something raw that he can turn into "his type" of player. For example he once found a 3 technique with the frame to add bulk and enough talent to develop into a NT in the sixth round. That player's name was Jason Ferguson, who has played for Parcells ever since.
#4 He doesn't care much for playing rookies and he doesn't take project players in the early rounds.
You had better have shown some success and experience or forget being drafted by this man. He develops "men" who are ready to take it to the next level, not ex-basketball players or walk-on seniors.
What's available at #12?:
NT: T. Cody, Cam Thomas, Linval Joseph.
By all accounts none of these players are Round 1 material unless you think that Parcells is going to change his MO and burn a high pick on a position he would normally want to develop from a lower round prospect. See No. 3.
I've read that the Dolphins staff has spent an unusual amount of time with Jeff Owens. I say unusual because he is a later round prospect and it's uncommon
to find this kind of activity early on. My bet is that Owens impressive strength caught the Tuna's eye and he sees something similar to Ferguson here.
#1 WR: Dez Bryant, Golden Tate, Arrelious Benn.
Bryant is the only pick worthy of the spot, but its a moot point. It's just not going to happen in the first round. See No. 1.
FS: Earl Thomas, Nate Allen, Morgan Burnett.
With Clemons already developing, my bet is that the position does not warrant the high pick.
Rush Linebacker: Jason Pierre-Paul, Sergio Kindle, Jerry Hughes ... Tweeners: Brandon Graham,
Pierre-Paul will get an immediate no from Parcells as he couldn't be sure that he will develop as he has only seven games in football at the collegiate level.
Kindle is the purported top prospect at the position, but I see holes in his game when I put on the tape of my eventual pick.
Brandon Graham is just remarkable and would love to pick him, but he may never be able to drop into coverage and I want a three down backer, so ...
Jerry Hughes DE/OLB Texas Christian University.
This kid plays with a relentless motor and is always the hardest working player on the field. Fast, reliable tackler, who would be a top 4-3 DE pick if he was bigger.
He is everything you would expect from a "Parcells Guy" and will immediately improve the Dolphins' pass rush.
I would have liked to trade down to get this pick, but it's not allowed in this mock and this player is much higher on my board than any other player at the position.
Also, Parcells goes with "position value" instead of simply BPA. He also solves a position that may yet need another body thrown at it with the uncertainty of Jason
Taylor returning at an acceptable performance level. I could have taken McClain here, but, with Dansby signing and Channing Crowder still there it didn't make sense.
'NYG_Slater' ended that possibility anyway. Before you all start rhyming on it, Weatherspoon is not a rush linebacker.
My take: 'Sunlion' used an awful lot of words here to try and defend a pick that is, basically, indefensible. It took 12 picks, but this is our first head-scratching 'what in the world could you possibly have been thinking' selection.
There are soooo many defensive ends/linebackers and combo players rated ahead of Hughes, I can't imagine that this would be Parcells' selection in the first round -- especially the top half of the first round. Even if you buy the argument that Parcells won't take a receiver No. 1 there are several DE/OLB types who should come off the board before anyone thinks about Hughes. That includes all the guys 'Sunlion' mentioned. Throw Sean Weatherspoon and Derrick Morgan in the mix, too.
Sorry, 'Sunlion,' I can't go with you on this one.
Remember, for explanations of previous picks, click the highlighted player name in the table below.
'RipShea' is now on the clock with San Francisco's pick at 13.
| POS | TEAM | PLAYER | POS | SCHOOL | DRAFTER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Louis | Sam Bradford | QB | Oklahoma | Soldier_ |
| 2 | Detroit | Ndamukong Suh | DT | Nebraska | soulpower |
| 3 | Tampa Bay | Gerald McCoy | DT | Oklahoma | i_formation27 |
| 4 | Washington | Russell Okung | OT | Oklahoma State | G Fan in England |
| 5 | Kansas City | Eric Berry | S | Tennessee | ronjohnson |
| 6 | Seattle | Jimmy Clausen | QB | Notre Dame | CCE718 |
| 7 | Cleveland | Dez Bryant | WR | Oklahoma State | GreatGatsby |
| 8 | Oakland | Bruce Campbell | OT | Maryland | Hoyadestroya85 |
| 9 | Buffalo | Dan Williams | DT | Tennessee | The Greek |
| 10 | Jacksonville | Joe Haden | CB | Florida | jp2y |
| 11 | Denver | Rolando McClain | ILB | Alabama | NYG_Slater |
| 12 | Miami | Jerry Hughes | DE/OLB | Texas Christian | sunlion333 |
| 13 | San Francisco | RIPShea | |||
| 14 | Seattle | CCE718 | |||
| 15 | N.Y. Giants | Ed Valentine | |||
| 16 | Tennessee | Jason?? | |||
| 17 | San Francisco | RIPShea | |||
| 18 | Pittsburgh | ross_stephen | |||
| 19 | Atlanta | daddyzander | |||
| 20 | Houston | BitterEli | |||
| 21 | Cincinnati | Woogie526 | |||
| 22 | New England | Ryan Valentine | |||
| 23 | Green Bay | Dan Luibil | |||
| 24 | Philadelphia | Bye Dawk | |||
| 25 | Baltimore | Larry Soprano | |||
| 26 | Arizona | Snipah | |||
| 27 | Dallas | pataroons | |||
| 28 | San Diego | hakeemthedream | |||
| 29 | N.Y. Jets | Brooklyn58 | |||
| 30 | Minnesota | hurikaine | |||
| 31 | Indianapolis | Charles L. | |||
| 32 | New Orleans | GiantsReignSupreme |