Riley Reiff to Dolphins at No. 8? Are you kidding?

Riley Reiff is a good football player, OK? I have nothing against the offensive tackle from the University of Iowa. I have watched a couple of games in which he has played and he's always performed well enough.

And that, coupled with his size and ability and smarts, is a reason he's considered a top of the first round type of talent. But to the Dolphins? Are you kidding me?

God, I hope not.

Seems Reiff to the Dolphins is a popular stream of thought among NFL draft analysts. ESPN's Mel Kiper penciled Reiff to Miami in his first and only (so far) mock draft. NFL Network talent analyst Bucky Brooks similarly has Reiff going to the Dolphins with the eighth overall selection. And NFL Network reporter Steve Wyche has the Dolphins picking Reiff as well.

I get it.

Reiff is an offensive tackle. He's perfect for the Dolphins to fill the void at right tackle -- even though he played left tackle at Iowa. And, of course, his connections to Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz makes him a natural for the Dolphins because Miami coaches Joe Philbin and Mike Sherman know and respect Ferentz and value his players.

But ...

Riley Reiff, for all his attributes and gifts and the logic of filling an obvious void, would be a terrible pick for the Dolphins at No. 8. Why?

Value.

There is simply not a great deal of value of picking a right tackle in the top 10 selections of the draft. No, there's no rule that says this is a fact. No, there's no philosophy or statistic that has proven this to be the case. But work with me for a second and let me state my case ...

{UPDATE: Since posting this, I got a call from an NFL scout who reads the blog and he told me he has Reiff as a guard. And he said he's not alone in the thinking. So there's that.]

The draft is not only picking the right players, but also getting them in the right round to maximize their value. And in the top 10 a team with so many needs as Miami has should not be investing on a player that neither will score points, nor prevent points from being scored. The offensive right tackle will never, not even on his best day, throw a TD pass, or intercept a pass, or sack the quarterback, strip him of the ball and run it in for a TD. He will never make a game-changing play.

And that game-changer is the only kind of player that brings value to a team in the top 10 picks.

Said another way, I want my team to pick a quarterback, a cornerback, a wide receiver, a 3-4 OLB or 4-3 DE. I want playmakers drafted in the top 10.

I do not want grunts.

Grunts are wonderful additions later.

Why?

Because grunts don't lead a team to the playoffs or the Super Bowl. Playmakers lead teams to the playoffs or the Super Bowl.

That doesn't mean I am against drafting offensive linemen later in the first round or anytime after that. And some special offensive linemen deserve top 10 consideration depending on a team's relative needs and whether the player is a left tackle or center.

But a right tackle? Or a guard?

In the top 10?

Quick, who was Green Bay's right tackle this year while they went 15-1? Quick, who was the last right tackle to be named NFL MVP or even his own team's MVP?

Yeah, thought so.

A top 10 pick is a premium, premium draft choice. It should be used to select premium, premium NFL playmakers.

And right tackles, no matter how gifted, do not qualify. Reiff, by the way, is No. 77 in the video below.

Comments

[TheRealMJ]

If we can't get RGIII Id love to have Trent Richardson.

[marchcool]

Well, finally I agree with you Salguero !
Unfortunately it is not in the Dolphins tradition to select play makers in 1st round. On the contrary. The staff like, love, adore, heavy columns. They die for OL men. Was not J. Long a 1st pick overall some years ago ? Was not Pouncey last year 1st pick ? and so on, and on and on.
Don't forget that it's becoming a tradition for this team to be a boredom. Who can be more boring than an OL man ? Well, maybe the punter, but I don't want to give ideas to the staff.

So forget about play makers: 1st round right guard. 2nd rnd, left guard (in case Long is injured), 3rd rnd, a center (in case Pouncey has diarrhea after eating chili con carne before a game), 4th rnd...oh yes, a QB, it may be needed,how dumb we are...

[Bob Greasy]

Don't worry about the mock drafts. They are all totally useless due to the fact that trades are always made, and the draft order will change a lot on draft day.

[beerphin]

I hope the scouts make a serious evaluation on the UM guys coming out also TY Hilton and Josh Robinson.

[Smaknstein]

What if STL wants Jake Long as part of the the RG III compensation. What then? Huh?

[fins4ever]

Let's reach for Kendall Wright and put some "POP" in the passing game....

[Northwest]

If the Phins want RG3 they trade Long.

But why? Now we've got holes on both the left AND right side of the line.

Long is a stud and he stays in Miami.

Miami's not trading up for RG3, they're going after Manning.

[Michael]

For those of you who think that the Packers and NE's o line is compose mostly of mid round draft pick ARE WRONG.

Packers

Brian Buluga 1st round 23 pick
Chad Clifton 1st round 13th pick

NE

Matt Light 2nd round 17th pick
Logan Mankins 1st round 32 pick
Nate Solders 1st round 17th pick
Sebatian Vollmer 1st round 26th pick

They keep their QB's up.

[dusty bottoms]

again its simple, deal the 8th pick and more for griffin.

[dusty bottoms]

yes michael and how many of those were top 10 picks? those teams pick late almost always in first rd, so much better time to draft them

[corners]

Im with you. I think people are just being lazy when they pick Reiff, or Tannenhill, or Flynn to the dolphins.Just because of former coaches is being intellectually lazy. Seems like the reasoning behind ALL our projected fa's and top picks are based on our coaches.

[Kris]

Aaron Rodgers....6th MOST SACKED QB IN 2011....

Tom Brady...12th MOST SACKED IN 2011.....

Both in the bottom half....

Got anything more solid....

[corners]

"The rumor about Coples is that he is a QUITTER...and that is a bad rap to have....just having that label is a makes me not want him....

"

Me 2. Haysnworth should be a warning, that even top talent with even a hint of quitter in them can show up against talented players.

Im all set with a guy not just 1, but many say takes plays off. You dont waste a top #10 picks on a guy that takes plays off. Plenty of guys that dont take plays off and are talented. Guys with chips on their shoulders play harder anyways.

[Northwest]

My question is: do we sign both Manning AND Saturday. Can we afford both AND address pass rush in the draft?

If so, our offensive line looks something like:

Long, Incognito, Saturday, Pouncey, (Murtha/Reiff?)

If Murtha steps up, can we swamp picks with JVille and grab Ingram?

Do we have the cap space to sign Manning, Saturday, AND Abraham in FA?

[oscar canosa]

Heck of a player, Trent Richardson. Reminds me of Edgerrin James, only faster. A future Star.

[Northwest]

(swap)

[MJ]

The #1 priority is to get rid of Irescum.

[dusty bottoms]

trade up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jack]

We need to trade up for RG III - who cares about 2 1st round picks - he is worth it!

[Ron Son]

Jake Long led us to a 7-9 and 6-10 record. He clearly doesnt make a difference.

[truth]

Reese Witherspoon has been going around pointing out that 1 in 3 married women suffer domestic abuse.

1. wrong
2. 5 out of 5 married men suffer mental abuse inflicted by the wife

[Northwest]

Jake Long doesn't lead us- he protects the QB. Unfortunately, he was protecting Henne!

[LanceInIowa]

I disagree with you if we're going to put Peyton behind center. If we do, Riley is a great pick at that level and leaves us with only RT to solve. We can't put someone like Peyton behind a stop gap.

[TigerSam]

As much as I love RG3, Jake Long is off the table. But V. Davis on the other hand is very much wanted in St. Louis (who are their corners?) and that would work out nicely for both parties.

Our 1st pick in 2012, 2013, a 3rd pick this year or next and Davis. We get RG3 and they get a pretty nice ransom.

[Ron Son]

If Long doesnt lead us, he should NEVER have been a #1 pick.

[MJ]

Eon Son. Ireland blowz.

[dusty bottoms]

we better not put manning behind center. griffin is the right move, now do it ireland. ill give ireland credit, least hes already talking to the rams

[Tony Sparano]

This is what we should do, get Blackmon 1st pick, second pick Weeden, the rest idk. That would be smart, just look at bengals.

[Northwest]

Truth,

Why get married when we can simply be mentally abused by our girlfriends!?!

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[MJ]

Jake Long is damaged goods. Way too many injuries and cant pass a physical.

[dusty bottoms]

long is beat up but still very good

[oscar canosa]

It is curious. NO is taking a hell of a long time in signing Drew Brees.

[Northwest]

Ron Son,

What's done is done my friend.

[Clue]

Northwest, the diffreence is you can find a new gf in a snap of a finger a new wife, thats hell.

[wolfman13]

My question is: do we sign both Manning AND Saturday. Can we afford both AND address pass rush in the draft?
If so, our offensive line looks something like:
Long, Incognito, Saturday, Pouncey, (Murtha/Reiff?)
If Murtha steps up, can we swamp picks with JVille and grab Ingram?
Do we have the cap space to sign Manning, Saturday, AND Abraham in FA?

Posted by: Northwest | March 01, 2012 at 04:47 PM

_____________________________________________________

As it stands now, no....we would not have the cap room. I'm sure some moves will be made to open up some cap space, but it's going to be pretty tight none the less. Pretty much one big splash and done.

[truth]

Why is nobody talking about Nick Foles?

[Clue]

dusty, make Brees an offer he cant refuse. 6 year 100 million 25 million guranteed

[truth]

Agree. GF will mentally abuse too but easier to drop her.

A problem arises if you have kids and become divorced and the mother of your kids has not worked since 2004.

[Michael]

Hey all I'm saying that is that those team do draft o linemen high. Not how effective they are. Someone ask how high, the I included the number of the pick on my post.

[44]

Why are teams so dumb to reward players with huge money *now* for what they did in the past?

Brees's best days are BEHIND him. If the saints (or all teams) were smart, they'd offer him about $700,000 or let him walk. Let a hungry young guy play instead.

[dusty bottoms]

clue it doesnt matter, saints will franchise him if they have to

[Michael]

MJ, so tell me where did you get the information Long can't pass a physical. Maybe you made that up.

[dusty bottoms]

yes michael none of those were top 12 picks, zero

[Michael]

Top 13.

[Mustache Man]

Kurt Cobain summed it up nicely when he sang:

"Married. Buried."

That was the hint in his last album. Not sure why the illuminati-controlled media try to say In Utero's songs were complaining about his fame and the media. He was very clearly complaining about the skank who was his terrible evil wife, Courtney Love, who is the reason he is now dead.

Just *listen* to the lyrics.

Do the same thing with football and politics: *watch* and form your own opinions instead of just accepting what the corporate media tells you to believe.

Don't be a sheep.

[Daniel Son]

Ron Son is correct.

[Clue]

truth, take care of the kids, drop the women find a hot younger chick. dusty, that dreadful franchise needs to go away

[Michael]

I'm pretty sure that both Vollmer and Solders were drafted in the same draft......maybe not.

[LA Phin Fan]

Well said Armando. I hope they draft Ingram or Upshaw.

[Clue]

I used to think being married was great, now I realize what Al Bundy goes through. I love that show Married with Children

[Dolphin 77]

Exactly, long is almost done. He will not be able to stay healthy. Manning coming to miami is a joke. The dumbphins offense will have to adapt to his offense,so he would be the oc. Not going to work. Flynn is alsi a joke. Wont make it as a starter.and i wont even mention henne. All i will say is he will be sending in signals from the sideline for some other team. Rief, another joke. Rg3 is the answer, but you have moron ireland running the show so that says it all.

[buckeyephinfan]

Trade the house to get rg3. Do whatever it takes to get him or pay for it with 10 more years of futility.

[wolfman13]

It is curious. NO is taking a hell of a long time in signing Drew Brees.
Posted by: oscar canosa | March 01, 2012 at 05:05 PM

_______________________________________________________

I've read more than a couple of reports that they're pretty far apart in contract negotiations. The real problem here is one that pretty much any team faces when they have a franchise QB....ultimately, you have to let other valuable (and expensive) pieces go and bring in fresh talent. That's why the window for any team, even if they have a franchise guy, is pretty narrow. They really needed to get their this past season....now they'll probably have a 2-3 year re-tooling before they're quite at that level again (note, I'm not saying they'll be bad...but probably not a true contender for a few years).

Thus far, New Orleans has been trying to avoid gutting the team to keep Brees.....it's completely unrealistic,as Brees wants to be the highest paid player in NFL history with his new contract (and rightly deserves it). Unfortunately, to do that, you have to make sacrafices elsewhere.

Ultimately, he will be a Saint...whether they work out a long term deal or they slap the franchise tag on him.

[oscar canosa]

If we go by what Philbin said, then we can expect to draft a QB, pass rusher or CB with our #8 pick. Qb's I don't see any worth that much available to us. So, its pass rusher or CB. If we don't like any passs rusher that high, we could trade up with Jacksonville and grab Morris Claiborne. Bro, the guy can jump and has tremendous nose for the ball.

[Northwest]

That's a tough spot Truth

[Clue]

Anybody have ideas to spice up love live with your wife? My d*ck turns limp bangin the same cooch over and over and over again. But any other chick Im saluting.

[wolfman13]

Why are teams so dumb to reward players with huge money *now* for what they did in the past?
Brees's best days are BEHIND him. If the saints (or all teams) were smart, they'd offer him about $700,000 or let him walk. Let a hungry young guy play instead.
Posted by: 44 | March 01, 2012 at 05:10 PM

____________________________________________________

Well, it'll be hard to top his Marino record breaking performance of last season....but I hardly think he's on his way down just yet.

He has a good 5-6 years left and a couple superbowl runs. Teams pay winners, and "franchise" QBs don't grow on trees. Are you new to football?

[Jeff Row]

Tannihill smoked RG3 last year ... and RG3 didnt look that good playin' againist a OK texas a&m defense ... RG3 is over hyped .. think about it .. would any team be talking about trading their draft away for him if Cam newton did have such a great year last year? dont think so! watch this and you will see what i'm talking about.
http://youtu.be/HT57THwIZwg

[adrian solorza]

For those of you who think that the Packers and NE's o line is compose mostly of mid round draft pick ARE WRONG.

Packers

Brian Buluga 1st round 23 pick
Chad Clifton 1st round 13th pick

NE

Matt Light 2nd round 17th pick
Logan Mankins 1st round 32 pick
Nate Solders 1st round 17th pick
Sebatian Vollmer 1st round 26th pick

They keep their QB's up.

Posted by: Michael | March 01, 2012 at 04:35 PM

-------------------------------------------------------

Aaron Rodgers....6th MOST SACKED QB IN 2011....

Tom Brady...12th MOST SACKED IN 2011.....

Both in the bottom half....

Got anything more solid....

Posted by: Kris | March 01, 2012 at 04:46 PM

-------------------------------------------------------

Iteresting, but if there is a statistic about pass attemps vs sacks ratio, the offensive line of the two teams doesn't look bad, as I feel.
May be the people who make mock drafts are not fans of the dolphins, so they aren't aware of Murtha or Jerry, nor the nepotism of coach Sparano, but how the RT position stinks in the las season was BOLD
But still I want more a sack master in the draft.

[oscar canosa]

Actually, here in Florida, the Law stipulates you have to pay lifelong alimony only if your wife has not worked for 10 yrs. or more. I know about it.