Post-draft stories of players expecting to be on one team and winding up with others are interesting to me.
I have two such stories for you involving the Miami Dolphins.
Both involve Florida Gators and, ironically, in the end the Dolphins ended up not picking a Florida player they liked while landing a Florida player they liked less than someone else. This is the story of former Florida tight end Jordan Reed and former Florida linebacker Jelani Jenkins.
The Dolphins, it seems, wanted Reed. According to a source close to Reed, Miami got on the phone with him during the third round and told him they were going to select him with their second of two third-round picks (No. 82 overall).
So Reed was on stand-by waiting for the 82nd pick and hearing his name called to the Dolphins when he saw Miami had traded the pick to New Orleans. He ended up going with the 85th pick to the Washington Redskins.
The Dolphins obviously thought a deal sending the 82nd pick in exchange for two fourth-round picks (106 and 109) was better value than picking Reed. And that was that.
The Dolphins had a high fourth-round grade on TCU receiver Josh Boyce. They got on the phone with Boyce at the top of the fourth round and told him they were going to select him with the seventh pick of the round, No. 104 overall.
But as soon as Boyce got off the phone with Miami, the New England Patriots called and told him they were going to pick him with the fifth overall pick in the round. The Patriots had acquired that pick earlier in a trade with Minnesota.
The Dolphins resorted to Plan B and picked Jenkins with the 104th selection.
"As soon as I got off the phone the Patriots called me,” Boyce told The Fort Worth-Star Telegram. "You never know. I’m just glad God gave me the opportunity to get drafted. I can go forward from there."
Boyce is a rare blend of size (206 pounds) and speed (4.49) who also happened to produce in college. He caught 66 passes for 891 yards with seven touchdowns in 2012. He had 61 catches for 998 yards and nine touchdowns in 2011. He caught a 94-yard pass against West Virginia last season.
The Patriots, obviously trying to add weapons for Tom Brady, must have seen an opportunity. The fact they snatched Boyce from the Dolphins?
File it under post-draft stories that always come out after the fact.
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