In total, eight draft picks and a handful of undrafted free agents will be hopping on a jet and heading to Miami in the near future to tour their new workplace. By all accounts, the Dolphins are a better football team today than they were Thursday morning.
How much better? Well, that's subjective until the players take the field.
Not knowing for certain how well the Dolphins did in the draft isn't stopping the prognosticators from slapping an all-encompassing draft grade for each team onto the internet and calling it a day.
So let's take a look at what some are saying about the Dolphins' draft class. If you're looking at this article ten years into the future, feel free to post it on Twitter and let us know how well these guys nailed or blew their assessments of the newest Miami Dolphins.
New York Post: A+
You read that right: The New York Post gave the Dolphins the best possible grade for their draft. They couldn't have done better if they'd had every pick. Perfection. Here's a snippet of the Post's reasoning:
[Jaylen] Waddle brings game-breaking speed to the offense – reunited with former Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa – and special teams. When you have four top-42 picks you can swing for the fences with [Jaelan] Phillips (three concussions but big pass-rush ability). Four players with first-round grades?Sounds good to us! From New York Post's fingers to the football gods' ears.
The Sporting News: A
More high praise for the Dolphins' first four selections, especially the Waddle pick. The Sporting News raved about the reunion of Waddle with Tua Tagovailoa, his former quarterback at Alabama, saying the following:
He [Waddle] was preferred in the end over DeVonta Smith because of ability to add a necessary big-play element, both using his speed to get downfield and using his quickness in the open field as a Tyreek Hill-style receiver. He is the ideal complement to top wideout DeVante Parker and tight end Mike Gesicki.Miami Dolphins fans have to be waiting to hear what the catch is. They're not used to so much post-draft praise. This is weird.
Pro Football Focus: B+
Ladies and gentlemen, I am sensing a trend. If the analytic geniuses over at PFF love it, you know it's gotta be good. They were especially happy about the addition of Jevon Holland, a safety out of Oregon. Here's a portion of what they had to say about the Dolphins' newest secondary defender:
Holland, who can also play cornerback, was an excellent coverage player for Oregon over two high-level seasons of play. Miami needs help at safety after stacking their cornerback depth chart over the past year, and this goes a long way toward achieving that.So there you have it. It seems like the Dolphins did well for themselves over the last week. Tua got a much-needed deep threat on the offensive side of the ball in Waddle. Flores added a few Swiss Army knife defenders in Phillips and Holland.
All in all, by all accounts, a roaring success for Miami. We'll start finding out in September if these draft grades match up to the production on the field.