Miami Dolphins' Mike McDaniel's comments at the NFL Combine adds intrigue to the argument of drafting Ashton Jeanty
The Miami Dolphins desperately need to address certain areas of their roster, with the principal among them being both sides of the line of scrimmage and in the secondary, as well as an experienced backup QB. Other needs abound as well, including depth at linebacker, tight end, and a potentially third wide receiver. As such, […]
The Miami Dolphins desperately need to address certain areas of their roster, with the principal among them being both sides of the line of scrimmage and in the secondary, as well as an experienced backup QB. Other needs abound as well, including depth at linebacker, tight end, and a potentially third wide receiver.
As such, adding a running back to a room that includes a potential star in De'Von Achane and budding rookie Jaylen Wright doesn't seem to be high on the list or priorities.
Or is it?
Mike McDaniel spoke with the media at the NFL Combine on Tuesday, and he addressed the situation of the running back room with some interesting comments.
"Right now, I feel extremely strong about who's in the room, knowing that it will grow by two to three people," McDaniel said. "But I think part of our vision moving forward is that we have high expectations for that tandem of De'Von and Jaylen and think that they give us an opportunity to really be effective handing the ball off and doing stuff in the pass game. So, I'm excited to see how the room fills out, knowing we only have two under contract, but I'm very excited about those two and motivated to make that more than two."
There have been recent rumblings about whether Miami should take Jeanty if he's available. Jeanty is a special player who finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting last year. He could be of the ilk of a Saquon Barkley or Christian McCaffrey, who can take an offense to another gear.
But is that a move the Dolphins could afford to make with so many other needs elsewhere? Miami is currently short on running backs after the release of Raheem Mostert and with Jeff Wilson, Jr. becoming a free agent.
However, a lineman (on either side of the ball), cornerback, or safety seem among the obvious choices in the first three rounds as far as addressing gaping roster holes. McDaniel himself said on Tuesday they'd use the draft as part of their way of trying to improve the offensive line. Those tend to be the players you spend more premium picks on than running backs.
And this is a draft loaded with running backs, where you could find an impact player later on. Heck, that's what they've done with their two young talented players in Achane and Wright, third and fourth round picks themselves, respectively. Tampa Bay Buccaneer standout rookie RB Bucky Irving was also a fourth round pick last year.
In short, you don't have to take a running back near the top of the draft to be a successful offense. Those guys can be found elsewhere, and this draft should have plenty of them.
However, you also can't deny what players like McCaffrey and Barkley bring to an offense, and the nightmare it is to face them.
It will be interesting to see what Miami does if they're in the situation of taking the Heisman runner up, or if they opt to build from the inside out.
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