Can we afford?

[FTLDOLFAN]

OG/OT Kelechi Osemele - He is considered to be the best free agent o-lineman available this offseason. He is the best OG and he can also play LT at a very high level which makes him that much more valuable. We would then not need to invest an early round draft pick on an o-lineman. He is only 27 and he would play OG and if Albert or James were to get injured he could then kick outside to OT.

FS Tashaun Gipson - He will be 26 in August and he is one of the best free agent safeties on the market. He struggled with an ankle injury in 2015 which is why he didn't have a great year so that might make him slightly more affordable. He would pair with Jones to make one of the best safety tandems in the NFL.

DB Janoris Jenkins - He is only 27 and one of the best free agent corners on the market. If we release Grimes we will save $6.5 million. I know Jenkins will cost more than that but that extra money will make it easier to sign him. We then don't have to draft a corner in the first round. We could wait until the 2nd or 3rd round to draft a corner.

DE Olivier Vernon - He is one of the best DE's on the market. If we release Wake then we will free up over $8 million in cap space so that should go a long way towards resigning OV.

RB Lamar Miller - He is only 25 and doesn't have much wear and tear on him and he has been durable.. I know if he signs elsewhere he will become a star. Hopefully Gase will figure out how to use him.


I think if we can sign these 5 quality free agents then we can sign a few more cheap free agents and if we have a good draft we would then have filled a lot of holes that we previously had.

[Bahamas]

Remove Jenkins from you list....His play doesn't impress me. Add his teammate Trumaine Johnson

Gipson I like...the browns secured him with a 2nd round qualifying offer...but it would be interesting to see what Hue does with him this year...if he's available, that make sense.

Let OV walk....He's not a difference maker and truth be told, he will go to who pays him the most

Lamar keep....but that is if he will be willing to accept 4yr/20million deal or something to that extent....pairing him with JJ....would be ideal to Anderson/Hillman

[DolphinsFreak]

Remove Jenkins from you list....His play doesn't impress me. Add his teammate Trumaine Johnson

Gipson I like...the browns secured him with a 2nd round qualifying offer...but it would be interesting to see what Hue does with him this year...if he's available, that make sense.

Let OV walk....He's not a difference maker and truth be told, he will go to who pays him the most

Lamar keep....but that is if he will be willing to accept 4yr/20million deal or something to that extent....pairing him with JJ....would be ideal to Anderson/Hillman

I agree. I'm not on this "OV" bandwagon. I think the Dolphins would be better off without him. Let him chase the money somewhere else. Miller is a "good" running back but I wouldn't break the bank to keep him in Miami. If they can sign him to a realistic contract they should do it. If not, they can replace him with someone else in free agency or the draft. Ajayi looked really good when given the chance. It was almost as if the coaches were trying really hard not to allow Miller to get to 1,000 yards.

The front office really dropped the ball last offseason and Hickey and Tannenbaum should both be without jobs right now. They rolled with the o-linemen they had on their roster, with the backing of many people on this forum who like Tannehill, and they missed out on some of the best offensive linemen of 2015. Hopefully this new GM and staff won't make the same mistake. Osemele would be a nice pickup as would Gipson.

[Idahomer]

I agree as well on OV. His continual "cheap shots" resulting in penalties is getting old. This was a contract year and he still started slow and until Wake went down didn't do much at all. I think we can find someone a lot cheaper with similar production.

I like the idea of keeping Miller, but you can't overpay a RB like Philly did last year with Murray. They get hurt too easily, and honestly you can get good production out of undrafted FA's if you have a solid oline and balanced play calling. We don't have to low ball him, but we should be careful to not overpay for a RB when we have so many other needs and a cheap option in Ajayi on the roster. They should draft another late or bring in some undrafted FA's to compete for a spot if Miller walks IMO.

[39Zonk]

I feel as good as Miller is, I think we should let him walk because from what I've seen I think he's holding Ajayi back. He is that power/ speed back we need starting. JMO

[AquaXI]

Only problem is we and most NFL teams need/have tandems in case one gets hurt and or to keep them fresh. Not just a back but a proven back. We can go draft late which isn't a sure thing and drafting early Robs us of other needs. If Miller is reasonable then get the deal done.

[Driven_Phinsane!]

Personally, i don't think splurging in FA ever works..FA is nothing but a pipedream where lesser teams think they can revamp their roster overnight, going from pretender status to contender in one fell swoop - What FA is in reality is the process of overpaying average talent & mortgaging the future for really good to great talent; where the highest bidder wins (wins??) and where you're often left bidding against yourself!

We need to use FA as no more than a way of supplementing what we're able to build both through the draft and hopefully coaching up some of the 'talent' (i use this term loosely!) already on the roster..We've tried numerous times to make a HUGE splash in FA & have failed repeatedly, time to face that there is going to be no easy-fix & realize that if it's gonna get done, we'll have to do it the old fashioned way...

[marino4ever]

I agree DP, all building through Free agency leaves you with is bad salary cap space.

[DolphinsFreak]

Personally, i don't think splurging in FA ever works..FA is nothing but a pipedream where lesser teams think they can revamp their roster overnight, going from pretender status to contender in one fell swoop - What FA is in reality is the process of overpaying average talent & mortgaging the future for really good to great talent; where the highest bidder wins (wins??) and where you're often left bidding against yourself!

We need to use FA as no more than a way of supplementing what we're able to build both through the draft and hopefully coaching up some of the 'talent' (i use this term loosely!) already on the roster..We've tried numerous times to make a HUGE splash in FA & have failed repeatedly, time to face that there is going to be no easy-fix & realize that if it's gonna get done, we'll have to do it the old fashioned way...

I agree with some of your post but I do think there are exceptions to free agency and how it can be used. For some reason it seems that there are two positions that seem to have the most diva's who are all about themselves and their bank accounts. I bet those positions came into your mind right now. In my opinion they are wide receivers and cornerbacks. For the most part I would try and stay away from those two positions. But, I do believe IF the Dolphins would have listened to some of the fans on this forum and signed a couple offensive linemen the Dolphins "might" have had a different season. Almost all the o-linemen that were available in free agency last offseason signed fair contracts AND ranked in the top of their positions. I would have no problem if the Dolphins FINALLY went out and spent a few bucks on both lines, but more importantly the offensive line.

[Driven_Phinsane!]

yeah, i was really talking about splurging in FA; i think the market in FA is almost always a seller's market with the players being the sellers, and usually a supply & demand situation, with way more demand than adequate supply..I'd definitely love to score a competent O-Lineman or two in FA...

[Bahamas]

Splurge on the secondary brov

It's okay...

Bowles, who is one of the brightest minds in the NFL built his secondary via free agency...there are certain position you can do well within in FA as opposed to the draft

[DolphinsFreak]

It can be done. I just don't trust those diva's that are always chasing the big payday or Super Bowl ring. They have no loyalty. It's all about them. I don't trust players like that. Yes, you can find great players but they don't last long, usually.

[Idahomer]

If you're going to splurge the secondary is the place to do it. No sure things coming out of the draft. I think you're much more likely to hit a LB in the draft than a CB or safety. I also would splurge on one lineman so we're guaranteed an upgrade at one of the guard spots. We can't win without better oline play no matter who is on the sidelines calling plays and who is under center spinning the ball for us.

[Bahamas]

OL and CB - I would buy in Free Agency...there are only certain types of players that can make a day 1 impact via the draft...statistically speaking. And I understand there are exceptions, but I would take a proven CB or OL who has played in the NFL, than a rookie if i was building any team

[FTLDOLFAN]

I think we can definitely afford 3 of the 5 free agents that I listed. If I had to choose 3 then I would choose Keleche Osemele, since he is the best free agent o-lineman available and our o-line must be upgraded. He can play both the OG and OT positions so his versatility will be invaluable. He would start at OG for us and possibly move to OT if Albert or James gets injured. Janoris Jenkins would be the 2nd free agent that I would choose. He is considered to be one of the best free agent corners on the market and if we release Grimes which I think we should then we should sign a veteran free agent corner to replace him. The 3rd free agent who I would choose to sign is OV. He is one of the best free agent DE's and we need to bring back either OV or Wake. OV is younger so I would bring him back.

That leaves the FS and RB positions to be address in the draft. We can take FS Darian Thompson from Boise State in the 2nd round or Deon Bush from Miami in the 4th round. Then to address the RB position we can take Alex Collins in the 3rd round or Kenyan Drake in the 5th round.

[FTLDOLFAN]

Personally, i don't think splurging in FA ever works..FA is nothing but a pipedream where lesser teams think they can revamp their roster overnight, going from pretender status to contender in one fell swoop - What FA is in reality is the process of overpaying average talent & mortgaging the future for really good to great talent; where the highest bidder wins (wins??) and where you're often left bidding against yourself!

We need to use FA as no more than a way of supplementing what we're able to build both through the draft and hopefully coaching up some of the 'talent' (i use this term loosely!) already on the roster..We've tried numerous times to make a HUGE splash in FA & have failed repeatedly, time to face that there is going to be no easy-fix & realize that if it's gonna get done, we'll have to do it the old fashioned way...

Well you have to sign some players in free agency. You can't fill all of your needs in the draft.

[Driven_Phinsane!]

Believe me, i know that we can't fill all of our needs in the draft, especially when we have about 30-40 needs..That's why no matter how you slice it, i think we're looking at at minimum a 3 year turnaround...

[So Be]

We could afford to do whatever we want to do but, there are roadblocks in Grimes, Wake, and Albert and the team has to decide on what direction to take. KO project to an $8M a year deal. Does not work with Albert and Pouncey getting $10M each.

I'm not counting on the draft for immediate impact. In the last two years, we got a RT who was so so and injured, a VG slot WR, a potential star at WR who played 4-5 games, and a rotational DT.

[Bahamas]

This draft doesn't have the best player selection. It seems anytime we are pickin in the top 10 the talent is not there.

I do think there are some impact players in this draft, but it's not deep. Honestly after the 3rd round it gets scary. I am hoping our first two picks look legit as they are early picks

if we can a combination of CB/DE or CB/LB, i would consider the draft a win