March 19, 2025 • 48 mins
Lee and Simon are back for their first show of the new League year as they dive deep into the waves of free agency. Did the Dolphins make a splash signing? What do their moves mean for the future of the Fins? Tune in to find out!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Tarry here and you are now listening to
Dolphin UK podcast on Leave Speeds, Take Them Away Way.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, Hello, welcome to the Dolphin UK podcast. We are
back for our first show of the new league year,
and coming up we're going to give you our thoughts
on all of the Dolphins free agent signings today, and
here to help you and me be guided through that
(00:52):
is Lee here as always. How you're doing, sir, very well?
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Are you happy New Year?
Speaker 2 (00:57):
It seems weird saying Happy New Year in middle of March,
but it is the start of the new league year.
So we're officially into the twenty twenty five season now,
aren't we.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Absolutely. It means we've got a lot of good things
to look forward to.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
And obviously we're in the middle of free agency right now.
But just wanted to touch on a draft related news item
that has cropped up recently in that the Dolphins have
been awarded some compensatory picks in the upcoming NFL Draft.
They've got one third pick, one third round pick, one
fourth round pick, and one seventh It was two seventh picks,
(01:30):
wasn't it, Lee, But they've had one since taken away
due to a miscalculation in the compensatory picks formula, which
I don't think I've ever seen before. But nevertheless, they've
still got three picks in addition to their regular allocation,
haven't they.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
Yeah, that seemed a little bit wild. Really. We like
to say in the office, worry work that that would
be a hot face moment where he's starting a bit
hot in the face and you realize you've made a
bit of an error. But yeah, that did seem like
a strange calculation, but we will do it. So it's good.
Good to clear that up and know exactly where you
stand well ahead of the draft.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yeah, I mean it was only a seventh they lost,
and as a general were all seventh round picks very
rarely make the roster anyway, So the chances of the
Dolphins losing the opportunity to draft the starter is probably
very remote, anyway.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
You would have thought, Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Okay, Right, So, as I said earlier, were in the
middle of free agency, and we're going to give you
the lowdown of all of the Dolphins free agency signings
to date, and we're going to kick off with Yulie.
You're going to walk us through a couple of offensive
linemen who the Dolphins have inked to.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Contracts absolutely, So it was an interesting start to free agency,
and the Dolphins started off by picking up a guard,
James Daniels. He's entering his eighth year in the NFL.
He was drafted in the second round, thirty ninth overall
in twenty eighteen, I believe by the Chicago Bears at
the University of Iowa. Through the course of his career,
(03:06):
played in ninety games. Ninety games, sorry it started eighty four.
And he's also got that thing that I think it's
going to be a little bit of a theme and
has been for the last couple of years with Chris
Grew and Mike McDaniel, is some position flexibility. Now obviously
you want him to lock down and play in one position,
but just having done it, I think he's always good
(03:27):
to see you on the resume, and I think McDaniel
even talked about that at the combine. So, although he's
coming off an injury from last year, which I think
plays into the length of the deal because there was
only a short deal given out, and free agency see
monster deals over long long periods of time being handed out,
but this wasn't one of those and I definitely would
(03:53):
say I recommend checking out Travis's podcast to listen to
James Daniels because he speaks particularly eloquently and you can
see how he's really driven to improve. So, although he's
been a really good starter in the NFL, and actually
this seems like a really great value pick up by
(04:13):
Chris Greer, super high ceiling on this move for not
making money in terms of the guards that were signed
in the opening a few days of free agency. We
hope to see a solid starter come back to the
lineup after missing a lot of last season with an injury.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Yeah, that's the thing I took away from this signing
is that he's got a huge amount of upside if
he can stay injury free. He was ranked one of
the top guards that were available in free agency and
obviously didn't go in that initial wave because of the
injury history, I would imagine, But so let's hope he
can stay injury free and if he does, then it
could turn out to be a great signing on paper.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Absolutely, and we saw Chris Greer McDaniel mentioned wanting to
focus on the offensive line, and it's no surprise that
they went with one of the top guards on the
market as the first move out the gates, but that
was quickly followed by another move for an offensive lineman,
and that was Larry Borham. Entering his fifth year in
the NFL after being drafted in the fifth round, one
(05:18):
hundred and fifty first overall in twenty twenty one out
of Missouri. He's played forty seven games and started twenty
seven of those. He's had some ups and downs, I
think it'd be safe to say, but he's also again
played in a few different positions, seemed to be more
comfortable on the right side of the offensive line through
(05:38):
some of the tape that I have seen so far.
But it was very interesting again to hear his interview
with Travis and hear him speak for himself on how
he's looking to improve and take his game to the
next level, and how he still relies on veterans and
is able to take that coaching, and I think that's
something that's super important when you're in a new system.
(06:00):
He's willing to learn and understands that there is going
to be a change in role, seem very excited to
play on a versatile and athletic offensive line in an
athletic offense where you know it's going to be a
fast pace and definitely the sort of guy who could
benefit from the experience of a toront Armstead if he
(06:23):
chooses to return. Obviously he's under contract, but we know
that it's been spoken about in the media that you
know he may mull retirement still, but again, would feel
like a great player for Larry Borham to learn from.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
I think it's interesting if you go back to the
end of season press conference, Chris Greer acknowledged they were
going to address the offensive line in free agency and
or the draft, and it's appropriate therefore that the first
two signings they officially announced were offensive linemen.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Absolutely. I mean, he's doing what he said. It wasn't
lip service. I think they they learned from last year
that there is a clear path to success and it's
you know, making sure QB one stays on the field.
And that's not to say that injuries last year were
down to the old line, as certainly wasn't the case.
(07:17):
But building a wall in front of your franchise quarterback
is never going to be a bad thing. So you know,
it helps in the run game, it's going to help
in the pass game, helps the quarterback. It's you know
here it all the time. It's best to build in
the trenches, and Chris I said, it's very wanted to focus,
and that's the first two moves he made. So it
feels like he was getting what he wanted to start
(07:40):
free agency.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Yeah, and he can't have too many offensive linemen given
the the rate at which the Dolphins have been burnt
in the past by injuries. We've mentioned two new ones
here and they're re signed to offensive linemen as well,
which will come on to in due course. And given
the fact that they have what eleven picks is it
in the draft, there's a high line clihood that we're
not going to see. This isn't the end of it?
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Is it?
Speaker 1 (08:03):
No?
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Absolutely? And you know, the one other thing that I'd
noted here, Sorry I missed off and I was just
reading my notes. There is the sheer size of Larry
Borrom as well. Like again in the in the kind
of Patrick Paul stands out in the field and somehow
stands out amongst big human beings, and Larry Boram will
(08:24):
be the same six five, three hundred and thirty three pounds.
That's a large human being. So it feels like there's
a kind of body type that they were going after
a little bit there as well, And I know we
saw that last year a little bit with the defensive
linemen that were brought in. So yeah, interesting, But like
you say, build a wall around or I QB one
and it can only help everywhere. And I think you
(08:45):
hit the nail on the head. You can never have
too much talent in at any one position because it
just gives you flexibility. If you can just keep putting
talent into a position group, you'll find a way to
make it work for you. But that's not the only
movies that were made. Like you said, there was quite
a few moves made, and I think that brings us
(09:06):
on to another offensive signing.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Yeah, I was going to talk about the wide receiver
they signed, Nick Westbrook Nick Westbrook Keene and I've literally
ruined his surname there, but I think we all know
who I'm talking about. He's six foot he's got a
long name, and he's six foot tall as well, so
and he's two undred and eleven pounds, so he's immediately
(09:30):
become the tallest wide receiver on the Dolphins Rosterly, I
didn't know whether you were aware of that, and I
ask yourself the question, why does that matter? I mean,
you know, the Dolphins have relied on short speed receivers
for pretty much the entirety of the Mike McDaniel era.
It's made the Dolphins offense kind of a little bit predictable,
(09:53):
whilst also making the teams outside run game less effective
due to poor blocking. And one of call him Nick
for the purposes of this pod, or no, let's call
him Westbrook. He should help address those issues due to
the sheer size and weight he's got an and don't
forget he adds an element of vertical receiving ability to
(10:15):
Last season, he recorded thirty two catches for four hundred
and ninety seven yards nine touchdowns with an average of
fifteen point three. And I believe he also caught a
ninety eight yard touchdown as well, if my memory serves
me correct. So he's certainly got a lot of potential.
That third receiver spot has been a bit of an
(10:35):
eyesore during the past three seasons, but you never know,
we might have found the answer there. And I think
we've got to just wait and see on that one,
see how he produces. But a certainly one that does
excite me a little bit and has a lot of potential.
I don't know what you thought of that particular signing,
and apologies for him for butchering his name.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
I go that you started over Westbrook other than Aikine.
After we spoke about this pronunciation of Dames before the show.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
We got it spot on, didn't we amazing always.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
I'm going to go a step further and say that
he is my favorite signing so far. It's everything's potential
right now, because you know, we're a long way from
training camp and the season starting and all those things.
But we have seen over the last couple of years
the Dolphins try and get some more size in the
(11:32):
wide receiver room and it's not necessarily panned out. You know,
Chase Claypoole come in, wasn't able to stick around. Odell
Beckham became the tallest guy in the room, wasn't able
to you know, didn't stick around. What I like about
this signing is you mentioned they're nine touchdowns last season,
but that wasn't playing as a wide receiver one. And
(11:55):
I think where things fall down in free agency a
lot is you see players making the step up, they
get the big contract and they're then expected to do
something very different than what got them the money, where
it might be going from a wide receiver so to
a wide receiver one, or it's becoming the focused point
of the offense when you weren't before, so you're now
(12:16):
seeing the top guy in coverage, or you're seeing a
traveling corner. You know, you're you're having defenses planned and
you know, specifically schemed towards your skill set. But he's
coming in to play the same kind of position that
he has before, behind the tyree kill, behind a jail
and model. And that's not to say that you know,
(12:39):
that's that's not a dig. It's I actually think there's
a massive advantage for him is that he's going to
be able to come in and be the same guy
and play the same why as opposed to you know,
like I say, guys who gets signed in free agency
and then all of a sudden become you know, wide
receiver one and the step up is too big and
(12:59):
then you look at contrast to oh, that was a
bad signing. And I think there's a lot of things
here that I think alleviate the pressure on him to
do something that he hasn't done before. If he can
just do what he did with Tennessee last year, I
think it's going to be a great signing for the Dolphins,
and especially in the red zone.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
I'm going to move to the defensive side of the
ball now. And the next signing that was officially announced
was Ashton Davis, safety, who has come over from AFC
East rival New York Jets. And what I like about
this one lee is that he's got a nose for
the football and over the course, he was a third
round pick from the Jets and he's logged eight picks
(13:38):
in five years, but he's also got four fumble recoveries
and three forced fumbles as well, so he's definitely got
a note for the football. And I want to refer
to an article that Travis wrote on Davis on the
Miami Dolphins website where he outlines the fact that he
was previously a bit of a rotational piece in the
Jets secondary and has played over and thousand defensive snaps
(14:01):
in five years. But he's got that interchangeability that the
dot and the flexibility that I think the Dolphins would
benefit from. And his best take comes from playing the
deep center field position, but that's not his only calling
card going back to his days in college. Travis outline
the fact that he's been no stranger to covering in
(14:23):
the slot as well so and in fact, most of
his snaps have come down around the line of scrimmage,
so he's got a bit of a pedigree, bit of
a note for the football and whether he will become
a long term starter at the position, obviously there's a
lot of outstanding questions there. But again I referred back
to need, and the Dolphins obviously clearly had a gap
(14:45):
at safety with the departure of Juvon Holland, who we
wish well of course, and Jordan Poyer who's a free
agent also, so they begin begun to fill that need
with the signing of Ashton Davis. And I'm going to
send the next review and we're going to stay on
the defensive side of the ball. I'm going to hand
it over to you, Lee, because it's now your opportunity
(15:06):
to butcher a player's name one chance and one chance only.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
League go absolutely, and we're going to stick in the
safety room with it. He fathrough Melon fon Wu, who
played last year with Detroit, and now I'm going to
have to find my summary because I was concentrained so
much on trying to get his name right. And I
apologize it again if I got that wrong, because it's
not easy. But he's entering his fifth year in the NFL.
(15:34):
Was drafted in the third round, one hundred and first
over out of Syracuse. Again, like you say, made a
lot of tackles. He's been kind of bitten with injury
as well through the course of his career. Was hurt
last year but turned up being in a playoff game
for Detroit I think the year four against the Tampa
(15:55):
Bay Buccaneers. But he has seventy two tackles, one force fumble,
two fumble recoveries, four and a half sacks, thirteen pass deflections,
two interceptions, and it's played in thirteen He's playing thirty
seven regular season games. I say, I think you're trying
(16:18):
to get a guy with a little bit of attitude
from Dan Campbell's defense. And we heard Jordan Poyer mentioned
last year, you know he wanted to see a little
bit more bite in the defense. Well, this feels like
the kind of guy that might do that. Again, we've
mentioned with a couple of players here that injuries have
hampered them through their career. So again it's going to
(16:41):
be a case of trying to keep him healthy, but
if he does, seems like a versatile piece. Has played
all the positions at the defensive back, he's played the corner,
he's played safety, so again, like a versatile piece. And
(17:01):
I know we'll talk about this attle bit more later,
but this feels like a kind of move where you've
added two safeties into the safety room and it's given
you some of that position flexibility coming into the draft.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Yeah, excellent filling and lead there. Do you think it's
something given those two signings, It's again we talked about
you can't have too many offensive linemen. Do you think
that the Dolphins will continue to look at the position
in the draft as well?
Speaker 3 (17:30):
Yeah, I think. I mean we'll have to get Chris
Greer on and ask him personally, but I think I
think I wouldn't be too far wrong in saying that
his goal heading into every free agency is to give
himself as much flexibility as possible going into the draft
where you really can't take the best player available. So
(17:53):
it's you know, it's a case of stacking talent now
and guys fit and guys you want in your locker
room and on your team, but also that you're not
kind of pigeonholed when you get to the first round
where you say, you know, you couldn't go into the
draft with no safeties on the team, because now you've
got a real problem. But more the point, everybody knows
(18:13):
you've got a problem, So I think that's part of
the thinking as well.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
I think there's a couple of safeties that I've got
my eye on in the draft, where we'll cover that
in more detail in our draft preview of course, but
team I think, yeah, given the fact that there are
a couple of highly ranked safeties that could be available
around pick thirteen, I wouldn't be surprised if they use
(18:38):
another safety at that pick. But we'll come onto that
in more detail in our draft preview episode.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
Feeling Simon mightbe eye in a certain safety out of Georgia.
But with that being said, we've also got some more
players signed on the offensive side of the ball, and
with Raheem Most leaving to go to the Raiders in
free agency, SIY, that brings us on to Alexander Mattison.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
Yeah, it's the first exchange of players with a rival
team because they did it with the Bucks, course with
at the line backup position, which will come on too,
but they've essentially swapped running backs with I, like you say,
most going the other way to the Raiders and Alexander
Mattison coming back to coming to the Dolphins.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
And now the thing I.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Like about Mathison is that he could be that short
yardage back the Dolphins have been looking for. I think
we know that Devon Hchan and jayalen Wright are going
to be the focal point of the rushing attack for
the twenty twenty five season. Alexander Mattison certainly gives them
a little bit of something different. He only eate last season.
He had seven starts for the Raiders. Prior to that.
(19:42):
He was a really solid backup to Dalvin Cook in
Minnesota for quite a few years at the start of
his career, and he was always one that I looked
at from a fantasy point of view as being a
really good handcuff for Dalvin Cook. So I've always had
my eye on him, try to grab him in fantasy
where a as a potential RB two in fantasy. So
(20:06):
I've always liked him. Whether he's got enough left in
the tank for me He's the biggest question because he's
obviously running back. The shelf life of running backs is
obviously a lot shorter at that position than anywhere else,
and he's been around. The Raiders haven't kept him on
for a reason, so I'd like to see how much
(20:26):
gas he's got left. The fact that he's not going
to play every down probably will help his course. I
think I don't know what you think there, Lee of
Alexander Madison.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
Yeah, I felt like the Dolphins needed to make a
signing and a change maybe in the running back room.
I think the most general way to put it is
you had a stable of running backs there who were
very capable of hitting a big play at any time.
But I don't know if when you needed two yards
(20:58):
you had a running back that you feel really confident
with just get two yards. I think we saw it that.
The San Francisco game is a really good example, isn't
it late in the game when Divan a Chan scores
on a long touchdown. That play is ideal for a
guy who just needs to get you the yardage in
(21:20):
the first down and keep the clock moving to see
the game out. Cool. Great that divan a Chan scored
absolutely great and it was a great run, but I
think you need some more consistency, and we've seen it
through Dolphins history. You know, when you look at a
player like Lusaka Polite, where his job wasn't to rip
off big runs, his job was to come in and
(21:41):
almost guarantee short yardage conversions. And I think Alexander Mattison
may be the piece that you want to do that,
or at least he's going to be an attempt at
filling that role. Last year, on so or fourth down
with one to three yards to go, he he rushed
eight times and converted on six of those. Is that's
(22:03):
the sort of production that you're looking for. I think
if you can do that throughout the season, like the
big players are going to come from from right and
age han, but you know, I think we need a
chain mover as well. And I think that, you know,
it is something that I don't think was in the
room or they didn't feel confident was in the room
(22:24):
last season.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Talked about his mileage. He's actually a seven year VET,
but he's still only twenty six, so he came into
the league relatively early. Somebody who's been in the league
for seven years, you'd have thought his approaching the age
of thirty, which is the acknowledge point where running backs
potentially could start to see a downturn in their production.
So he's not quite there yet. So the fact that
(22:47):
he's relatively young, hasn't been a full time starter throughout
his career because he was a backup for like I
said earlier, for Dalvin Cook for six years, probably means
that he's got the opportunit unity to stay in the
league for a good few years yet and be productive.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
Absolutely, And I think I think it's really difficult to
judge someone on one year's worth of work with a
team that the Raiders have plenty of troubles last year,
we saw changing coaching staff and plenty of turnover. We
saw changes, you know, different players playing a quarterback as well,
(23:28):
So it's not necessarily the easiest situation. So I think
it'd be interesting to see when you get him in
your system with a head coach that has, you know,
really excelled at trying to get running backs to perform
at their best, you know, especially with his history as
a running backs you know, a run game specialist. Sorry
(23:50):
in San Francisco, it feels like a good fit, but
without the without the having to learn the NFL part
of it. That's what you get from having a VET,
and you don't lose the vet in the room. You know,
with a Raheem Moost leaving, you've brought another vet in,
so you know it feels good for roster construction. Like
you say, the age is great as well, So an
(24:12):
interesting pickup. I thought it's a really good fit for
a need that we had that I don't know if
it's that easy to fill.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
And we reached half time in the show.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
Le absolutely Now usually a halftime we would do something different.
But I think as we're breaking down all of these
free agent signings, maybe it's just best to go through
a few of the resignings at this point. Just keep
it simple. We're not going to break them down too much.
(24:45):
These are the guys that you know that you've seen
play on the team and are excited to have back.
So I think we'll start the top of the list
with Liam Eichenberg. Terrell Dodson was re signed, Quentin Bell,
Elijah Carabell, Jackson, Carmen ds Gridge, and Matt Dickerson. So
(25:06):
they all return. Sigh.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
Any thoughts, I think the obvious one to talk about
is Lia Mikenberg. Isn't he because we have yet again
got a depth piece on the offensive line. He's much
maligned in terms of his performances for the Dolphins over
the years. It will be nice to have some competition
at his spot. So it remains to be seen whether
(25:31):
he forces himself into the starting lineup, and a lot
of that will depend on the draft. Of course, it
remains to be seen how much playing that playing time
he gets going forward into next season. And because it's
a short term deal as well, isn't it. I believe
so one year he's got a lot to prove if
he wants to earn along deal, whether that's here or elsewhere.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
I go that you started off of Liam Mikeenberg there.
I always felt that he was always coming back. He
feels like the perfect piece. They've shown that they like
his versatility and what he's done on the offensive line,
and also he feels like the perfect benchmark to gauge
other players against. Like you say, he's been forced into
(26:15):
the starting lineup when really you'd probably have rather he
was a depth piece over the last couple of years,
and that's due to injury. But that's the bar of
where we need to improve and if he beats the
guys out, great, then he deserves to be in that position.
But also, you know, you're bringing back a guy who
(26:36):
knows the system, can play it, has played at every
one of the positions across the offensive line, and I
think that versatility holds great weight with both Mike McDaniel
the coaching staff and Chris Grew. I'd be really interested
to see a little bit more of DS Gridge as well.
Unfortunately his season was cut a little bit short with
(26:57):
some injury there last year, but again felt like a
great fit, has decent size, but also some returnability as well,
So you know, I thought we saw some routes where
it looked interesting. I'd like to see him play with
two a little bit more to see you to see
how that fit really goes. And I think, you know,
a full off season in the system is obviously beneficial
(27:20):
to a lot of these guys as opposed to coming
in mid season and trying to hit the ground running.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
That's kind of where I looked at d s courage
and thought he would be potentially an option for a
return man. Obviously we've got elite Washington as well. There
of course, but that's where I would see Denes Courage excelling,
if anywhere, I think, to be honest with you, he's
probably way down the depth chart at the wide receiver
position overall, but his returnability might be enough to get
(27:45):
him on the roster.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
Absolutely. Is there any of the other resignings that you'd
like to pick up on?
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Yeah, I like the resigning of Therell Dodson at linebacker.
That was a really solid player for us last year,
and I was really pleased that he's he signed. Obviously,
we lost Danty new Walker, which will come on too,
but we've got twelve Dodson back, so really pleased with
that one. And again, he had that pick in Cleveland
Didn'tey as well, which was a non important plick pick,
so we know that he can make plays and it's
(28:13):
always good to have playmakers on yours on the defensive
side of the ball.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
Yeah, it was a great in season pickup, wasn't. He
actually had the seahawks and tackles at the time that
he was they go, which just seems completely bizarre. And
then was a really solid please for the Dolphins throughout
the you know, especially the second half of the season.
So let you say, again, a great pick up gives
you flexibility going forwards and the rest of free agency
in the draft, and you know, a solid, a solid
(28:40):
starter back on the roster.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Any other re signings lead that have caught your eye?
Speaker 3 (28:46):
No, I think there's I think the guys that they've
brought back guys they like because they know them. I
think there's there's something to be said about that they've
obviously earn't the respective of the coaching stuff, that they
want to bring them back back in for next season
to compete for jobs, and that's it's almost like unfinished work,
(29:07):
isn't it. I think they feel like they've got chances
to be on the roster and to improve. So an
exciting time heading forwards for these guys.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
Okay, let's go on to the second half of the show.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
Lee.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
We've got four more players that the Dolphins have officially announced,
and we're going to start off with one whose name
makes it sound as though they'd made us a free
agent signing from the UK because his name was Britt.
So when the Dolphins sign a brit my heart was
racing there and I was trying to think who on
earth it could be. But then I realized it wasn't
(29:40):
somebody from the United Kingdom, and I was worried then
it was going to be Kenny Britt, former wide receiver
because his name is Kay Britt. It is of course
k J. Britt who they picked up from Tampa Bay,
and he is of course a linebacker. And thing that
stood out for me on this one lee that he's
(30:01):
a very much a special teams player. Yes, we know
he plays the linebacker position, but his strength is on
the special teams unit. I think last year in Tampa
Bay he came over, he had his best year of
his career, and he was a fifth round pick back
in twenty twenty one, he accumulated seventy two tackles, two TFLs,
(30:22):
and half a sack. But he's very much he did
more than just play defense, as he absolutely thrived on
special teams and it was a really good special teams
unit that the Buccaneers had last year and he absolutely
thrived in that. So it's going to be a difficult
loss for the Bucks to cope with, but certainly their
loss is the Dolphins game. So from a special team's
(30:45):
point of view, absolutely, certainly somebody he can contribute there.
Speaker 3 (30:49):
Absolutely We'll have to ask him if he just wanted
to stay in the warm weather as well, making the
short trip down from Tampa to Wyoy. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
And of course they swat picked with Anthony Walker, didn't they,
because he hit linebacker for Dolphins has now signed with
Tampa Bay.
Speaker 3 (31:06):
Of course, It's amazing how that happens, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
So I've done it twice this season, which is unusual,
of course, swapping effectively swapping players, and that probably leads
us nicely onto what I would say, what arguably is
the most surprising free agent signing of all of them,
and that is, tell me, Lee, who are we talking
about here?
Speaker 3 (31:28):
We're talking about quarterback Zach Wilson. I'm not sure I
ever expected to say that. When you look back at
the draft and the Jets waiting to take him there,
that's phil's almost weird to say. You bear in mind,
(31:51):
he's entering his fourth year. He was picked in second
overall in twenty twenty one. I'll be why you And
it seems like the Jets fell in love with him
so early in that process. And I think everyone has
seen a clip of him throwing at his pro day
where he rolls out and throws a bomb down the field,
and it felt like that was the moment where it's like,
(32:13):
we'll just send a pick in now. But I think,
you know, to be fair to Zach Wilson, the Jets
is not necessarily the greatest place to go for a quarterback,
to a quarterback career to thrive, shall we say, And
I think it makes it a really interesting, a really
(32:34):
interesting signing. I'm actually quite excited about it. So I
was shocked. I didn't expect to be talking about Zach
Wilson this offseason. But I think he's got He's got
the kind of arm and some traits that I think
would really intrigue Mike McDaniel. And it'd be interesting to
see how they play out in this in this offense.
(32:57):
And I'm going to preface that by saying that the
absolute goal here, it's for him to stand on the
sideline holding a clipboard for the entire season, because as
we mentioned earlier, which you're trying to build a wall
because you want to to play all year like that's
the goal, but you still have to have a quarterback
who can play behind him. Zach Wilson has two wins
over the Buffalo Bills in his short career. You know
(33:21):
there is something in there, and I wonder if if
Mike McDaniel sees that and thinks maybe I'm the one
to unlock that. And we mentioned it before. You build talent,
you build talent. You build talent great. If he looks
great after the preseason you have, it opens up all
sorts of possibilities. He has value to you in other
(33:42):
ways as well, and that goes for all players. So
I think it's an interesting signing. I think there is
there's upside to it, and we know from last year,
you know the goal is keep too healthy.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
I was very much like you, Lee and that when
I saw the announcement, I was quite excited because it
popped up. Dolphin signed Wilson at quarterback, and my immediate
thoughts turned to Russell Wilson, and I thought, what a
good QB two. He's going to be behind to He
could have asked for a better QB two. And then
of course it transpired. It it wasn't Russell, it was Zack.
(34:20):
But you're right, the end goal here is for Zach
Wilson not to play a snap, and if that is
the case, you can't say then it was a bad
signing because he's fulfilling the role you absolutely want him
to fulfill throughout the whole season. Where the concerns are
and I think there are legitimate concerns, probably because he's
quite young. He's twenty five and he's already on his
(34:41):
third NFL team, so there has to be some concern
there are around what are the reasons he's not able
to stick with his original team having him draft that
second overall, And I think you hit the nail on
the head in terms of he wasn't put in an
ideal situation initially, he was thrown it at the deep end.
Last year, he didn't play in Denver at all because
(35:03):
they've now got Boonick, so excuse me. So hopefully now
he can take some time to just learn from an
offensive minded coach which he may not have had before,
learned from tour, and just improve his skill set on
the sidelines on a gradual basis so that if he
(35:24):
unfortunately is called upon, he's ready to go. So I
think he probably offers more upside than Tyler Huntley and
Scytt Thompson, but it remains to be seen just how
much we're going to actually see him on the field.
Speaker 3 (35:41):
Yeah, I mean, I want to go back to saying
that I mentioned on the podcast. He did the Travis
a couple of weeks ago, and it's if you're going
to get a backup for tour, do you want to
match his skill set? And that's not Zach Wilson. So
Wilson struggles a little bit with decision making, and he
struggles a little bit of accuracy. He does have a
big arm though, and I think decision making there's the
(36:06):
opportunity for a coach like Mike McDaniel to break the
decision making down and help him build it back up.
Was obviously successful in college, like it was always a
first round talent. So it's not like that, you know,
he doesn't have an awful lot of talent. It's just
refining some of that and maybe kind of reining it in,
do you know what I mean? And look, I'm going
(36:29):
to go back to it and say again you just
mentioned it. The Jets is not the best place to
go if you're a young QB. You've only got to
look at quarterbacks that are playing in the NFL right now,
who just got paid. Junia is supposed to being paid
to be a start quarterback in the NFL. Took him
a long time to recover from being a Jets quarterback,
and Sam Donald just at the Vikings to the playoffs
(36:50):
after a great season and is now being paid an
awful lot of money in free agency, was at the
top quarterback in the market in the free agent market
this season. Both ex Jets. Look. Uh, it probably adds
to the intrigue of is there is there something something
(37:13):
undernes this rock to turn over? But that being said,
when we move on from quarterbacks and moved to the
most exciting position on the NFL.
Speaker 2 (37:25):
Field, Yeah, punters. Yeah, punters are people too, aren't they.
Speaker 3 (37:29):
Absolutely? I joke because you know, punters are awfully important.
But it's just that perception that the special teams that
often get overlooked, and we try not to do that here.
We try to talk about them when possible.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
Yeah, and we are of course talking about Ryan Stonehouse,
who the Dolphins have greed to terms with ex tendency
Titans punter who made the Pro Bowl a couple of
times whilst with the Titans before unfortunately suffering an ACL
injury which put him out for the year, so he
miss to a huge chunk of time due to that injury,
and I think it was somewhat of a bit of
a surprising release from the Titans after they decided to
(38:07):
move on. But obviously the Titans loss is the Dolphins game,
and I think there's an opportunity here for the Dolphins
to improve their punting position. With all respect to Jake Bailey,
who has not yet made the Pro Bowl. As I said,
Ryan Stonehouse has done it twice and he has got
a really good net yardage over the course of his career.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
I think that's probably why you see the Dolphins still
have two punters on the roster. You need them through
camp and there's a legitimate competition to be had. Bailey
will have a chance to win the job, and so
are Stonehouse. You have to think that this is possibly
connected to Craig Guckermanant as a special teams coach, saying that, hey, look,
(38:48):
i've seen this guy play incredibly well, he's available. You're
not saying anything in stone at this time of year.
So it feels like a smart signing and a chance
to improve a position possibly, So yeah, you bring the
guy in, you have a look and see where you
stand in a few months time.
Speaker 2 (39:06):
Yeah, I was going to mention Craig Ockman has clearly
had an influence on this signing, having worked with him
in Tennessee. So we'll see how that one turns out,
which leads us on nicely to our last signing of
the free agency period so far anyway, and I'll hand
over to you Lee to introduce this guy.
Speaker 3 (39:25):
So we'll go to a Pharaoh Brown entering his eighth year,
is an undrafted free agent in twenty seventeen, but has
really carved out a kind of nice career for himself.
Been on a lot of teams, but I don't know
if that's a bad thing. I think if you're undrafted
and you've managed to stick around in the league, you know,
heading into your eighth season, you're doing some things really well.
(39:49):
And I think there's some versatility that he has in
regards to being able to catch the ball. He also
is a willing blocker, and I think we know how
how far that goes in this system. And that's something
that actually we should have mentioned about Westbrook A Kine
that he is a willing blocker, and I think you
(40:09):
see the same thing here with Pharaoh Brown, and we
know how important that is. I was actually looking back
at the all the Dolphins' top ten players. It came
out the other day, and I think it was it
might have been Devon Chan against the Niners, where you
see a great Tyreek Hill block late in the play
up the field, where he's still putting in maximum effort.
(40:30):
Not that anyone was catching a Chan anyway, but I
think that that effort is what the Dolphins like to
see and what Mike Daniels she likes to see, and
it feels like Fara Brown kind of fits that. I mean,
he's got seventy two receptions for seven hundred and fifty
one yards and three touchdowns, so they're not huge numbers,
but he's being brought in to complement the other guys
(40:54):
on the roster, like John Smith was outstanding last year
and I don't expect that to change this year. But again,
bring another big body guy in.
Speaker 2 (41:04):
Yeah, I mean it definitely he's been brought in for
his blocking prowess, that's absolutely certain. That's the same reason
why the Seahawks signed him as their tight end in
twenty twenty four. And I'm doing a bit of research
on this particular signing. At the time, the Seahawks general
manager John Snyder said that in their opinion, he was
(41:25):
one of the top two or three blocking tight ends
in the NFL and brings us an element of nastiness
to the team. So from that perspective as well, it's
going to make that blocking game a lot more physical
with Westbrookie Keene as well being a known blocker. You
can see the direction that they want all the type
(41:46):
of personnel that they want to get on the team.
Don't they to almost alleviate some of the pressure on
the likes of Hill and Wodel to block on that outside,
isn't it?
Speaker 3 (41:54):
As well?
Speaker 2 (41:55):
When he's on the field, you know he's going to block,
and that he's unlikely to to be a legitimate pass
catcher given the pass catchers they've got elsewhere on offense.
But overall, you know what, if he could block one
or two receivers or running backs open downfield, then he's
done his.
Speaker 3 (42:14):
Job absolutely, And I think it also gives you some
interesting things that you can do personnel wise by putting
two Titans on the field, you know, because you still
have to acknowledge the position, but like you say, managers
to open things up. So yeah, again another interesting sign.
You can see how it fits the mold as the
kind of players that the Dolphins like on offense, especially.
Speaker 2 (42:36):
So that's all of the free agent signings they've officially
announced to date. League, What are your overall thoughts on
free agency so far in terms of how it's gone.
They're certainly looking at players to feel needs. Wanted to
gauge your thoughts on whether that's been those needs have
been fully addressed or whether you still see room for
(42:58):
maneuver either in free agency, or does it give them
flexibility to go a different direction in the draft even.
Speaker 3 (43:06):
Yeah, I think that's the key here. I think again,
the only person who knows this truly is Chris Career.
But I think his ultimate goal is to have maximum
flexibility come that thirteenth overall pick, if that's where they
end up picking. Obviously, you know a lot of time
between now and then. We've seen him make moves before,
(43:26):
especially in the first round. But I think it gives
you the opportunity to just take the most talented player available.
And we know there's plenty of positions where there's no
such thing as too much talent, and most of those
are positions on the NFL team. I don't I don't
know any position. I don't think this conversation actually the
(43:49):
other day with Kadem Simmons, friend of the show, like that,
is there any position that you don't want too much talent?
Has any has any coach ever walked in and gone,
I don't know what to do? Too many great players
on the team. They you know, what's the saying, You're
only ears as strong as your weakest link. So it's yeah,
(44:11):
I think that's what you're doing here is you're giving
yourself the maximum flexibility heading into the draft process.
Speaker 2 (44:17):
The way I look at it as well Lee's. They've
certainly addressed needs, but a couple of positions where they've
not addressed in free agency so far is on the
defensive line, albeit they did re sign Matt Dickerson or
at cornerback, and we know that Chris Greer likes drafting
cornerbacks because he's got a history of it, and there
(44:39):
are some good players on the defensive line that potentially
might be available at pick number thirteen.
Speaker 3 (44:45):
I think we've seen some reports of a possible signing
or an agreement at least with the cornerback to come in,
possibly one who played for the U. But I'm going
to leave that as a tease, and we will confirm
that in our next show if that becomes official. But
like you say, they like to make moves at that position,
(45:06):
there's still there's still moves to come. I think there's
still veterans to be signed. I think there's still players
that again will sit there until after the draft process,
when you've got a clearer picture of what the roster
looks like and where you now feel like you have holes.
I don't think feel like you have holes right now.
(45:27):
I think you feel like you've done a good job
of bringing players in, like I said, to give you
maximum flexibility. So be interesting to see how the process
plays out going forwards.
Speaker 2 (45:38):
Yeah, a couple of players that the Dolphins might have
their eye on in the draft, and we'll talk about
that again in our draft preview Will Johnson cornerback of Michigan,
and the other one was Kenneth Grant, who's a good
defensive lineman also out of Michigan, and Malachai Stark's the safety.
They're the kind of the three that potentially the Dolphins
might look to go at with pick thirteen. But we'll
(46:01):
come on to that, won't we In our draft preview
coming up later on any final thoughts lead before we
bring the show to a close. We can't believe we've
managed to talk for over three quarters of an hour
on the Dolphins free agent class of twenty twenty five.
Any final thoughts.
Speaker 3 (46:17):
It is amazing how often we sit down and say
I'm not sure if this show is going to be
that long, and then speak for forty five minutes to
an hour, because it happens every single time we record.
So yeah, but that's it. No more thoughts on the
class so far. I think they've done a great job
up until this point, and I'm excited to see the
(46:39):
moves going forwards and where we sit come draft times.
Speaker 2 (46:43):
I do want to say before we call it a day,
to check out the latest Fish Tank podcast with Scott Stone.
He's not a former player, but he's been an integral
part of the Dolphins for a good part of fifty
years before he retired a couple of years ago. And
I had the good fortune to meet Scott back in
twenty eighteen, and he was very much instrumental in exposing
(47:08):
me to reporting and following the Dolphins, and that's part
indirectly part of the reason why I'm with you on
this podcast, Lee, So we've got a lot of got
a lot of respect for the opportunities that Scott has provided,
not only myself and you of course, Lee, but a
lot of the other content creators on Dolphins' social media,
(47:29):
like the likes of Lewis Sung and Jason Sarani, even
Travis as well. It all has stemmed from Scott Stone
and his relationship with fan sites and content creators. So
I just wanted to say go and listen to that
episode because it's really good one, and he's got fifty
years worth of stories to tell which are great to
listen to as well. So that brings the episode to
(47:52):
a close. We like it when you give us a
nice rating and review, and we shall catch you guys
very soon.
This is Tarry here and you are now listening to
Dolphin UK podcast on Leave Speeds, Take Them Away Way.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, Hello, welcome to the Dolphin UK podcast. We are
back for our first show of the new league year,
and coming up we're going to give you our thoughts
on all of the Dolphins free agent signings today, and
here to help you and me be guided through that
(00:52):
is Lee here as always. How you're doing, sir, very well?
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Are you happy New Year?
Speaker 2 (00:57):
It seems weird saying Happy New Year in middle of March,
but it is the start of the new league year.
So we're officially into the twenty twenty five season now,
aren't we.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Absolutely. It means we've got a lot of good things
to look forward to.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
And obviously we're in the middle of free agency right now.
But just wanted to touch on a draft related news item
that has cropped up recently in that the Dolphins have
been awarded some compensatory picks in the upcoming NFL Draft.
They've got one third pick, one third round pick, one
fourth round pick, and one seventh It was two seventh picks,
(01:30):
wasn't it, Lee, But they've had one since taken away
due to a miscalculation in the compensatory picks formula, which
I don't think I've ever seen before. But nevertheless, they've
still got three picks in addition to their regular allocation,
haven't they.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
Yeah, that seemed a little bit wild. Really. We like
to say in the office, worry work that that would
be a hot face moment where he's starting a bit
hot in the face and you realize you've made a
bit of an error. But yeah, that did seem like
a strange calculation, but we will do it. So it's good.
Good to clear that up and know exactly where you
stand well ahead of the draft.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yeah, I mean it was only a seventh they lost,
and as a general were all seventh round picks very
rarely make the roster anyway, So the chances of the
Dolphins losing the opportunity to draft the starter is probably
very remote, anyway.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
You would have thought, Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Okay, Right, So, as I said earlier, were in the
middle of free agency, and we're going to give you
the lowdown of all of the Dolphins free agency signings
to date, and we're going to kick off with Yulie.
You're going to walk us through a couple of offensive
linemen who the Dolphins have inked to.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Contracts absolutely, So it was an interesting start to free agency,
and the Dolphins started off by picking up a guard,
James Daniels. He's entering his eighth year in the NFL.
He was drafted in the second round, thirty ninth overall
in twenty eighteen, I believe by the Chicago Bears at
the University of Iowa. Through the course of his career,
(03:06):
played in ninety games. Ninety games, sorry it started eighty four.
And he's also got that thing that I think it's
going to be a little bit of a theme and
has been for the last couple of years with Chris
Grew and Mike McDaniel, is some position flexibility. Now obviously
you want him to lock down and play in one position,
but just having done it, I think he's always good
(03:27):
to see you on the resume, and I think McDaniel
even talked about that at the combine. So, although he's
coming off an injury from last year, which I think
plays into the length of the deal because there was
only a short deal given out, and free agency see
monster deals over long long periods of time being handed out,
but this wasn't one of those and I definitely would
(03:53):
say I recommend checking out Travis's podcast to listen to
James Daniels because he speaks particularly eloquently and you can
see how he's really driven to improve. So, although he's
been a really good starter in the NFL, and actually
this seems like a really great value pick up by
(04:13):
Chris Greer, super high ceiling on this move for not
making money in terms of the guards that were signed
in the opening a few days of free agency. We
hope to see a solid starter come back to the
lineup after missing a lot of last season with an injury.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Yeah, that's the thing I took away from this signing
is that he's got a huge amount of upside if
he can stay injury free. He was ranked one of
the top guards that were available in free agency and
obviously didn't go in that initial wave because of the
injury history, I would imagine, But so let's hope he
can stay injury free and if he does, then it
could turn out to be a great signing on paper.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Absolutely, and we saw Chris Greer McDaniel mentioned wanting to
focus on the offensive line, and it's no surprise that
they went with one of the top guards on the
market as the first move out the gates, but that
was quickly followed by another move for an offensive lineman,
and that was Larry Borham. Entering his fifth year in
the NFL after being drafted in the fifth round, one
(05:18):
hundred and fifty first overall in twenty twenty one out
of Missouri. He's played forty seven games and started twenty
seven of those. He's had some ups and downs, I
think it'd be safe to say, but he's also again
played in a few different positions, seemed to be more
comfortable on the right side of the offensive line through
(05:38):
some of the tape that I have seen so far.
But it was very interesting again to hear his interview
with Travis and hear him speak for himself on how
he's looking to improve and take his game to the
next level, and how he still relies on veterans and
is able to take that coaching, and I think that's
something that's super important when you're in a new system.
(06:00):
He's willing to learn and understands that there is going
to be a change in role, seem very excited to
play on a versatile and athletic offensive line in an
athletic offense where you know it's going to be a
fast pace and definitely the sort of guy who could
benefit from the experience of a toront Armstead if he
(06:23):
chooses to return. Obviously he's under contract, but we know
that it's been spoken about in the media that you
know he may mull retirement still, but again, would feel
like a great player for Larry Borham to learn from.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
I think it's interesting if you go back to the
end of season press conference, Chris Greer acknowledged they were
going to address the offensive line in free agency and
or the draft, and it's appropriate therefore that the first
two signings they officially announced were offensive linemen.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Absolutely. I mean, he's doing what he said. It wasn't
lip service. I think they they learned from last year
that there is a clear path to success and it's
you know, making sure QB one stays on the field.
And that's not to say that injuries last year were
down to the old line, as certainly wasn't the case.
(07:17):
But building a wall in front of your franchise quarterback
is never going to be a bad thing. So you know,
it helps in the run game, it's going to help
in the pass game, helps the quarterback. It's you know
here it all the time. It's best to build in
the trenches, and Chris I said, it's very wanted to focus,
and that's the first two moves he made. So it
feels like he was getting what he wanted to start
(07:40):
free agency.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Yeah, and he can't have too many offensive linemen given
the the rate at which the Dolphins have been burnt
in the past by injuries. We've mentioned two new ones
here and they're re signed to offensive linemen as well,
which will come on to in due course. And given
the fact that they have what eleven picks is it
in the draft, there's a high line clihood that we're
not going to see. This isn't the end of it?
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Is it?
Speaker 1 (08:03):
No?
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Absolutely? And you know, the one other thing that I'd
noted here, Sorry I missed off and I was just
reading my notes. There is the sheer size of Larry
Borrom as well. Like again in the in the kind
of Patrick Paul stands out in the field and somehow
stands out amongst big human beings, and Larry Boram will
(08:24):
be the same six five, three hundred and thirty three pounds.
That's a large human being. So it feels like there's
a kind of body type that they were going after
a little bit there as well, And I know we
saw that last year a little bit with the defensive
linemen that were brought in. So yeah, interesting, But like
you say, build a wall around or I QB one
and it can only help everywhere. And I think you
(08:45):
hit the nail on the head. You can never have
too much talent in at any one position because it
just gives you flexibility. If you can just keep putting
talent into a position group, you'll find a way to
make it work for you. But that's not the only
movies that were made. Like you said, there was quite
a few moves made, and I think that brings us
(09:06):
on to another offensive signing.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Yeah, I was going to talk about the wide receiver
they signed, Nick Westbrook Nick Westbrook Keene and I've literally
ruined his surname there, but I think we all know
who I'm talking about. He's six foot he's got a
long name, and he's six foot tall as well, so
and he's two undred and eleven pounds, so he's immediately
(09:30):
become the tallest wide receiver on the Dolphins Rosterly, I
didn't know whether you were aware of that, and I
ask yourself the question, why does that matter? I mean,
you know, the Dolphins have relied on short speed receivers
for pretty much the entirety of the Mike McDaniel era.
It's made the Dolphins offense kind of a little bit predictable,
(09:53):
whilst also making the teams outside run game less effective
due to poor blocking. And one of call him Nick
for the purposes of this pod, or no, let's call
him Westbrook. He should help address those issues due to
the sheer size and weight he's got an and don't
forget he adds an element of vertical receiving ability to
(10:15):
Last season, he recorded thirty two catches for four hundred
and ninety seven yards nine touchdowns with an average of
fifteen point three. And I believe he also caught a
ninety eight yard touchdown as well, if my memory serves
me correct. So he's certainly got a lot of potential.
That third receiver spot has been a bit of an
(10:35):
eyesore during the past three seasons, but you never know,
we might have found the answer there. And I think
we've got to just wait and see on that one,
see how he produces. But a certainly one that does
excite me a little bit and has a lot of potential.
I don't know what you thought of that particular signing,
and apologies for him for butchering his name.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
I go that you started over Westbrook other than Aikine.
After we spoke about this pronunciation of Dames before the show.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
We got it spot on, didn't we amazing always.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
I'm going to go a step further and say that
he is my favorite signing so far. It's everything's potential
right now, because you know, we're a long way from
training camp and the season starting and all those things.
But we have seen over the last couple of years
the Dolphins try and get some more size in the
(11:32):
wide receiver room and it's not necessarily panned out. You know,
Chase Claypoole come in, wasn't able to stick around. Odell
Beckham became the tallest guy in the room, wasn't able
to you know, didn't stick around. What I like about
this signing is you mentioned they're nine touchdowns last season,
but that wasn't playing as a wide receiver one. And
(11:55):
I think where things fall down in free agency a
lot is you see players making the step up, they
get the big contract and they're then expected to do
something very different than what got them the money, where
it might be going from a wide receiver so to
a wide receiver one, or it's becoming the focused point
of the offense when you weren't before, so you're now
(12:16):
seeing the top guy in coverage, or you're seeing a
traveling corner. You know, you're you're having defenses planned and
you know, specifically schemed towards your skill set. But he's
coming in to play the same kind of position that
he has before, behind the tyree kill, behind a jail
and model. And that's not to say that you know,
(12:39):
that's that's not a dig. It's I actually think there's
a massive advantage for him is that he's going to
be able to come in and be the same guy
and play the same why as opposed to you know,
like I say, guys who gets signed in free agency
and then all of a sudden become you know, wide
receiver one and the step up is too big and
(12:59):
then you look at contrast to oh, that was a
bad signing. And I think there's a lot of things
here that I think alleviate the pressure on him to
do something that he hasn't done before. If he can
just do what he did with Tennessee last year, I
think it's going to be a great signing for the Dolphins,
and especially in the red zone.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
I'm going to move to the defensive side of the
ball now. And the next signing that was officially announced
was Ashton Davis, safety, who has come over from AFC
East rival New York Jets. And what I like about
this one lee is that he's got a nose for
the football and over the course, he was a third
round pick from the Jets and he's logged eight picks
(13:38):
in five years, but he's also got four fumble recoveries
and three forced fumbles as well, so he's definitely got
a note for the football. And I want to refer
to an article that Travis wrote on Davis on the
Miami Dolphins website where he outlines the fact that he
was previously a bit of a rotational piece in the
Jets secondary and has played over and thousand defensive snaps
(14:01):
in five years. But he's got that interchangeability that the
dot and the flexibility that I think the Dolphins would
benefit from. And his best take comes from playing the
deep center field position, but that's not his only calling
card going back to his days in college. Travis outline
the fact that he's been no stranger to covering in
(14:23):
the slot as well so and in fact, most of
his snaps have come down around the line of scrimmage,
so he's got a bit of a pedigree, bit of
a note for the football and whether he will become
a long term starter at the position, obviously there's a
lot of outstanding questions there. But again I referred back
to need, and the Dolphins obviously clearly had a gap
(14:45):
at safety with the departure of Juvon Holland, who we
wish well of course, and Jordan Poyer who's a free
agent also, so they begin begun to fill that need
with the signing of Ashton Davis. And I'm going to
send the next review and we're going to stay on
the defensive side of the ball. I'm going to hand
it over to you, Lee, because it's now your opportunity
(15:06):
to butcher a player's name one chance and one chance only.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
League go absolutely, and we're going to stick in the
safety room with it. He fathrough Melon fon Wu, who
played last year with Detroit, and now I'm going to
have to find my summary because I was concentrained so
much on trying to get his name right. And I
apologize it again if I got that wrong, because it's
not easy. But he's entering his fifth year in the NFL.
(15:34):
Was drafted in the third round, one hundred and first
over out of Syracuse. Again, like you say, made a
lot of tackles. He's been kind of bitten with injury
as well through the course of his career. Was hurt
last year but turned up being in a playoff game
for Detroit I think the year four against the Tampa
(15:55):
Bay Buccaneers. But he has seventy two tackles, one force fumble,
two fumble recoveries, four and a half sacks, thirteen pass deflections,
two interceptions, and it's played in thirteen He's playing thirty
seven regular season games. I say, I think you're trying
(16:18):
to get a guy with a little bit of attitude
from Dan Campbell's defense. And we heard Jordan Poyer mentioned
last year, you know he wanted to see a little
bit more bite in the defense. Well, this feels like
the kind of guy that might do that. Again, we've
mentioned with a couple of players here that injuries have
hampered them through their career. So again it's going to
(16:41):
be a case of trying to keep him healthy, but
if he does, seems like a versatile piece. Has played
all the positions at the defensive back, he's played the corner,
he's played safety, so again, like a versatile piece. And
(17:01):
I know we'll talk about this attle bit more later,
but this feels like a kind of move where you've
added two safeties into the safety room and it's given
you some of that position flexibility coming into the draft.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Yeah, excellent filling and lead there. Do you think it's
something given those two signings, It's again we talked about
you can't have too many offensive linemen. Do you think
that the Dolphins will continue to look at the position
in the draft as well?
Speaker 3 (17:30):
Yeah, I think. I mean we'll have to get Chris
Greer on and ask him personally, but I think I
think I wouldn't be too far wrong in saying that
his goal heading into every free agency is to give
himself as much flexibility as possible going into the draft
where you really can't take the best player available. So
(17:53):
it's you know, it's a case of stacking talent now
and guys fit and guys you want in your locker
room and on your team, but also that you're not
kind of pigeonholed when you get to the first round
where you say, you know, you couldn't go into the
draft with no safeties on the team, because now you've
got a real problem. But more the point, everybody knows
(18:13):
you've got a problem, So I think that's part of
the thinking as well.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
I think there's a couple of safeties that I've got
my eye on in the draft, where we'll cover that
in more detail in our draft preview of course, but
team I think, yeah, given the fact that there are
a couple of highly ranked safeties that could be available
around pick thirteen, I wouldn't be surprised if they use
(18:38):
another safety at that pick. But we'll come onto that
in more detail in our draft preview episode.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
Feeling Simon mightbe eye in a certain safety out of Georgia.
But with that being said, we've also got some more
players signed on the offensive side of the ball, and
with Raheem Most leaving to go to the Raiders in
free agency, SIY, that brings us on to Alexander Mattison.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
Yeah, it's the first exchange of players with a rival
team because they did it with the Bucks, course with
at the line backup position, which will come on too,
but they've essentially swapped running backs with I, like you say,
most going the other way to the Raiders and Alexander
Mattison coming back to coming to the Dolphins.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
And now the thing I.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Like about Mathison is that he could be that short
yardage back the Dolphins have been looking for. I think
we know that Devon Hchan and jayalen Wright are going
to be the focal point of the rushing attack for
the twenty twenty five season. Alexander Mattison certainly gives them
a little bit of something different. He only eate last season.
He had seven starts for the Raiders. Prior to that.
(19:42):
He was a really solid backup to Dalvin Cook in
Minnesota for quite a few years at the start of
his career, and he was always one that I looked
at from a fantasy point of view as being a
really good handcuff for Dalvin Cook. So I've always had
my eye on him, try to grab him in fantasy
where a as a potential RB two in fantasy. So
(20:06):
I've always liked him. Whether he's got enough left in
the tank for me He's the biggest question because he's
obviously running back. The shelf life of running backs is
obviously a lot shorter at that position than anywhere else,
and he's been around. The Raiders haven't kept him on
for a reason, so I'd like to see how much
(20:26):
gas he's got left. The fact that he's not going
to play every down probably will help his course. I
think I don't know what you think there, Lee of
Alexander Madison.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
Yeah, I felt like the Dolphins needed to make a
signing and a change maybe in the running back room.
I think the most general way to put it is
you had a stable of running backs there who were
very capable of hitting a big play at any time.
But I don't know if when you needed two yards
(20:58):
you had a running back that you feel really confident
with just get two yards. I think we saw it that.
The San Francisco game is a really good example, isn't
it late in the game when Divan a Chan scores
on a long touchdown. That play is ideal for a
guy who just needs to get you the yardage in
(21:20):
the first down and keep the clock moving to see
the game out. Cool. Great that divan a Chan scored
absolutely great and it was a great run, but I
think you need some more consistency, and we've seen it
through Dolphins history. You know, when you look at a
player like Lusaka Polite, where his job wasn't to rip
off big runs, his job was to come in and
(21:41):
almost guarantee short yardage conversions. And I think Alexander Mattison
may be the piece that you want to do that,
or at least he's going to be an attempt at
filling that role. Last year, on so or fourth down
with one to three yards to go, he he rushed
eight times and converted on six of those. Is that's
(22:03):
the sort of production that you're looking for. I think
if you can do that throughout the season, like the
big players are going to come from from right and
age han, but you know, I think we need a
chain mover as well. And I think that, you know,
it is something that I don't think was in the
room or they didn't feel confident was in the room
(22:24):
last season.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Talked about his mileage. He's actually a seven year VET,
but he's still only twenty six, so he came into
the league relatively early. Somebody who's been in the league
for seven years, you'd have thought his approaching the age
of thirty, which is the acknowledge point where running backs
potentially could start to see a downturn in their production.
So he's not quite there yet. So the fact that
(22:47):
he's relatively young, hasn't been a full time starter throughout
his career because he was a backup for like I
said earlier, for Dalvin Cook for six years, probably means
that he's got the opportunit unity to stay in the
league for a good few years yet and be productive.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
Absolutely, And I think I think it's really difficult to
judge someone on one year's worth of work with a
team that the Raiders have plenty of troubles last year,
we saw changing coaching staff and plenty of turnover. We
saw changes, you know, different players playing a quarterback as well,
(23:28):
So it's not necessarily the easiest situation. So I think
it'd be interesting to see when you get him in
your system with a head coach that has, you know,
really excelled at trying to get running backs to perform
at their best, you know, especially with his history as
a running backs you know, a run game specialist. Sorry
(23:50):
in San Francisco, it feels like a good fit, but
without the without the having to learn the NFL part
of it. That's what you get from having a VET,
and you don't lose the vet in the room. You know,
with a Raheem Moost leaving, you've brought another vet in,
so you know it feels good for roster construction. Like
you say, the age is great as well, So an
(24:12):
interesting pickup. I thought it's a really good fit for
a need that we had that I don't know if
it's that easy to fill.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
And we reached half time in the show.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
Le absolutely Now usually a halftime we would do something different.
But I think as we're breaking down all of these
free agent signings, maybe it's just best to go through
a few of the resignings at this point. Just keep
it simple. We're not going to break them down too much.
(24:45):
These are the guys that you know that you've seen
play on the team and are excited to have back.
So I think we'll start the top of the list
with Liam Eichenberg. Terrell Dodson was re signed, Quentin Bell,
Elijah Carabell, Jackson, Carmen ds Gridge, and Matt Dickerson. So
(25:06):
they all return. Sigh.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
Any thoughts, I think the obvious one to talk about
is Lia Mikenberg. Isn't he because we have yet again
got a depth piece on the offensive line. He's much
maligned in terms of his performances for the Dolphins over
the years. It will be nice to have some competition
at his spot. So it remains to be seen whether
(25:31):
he forces himself into the starting lineup, and a lot
of that will depend on the draft. Of course, it
remains to be seen how much playing that playing time
he gets going forward into next season. And because it's
a short term deal as well, isn't it. I believe
so one year he's got a lot to prove if
he wants to earn along deal, whether that's here or elsewhere.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
I go that you started off of Liam Mikeenberg there.
I always felt that he was always coming back. He
feels like the perfect piece. They've shown that they like
his versatility and what he's done on the offensive line,
and also he feels like the perfect benchmark to gauge
other players against. Like you say, he's been forced into
(26:15):
the starting lineup when really you'd probably have rather he
was a depth piece over the last couple of years,
and that's due to injury. But that's the bar of
where we need to improve and if he beats the
guys out, great, then he deserves to be in that position.
But also, you know, you're bringing back a guy who
(26:36):
knows the system, can play it, has played at every
one of the positions across the offensive line, and I
think that versatility holds great weight with both Mike McDaniel
the coaching staff and Chris Grew. I'd be really interested
to see a little bit more of DS Gridge as well.
Unfortunately his season was cut a little bit short with
(26:57):
some injury there last year, but again felt like a
great fit, has decent size, but also some returnability as well,
So you know, I thought we saw some routes where
it looked interesting. I'd like to see him play with
two a little bit more to see you to see
how that fit really goes. And I think, you know,
a full off season in the system is obviously beneficial
(27:20):
to a lot of these guys as opposed to coming
in mid season and trying to hit the ground running.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
That's kind of where I looked at d s courage
and thought he would be potentially an option for a
return man. Obviously we've got elite Washington as well. There
of course, but that's where I would see Denes Courage excelling,
if anywhere, I think, to be honest with you, he's
probably way down the depth chart at the wide receiver
position overall, but his returnability might be enough to get
(27:45):
him on the roster.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
Absolutely. Is there any of the other resignings that you'd
like to pick up on?
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Yeah, I like the resigning of Therell Dodson at linebacker.
That was a really solid player for us last year,
and I was really pleased that he's he signed. Obviously,
we lost Danty new Walker, which will come on too,
but we've got twelve Dodson back, so really pleased with
that one. And again, he had that pick in Cleveland
Didn'tey as well, which was a non important plick pick,
so we know that he can make plays and it's
(28:13):
always good to have playmakers on yours on the defensive
side of the ball.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
Yeah, it was a great in season pickup, wasn't. He
actually had the seahawks and tackles at the time that
he was they go, which just seems completely bizarre. And
then was a really solid please for the Dolphins throughout
the you know, especially the second half of the season.
So let you say, again, a great pick up gives
you flexibility going forwards and the rest of free agency
in the draft, and you know, a solid, a solid
(28:40):
starter back on the roster.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Any other re signings lead that have caught your eye?
Speaker 3 (28:46):
No, I think there's I think the guys that they've
brought back guys they like because they know them. I
think there's there's something to be said about that they've
obviously earn't the respective of the coaching stuff, that they
want to bring them back back in for next season
to compete for jobs, and that's it's almost like unfinished work,
(29:07):
isn't it. I think they feel like they've got chances
to be on the roster and to improve. So an
exciting time heading forwards for these guys.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
Okay, let's go on to the second half of the show.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
Lee.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
We've got four more players that the Dolphins have officially announced,
and we're going to start off with one whose name
makes it sound as though they'd made us a free
agent signing from the UK because his name was Britt.
So when the Dolphins sign a brit my heart was
racing there and I was trying to think who on
earth it could be. But then I realized it wasn't
(29:40):
somebody from the United Kingdom, and I was worried then
it was going to be Kenny Britt, former wide receiver
because his name is Kay Britt. It is of course
k J. Britt who they picked up from Tampa Bay,
and he is of course a linebacker. And thing that
stood out for me on this one lee that he's
(30:01):
a very much a special teams player. Yes, we know
he plays the linebacker position, but his strength is on
the special teams unit. I think last year in Tampa
Bay he came over, he had his best year of
his career, and he was a fifth round pick back
in twenty twenty one, he accumulated seventy two tackles, two TFLs,
(30:22):
and half a sack. But he's very much he did
more than just play defense, as he absolutely thrived on
special teams and it was a really good special teams
unit that the Buccaneers had last year and he absolutely
thrived in that. So it's going to be a difficult
loss for the Bucks to cope with, but certainly their
loss is the Dolphins game. So from a special team's
(30:45):
point of view, absolutely, certainly somebody he can contribute there.
Speaker 3 (30:49):
Absolutely We'll have to ask him if he just wanted
to stay in the warm weather as well, making the
short trip down from Tampa to Wyoy. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
And of course they swat picked with Anthony Walker, didn't they,
because he hit linebacker for Dolphins has now signed with
Tampa Bay.
Speaker 3 (31:06):
Of course, It's amazing how that happens, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
So I've done it twice this season, which is unusual,
of course, swapping effectively swapping players, and that probably leads
us nicely onto what I would say, what arguably is
the most surprising free agent signing of all of them,
and that is, tell me, Lee, who are we talking
about here?
Speaker 3 (31:28):
We're talking about quarterback Zach Wilson. I'm not sure I
ever expected to say that. When you look back at
the draft and the Jets waiting to take him there,
that's phil's almost weird to say. You bear in mind,
(31:51):
he's entering his fourth year. He was picked in second
overall in twenty twenty one. I'll be why you And
it seems like the Jets fell in love with him
so early in that process. And I think everyone has
seen a clip of him throwing at his pro day
where he rolls out and throws a bomb down the field,
and it felt like that was the moment where it's like,
(32:13):
we'll just send a pick in now. But I think,
you know, to be fair to Zach Wilson, the Jets
is not necessarily the greatest place to go for a quarterback,
to a quarterback career to thrive, shall we say, And
I think it makes it a really interesting, a really
(32:34):
interesting signing. I'm actually quite excited about it. So I
was shocked. I didn't expect to be talking about Zach
Wilson this offseason. But I think he's got He's got
the kind of arm and some traits that I think
would really intrigue Mike McDaniel. And it'd be interesting to
see how they play out in this in this offense.
(32:57):
And I'm going to preface that by saying that the
absolute goal here, it's for him to stand on the
sideline holding a clipboard for the entire season, because as
we mentioned earlier, which you're trying to build a wall
because you want to to play all year like that's
the goal, but you still have to have a quarterback
who can play behind him. Zach Wilson has two wins
over the Buffalo Bills in his short career. You know
(33:21):
there is something in there, and I wonder if if
Mike McDaniel sees that and thinks maybe I'm the one
to unlock that. And we mentioned it before. You build talent,
you build talent. You build talent great. If he looks
great after the preseason you have, it opens up all
sorts of possibilities. He has value to you in other
(33:42):
ways as well, and that goes for all players. So
I think it's an interesting signing. I think there is
there's upside to it, and we know from last year,
you know the goal is keep too healthy.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
I was very much like you, Lee and that when
I saw the announcement, I was quite excited because it
popped up. Dolphin signed Wilson at quarterback, and my immediate
thoughts turned to Russell Wilson, and I thought, what a
good QB two. He's going to be behind to He
could have asked for a better QB two. And then
of course it transpired. It it wasn't Russell, it was Zack.
(34:20):
But you're right, the end goal here is for Zach
Wilson not to play a snap, and if that is
the case, you can't say then it was a bad
signing because he's fulfilling the role you absolutely want him
to fulfill throughout the whole season. Where the concerns are
and I think there are legitimate concerns, probably because he's
quite young. He's twenty five and he's already on his
(34:41):
third NFL team, so there has to be some concern
there are around what are the reasons he's not able
to stick with his original team having him draft that
second overall, And I think you hit the nail on
the head in terms of he wasn't put in an
ideal situation initially, he was thrown it at the deep end.
Last year, he didn't play in Denver at all because
(35:03):
they've now got Boonick, so excuse me. So hopefully now
he can take some time to just learn from an
offensive minded coach which he may not have had before,
learned from tour, and just improve his skill set on
the sidelines on a gradual basis so that if he
(35:24):
unfortunately is called upon, he's ready to go. So I
think he probably offers more upside than Tyler Huntley and
Scytt Thompson, but it remains to be seen just how
much we're going to actually see him on the field.
Speaker 3 (35:41):
Yeah, I mean, I want to go back to saying
that I mentioned on the podcast. He did the Travis
a couple of weeks ago, and it's if you're going
to get a backup for tour, do you want to
match his skill set? And that's not Zach Wilson. So
Wilson struggles a little bit with decision making, and he
struggles a little bit of accuracy. He does have a
big arm though, and I think decision making there's the
(36:06):
opportunity for a coach like Mike McDaniel to break the
decision making down and help him build it back up.
Was obviously successful in college, like it was always a
first round talent. So it's not like that, you know,
he doesn't have an awful lot of talent. It's just
refining some of that and maybe kind of reining it in,
do you know what I mean? And look, I'm going
(36:29):
to go back to it and say again you just
mentioned it. The Jets is not the best place to
go if you're a young QB. You've only got to
look at quarterbacks that are playing in the NFL right now,
who just got paid. Junia is supposed to being paid
to be a start quarterback in the NFL. Took him
a long time to recover from being a Jets quarterback,
and Sam Donald just at the Vikings to the playoffs
(36:50):
after a great season and is now being paid an
awful lot of money in free agency, was at the
top quarterback in the market in the free agent market
this season. Both ex Jets. Look. Uh, it probably adds
to the intrigue of is there is there something something
(37:13):
undernes this rock to turn over? But that being said,
when we move on from quarterbacks and moved to the
most exciting position on the NFL.
Speaker 2 (37:25):
Field, Yeah, punters. Yeah, punters are people too, aren't they.
Speaker 3 (37:29):
Absolutely? I joke because you know, punters are awfully important.
But it's just that perception that the special teams that
often get overlooked, and we try not to do that here.
We try to talk about them when possible.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
Yeah, and we are of course talking about Ryan Stonehouse,
who the Dolphins have greed to terms with ex tendency
Titans punter who made the Pro Bowl a couple of
times whilst with the Titans before unfortunately suffering an ACL
injury which put him out for the year, so he
miss to a huge chunk of time due to that injury,
and I think it was somewhat of a bit of
a surprising release from the Titans after they decided to
(38:07):
move on. But obviously the Titans loss is the Dolphins game,
and I think there's an opportunity here for the Dolphins
to improve their punting position. With all respect to Jake Bailey,
who has not yet made the Pro Bowl. As I said,
Ryan Stonehouse has done it twice and he has got
a really good net yardage over the course of his career.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
I think that's probably why you see the Dolphins still
have two punters on the roster. You need them through
camp and there's a legitimate competition to be had. Bailey
will have a chance to win the job, and so
are Stonehouse. You have to think that this is possibly
connected to Craig Guckermanant as a special teams coach, saying that, hey, look,
(38:48):
i've seen this guy play incredibly well, he's available. You're
not saying anything in stone at this time of year.
So it feels like a smart signing and a chance
to improve a position possibly, So yeah, you bring the
guy in, you have a look and see where you
stand in a few months time.
Speaker 2 (39:06):
Yeah, I was going to mention Craig Ockman has clearly
had an influence on this signing, having worked with him
in Tennessee. So we'll see how that one turns out,
which leads us on nicely to our last signing of
the free agency period so far anyway, and I'll hand
over to you Lee to introduce this guy.
Speaker 3 (39:25):
So we'll go to a Pharaoh Brown entering his eighth year,
is an undrafted free agent in twenty seventeen, but has
really carved out a kind of nice career for himself.
Been on a lot of teams, but I don't know
if that's a bad thing. I think if you're undrafted
and you've managed to stick around in the league, you know,
heading into your eighth season, you're doing some things really well.
(39:49):
And I think there's some versatility that he has in
regards to being able to catch the ball. He also
is a willing blocker, and I think we know how
how far that goes in this system. And that's something
that actually we should have mentioned about Westbrook A Kine
that he is a willing blocker, and I think you
(40:09):
see the same thing here with Pharaoh Brown, and we
know how important that is. I was actually looking back
at the all the Dolphins' top ten players. It came
out the other day, and I think it was it
might have been Devon Chan against the Niners, where you
see a great Tyreek Hill block late in the play
up the field, where he's still putting in maximum effort.
(40:30):
Not that anyone was catching a Chan anyway, but I
think that that effort is what the Dolphins like to
see and what Mike Daniels she likes to see, and
it feels like Fara Brown kind of fits that. I mean,
he's got seventy two receptions for seven hundred and fifty
one yards and three touchdowns, so they're not huge numbers,
but he's being brought in to complement the other guys
(40:54):
on the roster, like John Smith was outstanding last year
and I don't expect that to change this year. But again,
bring another big body guy in.
Speaker 2 (41:04):
Yeah, I mean it definitely he's been brought in for
his blocking prowess, that's absolutely certain. That's the same reason
why the Seahawks signed him as their tight end in
twenty twenty four. And I'm doing a bit of research
on this particular signing. At the time, the Seahawks general
manager John Snyder said that in their opinion, he was
(41:25):
one of the top two or three blocking tight ends
in the NFL and brings us an element of nastiness
to the team. So from that perspective as well, it's
going to make that blocking game a lot more physical
with Westbrookie Keene as well being a known blocker. You
can see the direction that they want all the type
(41:46):
of personnel that they want to get on the team.
Don't they to almost alleviate some of the pressure on
the likes of Hill and Wodel to block on that outside,
isn't it?
Speaker 3 (41:54):
As well?
Speaker 2 (41:55):
When he's on the field, you know he's going to block,
and that he's unlikely to to be a legitimate pass
catcher given the pass catchers they've got elsewhere on offense.
But overall, you know what, if he could block one
or two receivers or running backs open downfield, then he's
done his.
Speaker 3 (42:14):
Job absolutely, And I think it also gives you some
interesting things that you can do personnel wise by putting
two Titans on the field, you know, because you still
have to acknowledge the position, but like you say, managers
to open things up. So yeah, again another interesting sign.
You can see how it fits the mold as the
kind of players that the Dolphins like on offense, especially.
Speaker 2 (42:36):
So that's all of the free agent signings they've officially
announced to date. League, What are your overall thoughts on
free agency so far in terms of how it's gone.
They're certainly looking at players to feel needs. Wanted to
gauge your thoughts on whether that's been those needs have
been fully addressed or whether you still see room for
(42:58):
maneuver either in free agency, or does it give them
flexibility to go a different direction in the draft even.
Speaker 3 (43:06):
Yeah, I think that's the key here. I think again,
the only person who knows this truly is Chris Career.
But I think his ultimate goal is to have maximum
flexibility come that thirteenth overall pick, if that's where they
end up picking. Obviously, you know a lot of time
between now and then. We've seen him make moves before,
(43:26):
especially in the first round. But I think it gives
you the opportunity to just take the most talented player available.
And we know there's plenty of positions where there's no
such thing as too much talent, and most of those
are positions on the NFL team. I don't I don't
know any position. I don't think this conversation actually the
(43:49):
other day with Kadem Simmons, friend of the show, like that,
is there any position that you don't want too much talent?
Has any has any coach ever walked in and gone,
I don't know what to do? Too many great players
on the team. They you know, what's the saying, You're
only ears as strong as your weakest link. So it's yeah,
(44:11):
I think that's what you're doing here is you're giving
yourself the maximum flexibility heading into the draft process.
Speaker 2 (44:17):
The way I look at it as well Lee's. They've
certainly addressed needs, but a couple of positions where they've
not addressed in free agency so far is on the
defensive line, albeit they did re sign Matt Dickerson or
at cornerback, and we know that Chris Greer likes drafting
cornerbacks because he's got a history of it, and there
(44:39):
are some good players on the defensive line that potentially
might be available at pick number thirteen.
Speaker 3 (44:45):
I think we've seen some reports of a possible signing
or an agreement at least with the cornerback to come in,
possibly one who played for the U. But I'm going
to leave that as a tease, and we will confirm
that in our next show if that becomes official. But
like you say, they like to make moves at that position,
(45:06):
there's still there's still moves to come. I think there's
still veterans to be signed. I think there's still players
that again will sit there until after the draft process,
when you've got a clearer picture of what the roster
looks like and where you now feel like you have holes.
I don't think feel like you have holes right now.
(45:27):
I think you feel like you've done a good job
of bringing players in, like I said, to give you
maximum flexibility. So be interesting to see how the process
plays out going forwards.
Speaker 2 (45:38):
Yeah, a couple of players that the Dolphins might have
their eye on in the draft, and we'll talk about
that again in our draft preview Will Johnson cornerback of Michigan,
and the other one was Kenneth Grant, who's a good
defensive lineman also out of Michigan, and Malachai Stark's the safety.
They're the kind of the three that potentially the Dolphins
might look to go at with pick thirteen. But we'll
(46:01):
come on to that, won't we In our draft preview
coming up later on any final thoughts lead before we
bring the show to a close. We can't believe we've
managed to talk for over three quarters of an hour
on the Dolphins free agent class of twenty twenty five.
Any final thoughts.
Speaker 3 (46:17):
It is amazing how often we sit down and say
I'm not sure if this show is going to be
that long, and then speak for forty five minutes to
an hour, because it happens every single time we record.
So yeah, but that's it. No more thoughts on the
class so far. I think they've done a great job
up until this point, and I'm excited to see the
(46:39):
moves going forwards and where we sit come draft times.
Speaker 2 (46:43):
I do want to say before we call it a day,
to check out the latest Fish Tank podcast with Scott Stone.
He's not a former player, but he's been an integral
part of the Dolphins for a good part of fifty
years before he retired a couple of years ago. And
I had the good fortune to meet Scott back in
twenty eighteen, and he was very much instrumental in exposing
(47:08):
me to reporting and following the Dolphins, and that's part
indirectly part of the reason why I'm with you on
this podcast, Lee, So we've got a lot of got
a lot of respect for the opportunities that Scott has provided,
not only myself and you of course, Lee, but a
lot of the other content creators on Dolphins' social media,
(47:29):
like the likes of Lewis Sung and Jason Sarani, even
Travis as well. It all has stemmed from Scott Stone
and his relationship with fan sites and content creators. So
I just wanted to say go and listen to that
episode because it's really good one, and he's got fifty
years worth of stories to tell which are great to
listen to as well. So that brings the episode to
(47:52):
a close. We like it when you give us a
nice rating and review, and we shall catch you guys
very soon.
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