The twelfth pick in the inaugural edition of the Cincy Jungle Mock Draft is brought to us by member HanoverWhoDey, selecting for the Miami Dolphins. His explanation for the pick is after the jump. Thank you for your participation HanoverWhoDey.
With the twelfth pick in the 2010 Cincy Jungle Mock Draft, the Miami Dolphins select...
Sergio Kindle, DE/OLB, Texas
2009-2010 season Recap
What can we say about the Dolphins 2009-2010 season? It was quite a roller coaster ride for Dolphins' fans. A division title in 2008-2009 built up high expectations for the Fins, though many still saw them as second fiddle to division rival New England Patriots. An 0-3 start to the season quickly deflated these expectations and had fans digging in to prepare for a highly disappointing season. However the Dolphins quickly rebounded to win 3 of their next 4 and consistently hovering around .500 winning some games they weren't expected too (2-0 vs NE) and losing some season killers (Buffalo 31 Miami 14). With just three weeks the Dolphins sat at 7-6 and well within reach of a Wild Card birth, but would go on to lose the last three and watch the playoffs from home.
Offense:
Though the season without question had to be considered a disappointment, there were some reasons for optimism on the offensive side of the ball. The running game was strong, finishing 4th in the league and producing 22 touchdowns, tied with the Ravens for the most in the league. However, Ronnie Brown did little to dispel concerns about his durability and neither him nor Ricky are getting younger. Don't be surprised to see the Dolphins address their need for a running back of the future in the next couple years, but I don't see any back in this year's draft worthy of a pick at 12 that can also be a workhorse, even in a two back system. Fullback Polite had a Pro Bowl worthy season and the line seems to be one of the best run blocking units in the league. Overall things look pretty healthy in the running game
Though the passing game needs more tweaking than the rushing game, there were some positives coming out of the Dolphins 7-9 campaign. QB Chad Henne was productive and confident at times. For the first time in a long time, we even saw the Dolphins attack first and foremost through the air as Henne became more comfortable. Henne clearly established himself as the quarterback of the future for the franchise and Dolphins fans can only hope he continues to take as large of strides as he did this year. If he is to grow though, the Dolphins are going to need to find a true #1 WR. Greg Camarillo and Davone Bess solidified themselves as solid complementary players but neither strikes me as a #1. Though I still think there is some hope for Ted Ginn in the NFL, it may not be with the Dolphins, as the team lost confidence in him down the stretch as he continued to complement his streaky play with crucial drops in defining moments. The team seems content to use him mostly as a KR and consider him a loss at WR. Due to this, expect the Dolphins to address WR in the draft or through free agency and potentially take Dez Bryant with the 12th pick. However, I don't see the Fins taking the risk on his character to take the best WR in the draft this high. Expect few WRs to go in the first round and the Dolphins to get a quality value pick there in the 2nd round.
Defense:
The Dolphins defense was both neither spectacular nor terrible last year. Their rushing defense finished around the middle of the league at 18th. The biggest concern for the rush defense may be the aging of DT Jason Ferguson who is in his mid-30s. If he is not already off the board, possibly to the Bills, it wouldn't shock me if the Fins selected Dan Williams from Tennessee.
However, I see their pass defense as the teams biggest issue on this side of the ball. The team finished 24th in passing defense, allowing 234.6 yards per game despite playing in a conference with two fairly inept passing games (Jets and Bills) and one whose aerial attack seemed out of sync all year. (Pats) When trying to fix a problem in pass coverage there are typically two places you look first, coverage and pass rush. The Dolphins addressed needs at CB in last year's draft selecting Vontae Davis and Sean Smith, who in the early going look like promising young DBs who just need time to develop. I wouldn't rule out the Dolphins taking a safety here, especially if Berry would slide, but expect them to address on Day 2 or 3.
So that leaves the pass rush. The Dolphins weren't lacking in sacks last year, but Joey Porters production (and mouth) have left Miami and went to play (maybe?) elsewhere. Additionally, much like Ferguson, Jason Taylor isn't getting any younger and you have to wonder how much he has left in the tank. Former CFL star Cameron Wake filled in nicely last year, but I see the Dolphins needing an explosive pass rusher who can play one of the outside linebacker spots and also put his hand on the ground on passing downs and get after the quarterback. With Pierre-Paul off the board, Kindle's ability to get after the QB in his college career combined with Parcell's historic tendency to draft LB's and the rookie success of former Texas teammate Brian Orakpo playing a similar position lead the dolphins to make Kindle their pick to lineup with new LB Karlos Dansby and form an improved and much younger group of linebackers.
Sergio Kindle - Big Hit on Taylor Potts
The Dolphins will hope Kindle can use hits like this one to put a little fear in opposing QBs and shore up a passing defense that finished 24th in 2009.