The 2018 NFL Draft is just 2 days away! What better time to take a look at a position the Miami Dolphins have largely ignored or failed to adequately fill in over a decade! Nope, not QB, although I’m sure some of you feel that way, no it’s TE! If you just look at the names we’ve had in at TE it doesn’t seem nearly as bad, but trust me, we didn’t have that player when they were producing or healthy. Julius Thomas, Jordan Cameron, Dion Sims, Charles Clay, Anthony Fasano, David Martin and finally Randy McMichael. McMichael was our best TE out of this group, and David Martin was a nice #2 TE, but the rest, fughettaboutit! It’s time to change that, and this particular draft has pretty decent depth, and I’d feel pretty comfortable with at least 3 prospects, so we do have a chance of finally drafting a TE early that will help this offense and make a major impact as a receiver.
Mike Gesicki 6’5 247 Penn State
Mike Gesicki would be my first choice at TE. He’s not the best blocker at this point, in fact, he may be the player least likely to block, but I do think he may be the most dangerous receiver at TE. You can teach a player to block, but you can’t teach speed and athleticism, and Mike Gesicki has that in spades. At 6’5 247, with long 34″ arms, Gesicki ran the 40 in 4.54 seconds, put up 22 reps of 225, had an amazing 41.5″ vertical, a very fast 4.1 20 YD shuttle, and a 129″ broad jump. This kid screams explosiveness. Gesicki made his presence felt as a Junior at Penn State, and had his breakout season. He finished with 48 receptions for 679 yards and 5 TD’s, a very nice 14.5YPR. In his Senior season, Gesicki caught 57 passes for 563 yards and 9 TD’s. Mike Gesicki is the highest rated TE at NFL.com by a slight margin at 5.92. Besides the long arms, at the end of those long arms are some big mitts, 10 1/8″ mitts. I think Gesicki could be the missing piece that gets our offense going. Having that fast TE threatening the seam will open things for our running backs, and also our other receivers. We haven’t had a TE commanding any attention in far too long.
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Hayden Hurst 6’4 250 South Carolina
Hurst is also a very athletic TE prospect, He was actually in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization as a pitcher, but left baseball and walked on at S. Carolina as a TE. Hurst finally got his big chance his Sophomore year, and he took advantage of that chance and finished the season with 48 catches for 616 yards and a TD. His Junior year was pretty consistent with his last season, 44 catches for 559 yards and 2 TD’s. The one negative about Hurst is he will be a relatively old rookie at 25 years old. Hurst did well at the combine as well, though not as good as Gesicki, running a 4.67 40, and a 31.5″ vertical. Hurst is a better blocker than Gesicki, and at least has blocked, unlike Gesicki who is mainly used as a receiver. Hurst has very good hands, registering only 1 drop against 100 receptions. Hurst is rated at 5.90, 2nd highest rated TE.
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Dallas Goedert 6’5 255 South Dakota State
Dallas Goedert has a lot of receptions on his resume, and many of them one handed acrobatic grabs as he is pictured making above. He’s got talent, and although he’s Rock’s favorite, he worries me a bit. First off, he played at South Dakota St. where he was a man among boys. The guy covering him in that pic above looks smaller than me! This is what worries me, he hasn’t played against tough coverage, and bigger defenders, and he surely will in the NFL. An average LB in the NFL will likely be heads and shoulders better than anything he’s faced in college, so I think he has some challenges ahead of him. Goedert didn’t run the 40 at the combine or his pro day due to a hamstring injury, but he did some drills at his pro day. Dallas had a nice 35″ vertical and a 10.1′ broad jump. He also ran a nice 4.06 in the 20 YD shuttle, as well as a quick 6.87 in the 3 cone drill. Goedert’s best season was his Junior year where he caught 92 passes for 1293 yards and 11 TD’s. He’s rated as the 3rd best TE by NFL.com at 5.87
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Ian Thomas 6’4 259 Indiana
Thomas is one of the more well rounded TE’s in the draft. He’s a good receiver as well as a good blocker as an in line TE. He doesn’t have great speed, but he’s fast enough. He actually has a remarkable story as far his upbringing, after losing both his parents at 9 years, and being raised by siblings. He’s known as “Humble and focused” at Indiana, and scouts say he loves football. Thomas had his best season as a Senior after he transferred from community college a year earlier. He caught 25 passes for 376 yards and 5 TD’s. Although he didn’t perform the bench press at the combine or his pro day, Thomas is considered a powerful athlete. He has good run after the catch ability and is very physical separating from would be tacklers. Thomas does need coaching on route running and may have some more upside in that regard. Thomas is somewhat of an unfinished product having played only 2 seasons, really 1 full season of college ball. Thomas is rated at 5.82 at NFL.com
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Dalton Schultz 6’6 242 Stanford
Schultz is actually at the other end of the spectrum from what I want for the Dolphins, because his actually a better blocking TE than receiver. He may be one of the best blockers at TE in this draft. His receiving stats are relatively dismal, his Senior year totals were 22 catches for 212 yards and 3 TD’s. He wouldn’t be the guy I’d want as our 1st TE, but I wouldn’t mind him as our 2nd TE, with Gesicki spread out or in the slot. He was a big part of the run game at Stanford and relied heavily as a run blocker. He has the size, and I’m sure he’ll add even more weight once he hits a regular NFL lifting routine. He’s expected to go around the 3rd or 4th RD, and honestly I wouldn’t mind doubling up on TE’s, although MarQueis Gray isn’t bad as a 2nd TE as a blocker either. Schultz is rated at 5.70 at NFL.com
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I know some of you have your favorites later in the draft, but I think it’s crucial to our team’s success that we get one of the top TE prospects in this draft, meaning IMO either Gesicki, Hurst or Goedert. I feel if they pass on these guys, we’ll end with yet another JAG at the TE position, continuing the tradition here in MIA of ignoring the TE position.
PS – If you intend on attending this year’s Fest game, please vote on the poll on the right side underneath the 2018 schedule. This way we can choose a date early and get those reservations taken care of! Thanks, and happy voting!
Finsmob Unleashed 
Minkah was def higher rated.
Not by Zierlein. He had Edmunds over 7, and Minkah just barely above a 6
Is that Lamar Jackson or Samuel Jackson?
With hair
Oh wow again. I really liked that guy a lot
ISAIAH WYNN????
And nobody touching Orlando Brown so far either.
Because he’s made of marshmallow fluff
Well his vertical jump is below sea level so…
Patriots fans respond with facial expressions that say: Whatever you say, oh Evil One. We will be happy
They literally have no idea what just happened
Isiah Wynn to the pasties* … ok not a game changer for us
Mike Oakland passed on him twice. They had the strongest LB need in the draft.
OK. Maybe he’s too much of a high ceiling, low floor guy.
I’m REALLY happy that the Patsies* didn’t start the run on TEs!
Same here.
naples,
Agreed! That’s one of the reasons I liked James so much too. He and Minkah can both do it….and probably a lot better than McDonald.
Mike all other big boards i saw had minkah higher.
I thought Wynn was an OG…but okay
right?
He played OG in 2016 and OT in 2017
So NE is projecting pushing Wynn out to OT. hmmm not sure he is nimble enough for that
I oink you a beer Piggs
Almost every source I saw had Fitzpatrick rated higher by a fair amount over Edmunds. Fitzpatrick is considered one of the real blue chip prospects in this draft.
thing is, in addition to all that talent, Minkah has a high football IQ and a great attitude.
He LOVES football and loves a challenge. And he studies film for fun.
I believe we just drafted our QB on defense tonight. I can’t say enough how happy I am that he fell to us.
Minkah Fitzpatrick is from Old Bridge NJ, about 15 minutes from where I live
Damn maybe you are right should have taken Edmunds over a jersey boy
Maybe
Ridley now probably
yeah that’s what i meant to be saying.
sheesh
ok kinda expected that for the Ravens, but another TE team is gone, so cool.
yikes sorry guys my laptop and I had a fight and I lost.
Carolina did NOT need a TE.
Edmunds has a ver high ceiling, but he is still a little more of a raw player. He might also be a 10 sack guy too in a couple years. He is young and will probably need more of a transition period than a guy like Fitzpatrick. But, Edmunds has the athleticism, length and size you just love. Personally, I think his ceiling is higher than Minkah’s, but Minkah is a much safer pick who can be pretty good too. Minkah was a pretty good pick, I think.
The pick, we can now defend the cheats.
Wynn can play any position on the OL that was part of why I liked him so much. I was hoping we could get a shot at him in the 2nd
patties badly needed a tackle.
1st Domino has fallen
Crap.
Was hoping Ozzie would continue his pattern of taking Alabama players
Well there goes the 1st TE
DAMN, DAMN, DAMN!!!!!
VGK 4 – 0, it’s wild in here😁
Have fun .. see ya next round 😎
fuck I was worried about that.. oh well 1 down 3(?) to go.
That was my favorite TE in this draft
Who
Hurst
mine too
well one of the Big 4 anyway
hell of it is 3 teams at least still need that position before we pick again.
Saints are gonna freaking take Gesicki.
They traded up and took a DE. Mike they are not a threat.
Oh cool! Thanks. Doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods, but that’s one team that scared me.
I’m worried about the Jags and Pats.
Lamar is still there.
Ridley
good pick for Atlanta, take some pressure off Jones.2 Bama boys
so hoping Sea goes with a CB to replace Sherman. or a DT to replace Bennett.
Atlanta wants to just score 40 points a game. Lol
Their D is actually not that bad. Their problem last year was the offense took a step backwards
Hurst then Ridley makes a pig squeal
Jags might take a TE
They also lost 1/2 their Wrs in FA
Yeah, but is there a WR worthy now of a 1st RD selection?
Maybe Sutton?
First Hawkeye???
Ken,
I just meant Atlanta’s offense is pretty stacked.
It didn’t play well last year but yes there is talent there
Wow
Whoa
Penny in first round. wow
So Shazier announcing Steelers pick sounds like.. does he announce his replacement ?? Ow what a pretty Penny… sorry MF
That was wild
Wow, Penny.
I was hanging with a friend tonight, he was so happy with the Barkley pick as a Giants fan and I was happy with Fitz being he was my realistic want. Good solid pick. He adds more competition in the secondary and deepens our sub package formations. 9 INTs and 4 for TDs at Alabama. He can play all over and blitz.
This draft wasn’t surprising with who got drafted as much as how it went down with the trades.
I don’t quite get that pick. Good player though.
Whoa!! M just shed a tear
I kind of expected guice there
Crap that’s a shock.
So now we are stuck hoping for Michel?
No there’s a ton more good RBs.
Mike E : Chark, maybe ? Not sure if this is over draft position area for WR or not. I cant think of too many …
Seattle does have a mess at RB.
FACT
Why is he special? Because he got injured making a poor tackle?
That’s rough Bri – He was a great player. I feel for the kid
I’m not saying that from Shaziers point of view. I give the guy a ton of credit
I’m just saying I hate when organizations somehow take an unfortunate situation and somehow try to use that for their own publicity.
Not to sound cruel, but I can’t stand when they use forums like this to somehow grab more attention
I think the fact that he is walking again is pretty amazing
There goes the other Edmunds
position of need for Pitt no doubt, but the player might be a little shaker than they think … coachable kid though so he should do fine.
Wow the other Edmunds
Pretty shocked he got selected in the first
Bryan I think they just wanted to show he is persevering though what was a scary injury.
Most everyone has been worried he wouldn’t make it back I’m glad they did that so I could see him walking
See my post above. I give the guy a ton of credit. That wasn’t a slight towards him.
Bri – He’s special to the Steelers. I don’t think it was as much a forum as to be an inspiration that the kid is walking now. I don’t think it’s any more than that
Maybe I just took it the wrong way
I think so, but it’s just my opinion. It’s not like he he was in a gang fight, he was playing football. He’s a good kid, and I’m happy for him. It’s pretty amazing that he’s walking. I think of Dennis Byrd and now it’s Ryan Shazier.
Get a TE tomorrow please.
I would trade up for Gesicki if we need to
Me too! I’d do it NOW! Just getterdone!
Wow more D for Jags.
Beast
That’s a good pick, I like Taven Bryan
Jax is stacked on D
excellent for the Jags and also for our TE needs…they know him from UF
The Jags are going to have to keep teams under 7 points a game to win
Right?!?!
wow. jax needs Defense. man, the Fins are really far behind if Jax keeps going defense
Ok, we got past Jacksonville.
My heart just dropped
When I heard Mike
Get ready for it to drop now
Fuck, he said Mike. lol
Good pick for the Vikes.
They certainly needed a Corner, so good for Mike too.
LOL @ Bri – Me too!
Over Josh Jackson? I dunno.
LBs on the board: Lorenzo Carter and Malik Jefferson
DTs: Hurst, Phillips and Nandi
WRs: Kirk, Miller and Sutton
TEs: Gesicki and Goedert
OL: Hernandez and Daniels
RBs: Guice, Michel, Jones and Chubb
Qbs: Rudolph and Falk
Good players left
We are going to get a good player in the 2nd round
Yep!
It is a shame Shazier will never play football again. I really wanted the Dolphins to draft him that year.
I can’t believe I have stayed awake this long.
Gamma coffee
Must be
So outside of the TEs , two guys i really like… Griffin LB and Iowa DB Jackson? Barrett?? Am I correct in assuming that neither falls under beed for us anymore ?
I think Griffin will go much later – like 3rd or 4th round
Jackson will be off the board soon
NE needs a WR
Still thinking Harold Landry
Ken,
I will fucking die if they take him
Please don’t do that. We like you too much
Fitz is a gamer.
He replaces Thomas’ role right away as a DB and on STs with blue chip talent.
Piggy – Love Phillips, Gesicki, Guice, and Hernandez
I like Christian Kirk a lot
Malik Jefferson can play
oh snap
That’s trouble for us
Damn
So glad the cheats didn’t pick Guice
Okay. Good player but we already have our own version of him
Michel, my bell, hope you fall down in a well
Guice still there Piggy
Weeeeeeee
That was one of my 3 worst nightmares right there.
Well here is a complete waste of a player,,, they use a committee too much to benefit from this pick
That’s what I think too
They may as well get a free agent RB
I forgot they signed Jeremy Hill as well. Silly Pats
Good pick for the Pats. I like Sony Michel. Oh well.
Uh oh. Possible TE here
Nm they already took one whew
Ok, we got past NE.
Ravens traded up
Maybe Jackson?
Oh fuck, you know they’re taking a TE
That was my thought as well then got reminded they took Hurst, dodged a bullet 😎👍🙏
Oh, see I missed most of the draft tonight, so I get a pass. You get one too because you’re sloshed. lol
Lmao. No actually only a CAWFEE after dinner 😎
LOL! That’s some interesting cawfee there pal! 😉
Baltimore traded with Philly? uh oh
OK, I don’t give a fuck
Interesting
yayyyyy they took a guy I did NOT want so we’re done right?
only one TE taken so far. Not too terrible.
Alright I made for the whole 1st round. It is time to get some sleep. I love the Fitzpatrick pick. Now let’s get a TE and a QB to develop
So I have
1 gesicki
2 Guice
3 hurst
4 Kirk
5 Hernandez
6 Rudolph
As my top choices for us in the 2nd round
It takes a lot for be to put a player over Guice…lol
We pick again in 10 picks
I hate the Ravens almost as much as any other AFC East team
FACT. Bastards have cost us many a playoff berth
ok guys we did fine and there was not too much collateral damage considering they had to pick 31 guys somehow.
Lei’s get 2 more quality picks tomorrow!!
You know what sucks? We pick 10th in the second round. Cleveland and Indy both have Two selections each BEFORE we pick. I could see either of them picking a TE with one of those picks.