The Bottlenose’s 2014 Dolphins Mock Draft

Thanks to the NFL for the inexplicable wait for the 2014 NFL Draft. What were they thinking? At any rate, here’s our best shot at mocking Miami’s latest rookie haul.

Round 1. ZACK MARTIN, OL, Notre Dame – Mosley is an injury risk. Lewan should be gone. Hell, Zack might be gone too, but I’m gonna let him fall to us. Other linemen will be stretches here, which could warrant a trade down. The Sea Mammals stick to the biggest area of need, and they should be thankful Martin is there at 19. Should slide in at right tackle, but worst case he’s an interior lineman you can lock in for a decade. Gets dicey after him. It’s important to remember how adversely our offensive line play impacted our team. Moreno is a great blocking back. We’ve imported Albert and Shelley Smith. Pouncey is fantastic. Throw Martin into the mix too and Tannehill should be smiling a whole lot more going forward.

Round 2. CHRIS BORLAND, ILB, Wisconsin – All intangibles with this guy. The undersized Borland will overachieve in Davie, like a kid named Zach Thomas did for so many years. He will be a tackling machine, and help Dolfans forget the free agency linebacker debacle spearheaded by Jeff Ireland last season. I think Borland has “fan favorite” written all over him. Dude’s a football player, plain and simple.

Round 3. DONTE MONCRIEF, WR, Ole Miss – This pick ain’t about phasing out Mike Wallace, whose value will become apparent once our quarterback has time, and now that we have (knock on wood) a less, well, offensive offensive coordinator. This pick is about Brian Hartline, the solid, handsomely paid #2 wideout whose contract isn’t guaranteed past next season. Make no bones about it, the Fins would prefer two receivers who strike fear into opponents hearts. Moncrief is a beast, and will be someone’s bargain bin gem in this draft. The receiver depth in this draft class is insane, and with the NFL becoming more of a passing league by the second missing out on those riches would be a mistake.

Round 4. DAKOTA DOZIER, OG, Furman – The small school guard more than held his own at the Senior Bowl, when suddenly facing blue chip competition. Didn’t wow on the stopwatch, but we like Dozier’s potential as an interior lineman. We wouldn’t be surprised to ultimately see Dozier join Zack Martin as rookie starters on the right side of the line.

Round 5.  JERICK MCKINNON, RB, Georgia Southern – The converted quarterback lit up the combine and impressed at the senior bowl. A bowling ball with great measurables, his upside is well worth a fifth rounder, especially with Moreno being probably just a temporary fix.

Round 6. DEION BELUE, CB, Alabama – A cornerback with some upside, who’s played at the highest levels of college ball. I mean, if Cortland Finnegan is going to start for us we should pay some attention to the position, right? They’ve all got imperfections at this stage of the draft, but a ‘Bama kid is usually well-prepared for Sundays.

Round 7. COLT LYERLA, TE, Oregon – When a player with Pro Bowl ability is sitting there this late it’s hard not to pull the trigger. The physical freak has it all, including a possible cocaine habit. Still, that’s what drug testing is for. If he keeps his head on straight, we could see both Moncrief and Colt become big time contributors with only a 3rd and 7th spent.

GO DOLPHINS, and feel free to follow us on Twitter @TheBottlenose