Which 2012 NFL Draft Prospects Are the Miami Dolphins Learning About?

The Miami Dolphins have been connected to so many prospects with the No. 8 overall pick, but the one they've been connected to the most by experts, Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill, hasn't visited or worked out for the team yet.

The draft is often full of smoke and mirrors, and the absence of information is not, in and of itself, information. But with that in mind, who do we know the Dolphins are at least looking at?

Evan Silva of Pro Football Talk has been maintaining a running list of all of the pre-draft visits that every team, including the Dolphins, have held thus far.

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* = private workout only; not a visit to team facility.

+ = BOTH private workout and visit to team facility.

 

*Oklahoma State offensive tackle Levy Adcock (?/?).

USC defensive tackle Armond Armstead (4/?).

Utah cornerback Conroy Black (?/?).

Oklahoma State receiver Justin Blackmon (4/?).

*Wisconsin-Whitewater quarterback Matt Blanchard (?/?).

LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers (4/?).

Miami (Ohio) guard Brandon Brooks (4/?).

Pittsburgh running back Zach Brown (4/5).

Appalachian State running back Travaris Cadet (4/5).

LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne (4/?).

North Carolina defensive end Quinton Coples (4/?).

*Nebraska linebacker Lavonte David (4/5).

Washington State tackle/guard David Gonzales (?/?).

Louisiana-Lafayette tight end Ladarius Green (?/?).

Wisconsin cornerback Antonio Fenelus (4/5).

Notre Dame receiver Michael Floyd (4/?).

+Albion cornerback Chris Greenwood (?/?).

Oregon State cornerback Brandon Hardin (?/?).

Miami center Tyler Horn (4/5).

*Virginia Tech cornerback Jayron Hosley (4/?).

*South Carolina defensive end Melvin Ingram (3/?).

West Virginia linebacker Bruce Irvin (?/?).

Montana defensive back Trumaine Johnson (4/?).

Syracuse defensive end Chandler Jones (4/16).

Ole Miss offensive tackle Bobby Massie (4/?).

Iowa State offensive tackle Kelechi Osemele (3/?).

Arizona State quarterback Brock Osweiler (4/10).

*Iowa State receiver Darius Reynolds (3/?).

Cincinnati tight end Adrien Robinson (4/?).

LSU safety Brandon Taylor (4/?).

*Idaho linebacker Korey Toomer (?/?).

Utah State linebacker Bobby Wagner (?/?).

Rutgers guard Desmond Wynn (3/?).

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Top Priority: Cornerback

Combining for eight of the team's 34 listed players—that's 23.5 percent. The Dolphins gave up an 83.7 passer rating, which wasn't bad, but 7.2 yards per attempt to opposing quarterbacks is a number they'd probably like to see a bit lower.

Vontae Davis is a solid No. 1 cornerback for the Dolphins, and Richard Marshall can play all sorts of positions in the secondary, including slot corner and even some safety. Still, with Sean Smith, Chris Clemons and Nolan Carroll making up the remaining depth chart, the Dolphins should look to address the cornerback position in the draft.

Doing their due diligence on guys like Chris Greenwood is proof of their desire to do so. The team had him in for an official visit and held a private workout with the small-school prospect out of Albion, who drew a lot of buzz with his pro-day performance.

They also showed interest in one of the draft's top prospects, Morris Claiborne. He's a great man cover corner and would work well in lockstep with Davis on the outside. 

Trading up to draft the No. 1 cornerback may not work out, but the Dolphins are wise to do their due diligence regardless.

Top Prospect: Melvin Ingram, LB, South Carolina

I would have gone with Claiborne here, but having already addressed him, Ingram is the second-most eye-popping prospect on the list.

He's scheme versatile, and though his size makes him a tough projection, his explosion and athleticism make him an intriguing prospect. He sure knows how to be disruptive, having tallied 26 tackles for loss and 19 sacks combined in the past two seasons.

With the Dolphins running a hybrid scheme in 2012, chances are strong that they could find a way to utilize Ingram to his strengths. The Broncos were able to do so with Von Miller, who fell into the same category in 2011.

The future is cloudy for Dolphins outside linebacker Cameron Wake, so the Dolphins would be wise to cover their bases in the event that a holdout turns into an ugly war.

Biggest Surprise: No Ryan Tannehill

Don't read too much into this; if there's anyone who has the book on Tannehill, it's former Texas A&M head coach Mike Sherman, now the offensive coordinator for the Dolphins.

Perhaps the Dolphins are finding that they have all the information they need on him through his former head coach.

Or perhaps they're satisfied with what they saw at his pro day—and the subsequent dinner they shared with him.

Per the Sun-Sentinel:

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General Manager Jeff Ireland, new head coach Joe Philbin and Brian Gaine, the team's director of player personnel, all attended the workout for Tannehill, who is projected by most draft experts as the third best quarterback in the 2012 NFL draft.

The Dolphins also reportedly took Tannehill out for dinner Thursday night after his workout, which featured him completing 65-of-68 passes. Two of the three incomplete passes were dropped.

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Still, you'd think the men in charge—i.e. Jeff Ireland, Steven Ross and Joe Philbin—would like to get a closer look at Tannehill one-on-one if they want to take him with the No. 8 overall pick.

But as previously mentioned, the lack of information is not, in and of itself, information. It's possible he's worked out with the Dolphins and no one has reported it or even knows it yet.

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