Miami Dolphins Must Build for Future Through NFL Draft

The concept of roster construction in the NFL can be a direct reflection of the goals of each individual franchise. Of course, reaching the Super Bowl is the ultimate prize for every organization, but ownership groups aren’t always willing to give time to those in charge of personnel.

When the Miami Dolphins hired Mike Tannenbaum as the executive vice president of football operations, a long-term strategy was established. Even if Miami moves on from its coaching staff in the future, Tannenbaum is very likely to be in place to select the next regime. He’ll be able to execute the best strategy for team building, which is to acquire as many impact players and continue to develop young players through the NFL draft.

Without the benefit of job security past one year (as seen in the case of former Cleveland Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski), there’s an immense amount of pressure to begin winning immediately in many situations. By expediting the process of building a well-rounded roster, the likelihood that a new regime will succeed shrivels even more.

Everyone wants to win and be a part of a successful organization. So much so that impatience forces the hand of general managers to panic. Along with general misevaluation, the panic leads to overspending on marginal talent. Mismanaging valuable resources in the draft and free agency only becomes magnified the next season because there is such pressure to win.

Few teams have built a sustained winner primarily through free agency. The best current example of this strategy is the Denver Broncos. They were able to land Peyton Manning as a free agent in 2012, and the historic signing put the organization into the ultimate win-now mentality.

Looking at the best players on the Broncos’ roster, a majority of the highest-impact players have come via free agency. On offense, Denver has added receivers Wes Welker and Emmanuel Sanders via free agency to help Manning. They’re strong complements to the Broncos’ two big draft hits, Demaryius and Julius Thomas.

Player	Position	Age	Method Acquired
Peyton Manning	QB	38	Free Agency
Aqib Talib	CB	28	Free Agency
Ryan Clady	LT	28	Drafted
Chris Harris Jr.	CB	25	Drafted
DeMarcus Ware	DE	32	Free Agency
Von Miller	OLB	25	Drafted
Demaryius Thomas	WR	27	Drafted
Julius Thomas	TE	26	Drafted
Terrance Knighton	DT	28	Free Agency

Denver has made huge investments on the defensive side of the ball to keep its championship window open. The Broncos committed a combined $159 million in the last year to defensive starters. Of that group, the only players drafted by the Broncos were Bradley Roby and Chris Harris Jr. Aqib Talib, DeMarcus Ware and T.J. Ward were all big-ticket acquisitions.

Besides the Broncos, championship-caliber teams have relied more on the draft to develop talent. Let’s use the two Super Bowl contestants as examples first.

The reigning 2013 champions, the Seattle Seahawks, have struck gold in the draft on multiple occasions. Their success with mid- and late-round picks is irregular, but they still deserve great recognition for their evaluation skill.

Player	Position	Age	Method Acquired
Russell Wilson	QB	26	Drafted
Richard Sherman	CB	26	Drafted
Earl Thomas	FS	25	Drafted
Bobby Wagner	MLB	24	Drafted
Marshawn Lynch	RB	28	Trade
Michael Bennett	DE	29	Free Agency
Cliff Avril	DE	28	Free Agency
Kam Chancellor	SS	26	Drafted
Russell Okung	LT	27	Drafted
K.J. Wright	OLB	25	Drafted

On offense, the only major offensive contributor acquired from another team is running back Marshawn Lynch. Lynch was traded to the Seahawks from the Buffalo Bills after the team stumbled to an 0-4 start to the 2010 season, and the Bills had a surplus of talent at the position. Everyone else, including quarterback Russell Wilson, was drafted.

The terrific Seahawks defense also has few free-agent additions. Defensive ends Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril are the two biggest signings, and they have been fantastic. But the core of the defense was homegrown. Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright were all drafted by the franchise.

The New England Patriots, the Seahawks’ Super Bowl adversary, have more of a mixed bag on their roster. Free-agent acquisitions like Darrelle Revis, Brandon LaFell, Brandon Browner, LeGarrette Blount and Akeem Ayers (acquired via trade) have each played great football for the team.

Player	Position	Age	Method Acquired
Tom Brady	QB	37	Drafted
Rob Gronkowski	TE	25	Drafted
Jerod Mayo	LB	28	Drafted
Vince Wilfork	DT	33	Drafted
Darrell Revis	CB	29	Free Agency
Devin McCourty	FS	27	Drafted
Julian Edelman	WR	28	Drafted
Chandler Jones	DE	24	Drafted
Jamie Collins	OLB	24	Drafted

But again, outside of Revis, the biggest playmakers on the team were developed internally. Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Jerod Mayo, Vince Wilfork, Julian Edelman, Jamie Collins and Chandler Jones are prime examples. Three of those players could be Hall of Famers at the end of their respective careers (Brady, Wilfork and Gronkowski).

One of the golden standards for successful drafting and talent development throughout the last decade has been the Cincinnati Bengals. They’ve built a model that every franchise should strive for; they allow key free agents to walk away every offseason and then simply replace them with players they’ve been working with for a year or two.

Player	Position	Age	Method Acquired
A.J. Green	WR	26	Drafted
Geno Atkins	DT	26	Drafted
Carlos Dunlap	DE	25	Drafted
Leon Hall	CB	30	Drafted
Andy Dalton	QB	27	Drafted
Andrew Whitworth	LT	33	Drafted
Vontaze Burfict	LB	24	Drafted
Reggie Nelson	FS	31	Free Agency
Rey Maualuga	LB	28	Drafted
Jeremy Hill	RB	22	Drafted
Giovani Bernard	RB	23	Drafted

The best playmakers on the Bengals all came from the draft. Defensive stars Geno Atkins, Leon Hall, Carlos Dunlap, Vontaze Burfict, Jeremy Hill and Rey Maualuga all fit the criteria. Bengals decision-makers never flinched as Michael Johnson hit free agency last offseason. That’s where the Dolphins must strive to reach.

Now that we’ve seen some of how the most successful teams have added top talent via good drafting (and fortunate for some good luck), it’s time to see how the Dolphins have added their top talent.

Miami has six legitimate playmakers who could start for a majority of teams in the league, just based off pure talent. These players have shown that they have immense value and can change the course of the game in a heartbeat.

Player	Position	Age	Method Acquired
Cameron Wake	DE	32	Free Agency
Brent Grimes	CB	31	Free Agency
Reshad Jones	SS	26	Drafted
Ryan Tannehill	QB	26	Drafted
Brandon Albert	LT	30	Free Agency
Mike Wallace	WR	28	Free Agency
Jelani Jenkins	OLB	22	Drafted

The Dolphins have some other talented players, but these are the standouts who have a history of dominance or showed growth in 2014. Notice how all but two Dolphins were found in free agency. (Since Cameron Wake was signed as an undrafted free agent years after his time in the CFL, he’s counted as a free agent).

Therein lies the biggest problem with how Miami’s had to construct its roster after years of poor drafting. The Dolphins lack young playmakers throughout the depth chart. This is a direct result of relying on free agency to patch holes.

Splashy signings are fun but rarely turn out extraordinarily well for the team. If a player is that good, the former team will almost always reward him for his work and talent. Sometimes it’s injuries or attitude that leads to a player leaving, but those are great risks in their own right.

When free-agent shopping, the Dolphins need to be smart this offseason. There’s nothing wrong with augmenting the roster with young talent that can continue to get better. But to splurge and be too reliant on signing players who are in the midst of their prime years is a mistake that has led to back-to-back disappointing seasons in 2013 and 2014.

For an idea of which free agents would be worthy investments, read this post. All free-agent targets should fill specific needs at positions that are otherwise hard to find in the draft. Of course, if the price isn’t right, then the Dolphins cannot afford to get desperate.

As we already know, desperation never leads to good decisions.

All stats used are from sports-reference.com.

Ian Wharton is a Miami Dolphins Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, contributor for Optimum Scouting and analyst for eDraft. 

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