NEW Dolphins Draft day rumor

[Cowboys 4 life]

I read this from their team report on Yahoo
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=A ... eam_report

Mar 31, 11:22 pm EDT

The rest of the league might just have to resort to Tuna leftovers on April 26 if vice president of football operations Bill Parcells elects to pass on the first overall pick of the draft next month.

It’s not only plausible, but economically prudent for the Dolphins to let the 10 minutes elapse and allow the Rams to pick first in the draft. The league has confirmed that there is no penalty for teams to pass on their picks. The Dolphins would then be able to jump in front of whomever they want to if they believe a player they really want is about to be snatched.

A sound reason for utilizing such an unorthodox strategy is twofold: No. 1, the Dolphins don’t believe that any of the top 3-5 picks are good enough to warrant a $32 million signing bonus and also that they have so many holes to fill that they would do just as well by dropping down to Nos. 6 or 7 and then use their later first-day picks - No. 32, 57 and 64 - to bolster their talent-bereft roster.

The Cowboys and Vikings have pulled off a similar maneuver in recent years, but never has it been done with the top overall pick.

Surely, if the Dolphins did this, the owners would get together to adopt a rule change that would penalize teams for doing so as in forfeiting the pick all together.

Also, the agent who represents the pick the Dolphins finally settle on would probably suggest a protracted holdout until his client would get a comparable contract that the first pick got from the Rams.

As it is, Colts general manager Bill Polian is adamantly opposed to rookie picks receiving such huge signing bonuses without ever playing a down in the NFL, so this wild move could possibly be rendered moot in the near future once the salaries for high first-round picks were more judicially slotted.

The top pick in many instances has become more of a burden to the worst teams than a benefit. Alex Smith? David Carr? Tim Couch? Ki-Jana Carter? Even Michael Vick?

Of course, the Dolphins are doing their due diligence in repeatedly interviewing the believed front-runners for the No. 1 pick - Virginia defensive end Chris Long, Michigan tackle Jake Long and Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan. They also continue to show interest in Michigan quarterback Chad Henne as their developmental quarterback while John Beck and Josh McCown fight it out for the starting job this season.



Interesting. I didn't remember the Cowboys doing this. The early 1st round picks salaries are getting rediculous though. Its getting to a point where in most instances the burden outweighs the bennies. Too much money sunk into so much risk. Either of the Longs will really help them though.

[JasonSeahorn]

Uhh the article was posted on March 31st, right before midnight. Do you know what day comes after March 31st?

It might be a real report but I don't know.

[Cowboys 4 life]

Uhh the article was posted on March 31st, right before midnight. Do you know what day comes after March 31st?

It might be a real report but I don't know.

I thought about that but I think they would have posted it on the 1st if it was false. On top of that it probably would have been taken down by now yet it is still up on the team page.

[beanoX3]

I don't remember a team passing on their pick either. So then the Dolphins can jump in any time afterwards?

The one Dolphins rumor that I liked was Casserly from NFL Network saying that Parcells is going to pick whoever he can get signed to a contract before the draft. Then Parcells is going to find it much easier to trade down.

[steelerfan513]

I don't have a hard time believing this at all. Having a top five pick is not necessarily a good thing because, although you're getting an incredibly talented player, you're also paying them an exorbitant amount of money, so if they don't work out, you're completely ****ed.

Will the Dolphins do this? Probably not. Would it be understandable? Most certainly.

My guess is that eventually the league will have to do something about the high contracts for high draft picks because now it isn't necessarily an advantage to have one.

[FantasyMan13]

If they pass, they should lose their pick all-together. I dont like that rule at all...

[A Fleshner Fantasy]

If they pass, they should lose their pick all-together. I dont like that rule at all...

Why? I completely disagree. It's not like they will get any player that they otherwise couldn't have gotten. I also don't see why the other owners would be opposed to it. It doesn't put them at a disadvantage. They either pick in the slot they originally would have, or they pick 1 slot earlier.

[stomperrob]

DOLPHINS
Parcells tight-lipped on Dolphins' draft choices
Nobody is venturing to guess what the Dolphins will do with the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, especially with Bill Parcells involved.
Posted on Thu, Apr. 03, 2008
BY JEFF DARLINGTON
jdarlington@MiamiHerald.com


PALM BEACH -- Go ahead. Try to guess.

Maybe you would swear it's going to be Michigan tackle Jake Long. Maybe you're sold on the Dolphins selecting Virginia defensive end Chris Long instead. Think it will be quarterback Matt Ryan? Or defensive end Vernon Gholston?

One warning: When it comes to which prospect the Dolphins will select with the first overall pick in the NFL Draft, don't go buying a new jersey until draft day is actually done -- especially when Bill Parcells has anything to do with it.

''He's the master of throwing around smoke screens,'' said Rams coach Scott Linehan, whose team has the second overall pick. ``I have no idea what they'll do. They could trade it with a minute to go before the first pick. No one knows. They might even have the deal done and wait until then.''

Yes, as the Dolphins continue to keep their options open for a trade out of the top spot, it appears this mystery will linger all the way until the final day on April 26. And everyone -- including the agents of the top players -- believes just that.

At this point, if Miami can't find a trade partner, it at least could be argued that Miami is more likely to choose Chris Long or Jake Long over anyone else, with Ryan a close third given coach Tony Sparano's endorsement of John Beck and Josh McCown.

But in an NFL climate full of conspiracy theories and utter paranoia, teams across the league instead attempt to resist believing anything they hear from others.

''At this time of the year, everybody is either a master of keeping it close to the vest or sending out misinformation,'' Smith said during the final day of the annual owners' meetings Wednesday. ``I know the Dolphins do have the first pick in the draft, but I think in the draft process, everyone is drafting independently of what happens elsewhere at this point.''

This, no doubt, is a time of year when anything could be construed as a smoke screen. Heck, even the Dolphins' decision to wait before saying whether it will run a 3-4 or a 4-3 defense could be a way to throw confusion into their interest in Chris Long.

A ridiculously paranoid notion? Probably. But this, as many who have been watching drafts unfold for decades, is a ridiculous time of year.

''It's amazing how much information is out there,'' ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said Monday. ``You have to use various ways. Too much is at stake for accurate information to get out. It's always a juggle on what you're going to say and what you're going to do.''

Sports Illustrated's Peter King recently told the story of a conversation he had in 1986 with Parcells -- then with the Giants -- on the eve of the draft. King heard Parcells had been closely scouting Ohio State linebacker Pepper Johnson a few days before.

''On the eve of the draft I called Parcells,'' King wrote. ' `Sounds like you're interested in Pepper Johnson,' I said. The noise that came out of [Parcells'] mouth was something beyond, 'Are you kidding me? Pepper Johnson? Psssshhhhhawwww.' ''

Parcells' Giants, by the way, selected Johnson with their second-round pick.

So what does that suggest about the Dolphins' looming decision at this point? In essence, it suggests very few at this point know anything at all.

The Dolphins have held private workouts with all three major prospects (Chris Long, Jake Long and Ryan) -- but even that isn't enough to gauge actual interest. None of those three players has been given any indication as to where he stands. No talks about money. No negotiations at all.

The reason for the poker face is simple: Show other teams exactly who you plan on picking, and the pool for a trade partner becomes even slimmer (if not completely empty) than it already is.

For now, the conspiracy theories will only continue to fly. The latest intriguing scenario? Perhaps Miami won't pick at all. If the Dolphins don't want to pay for the top pick -- and they don't have a trade partner -- the team technically could let the clock expire without making a selection.

League rules then would allow them to jump back into the mix whenever they were ready to pick -- thus getting the player they wanted for less money.

''That would be a pretty good story if somebody passed on the first pick just so they didn't have to pay,'' Linehan said.

"You'd lose your fans pretty quick. I don't think it'll happen. But man, that'd be quite a story.''

Then again, these days, it seems anything is possible.

[FantasyMan13]

If they pass, they should lose their pick all-together. I dont like that rule at all...

Why? I completely disagree. It's not like they will get any player that they otherwise couldn't have gotten. I also don't see why the other owners would be opposed to it. It doesn't put them at a disadvantage. They either pick in the slot they originally would have, or they pick 1 slot earlier.

I see your point, but how far can it be taken? Will the first 5 teams do it? If the Dolphins dont see anyone worth taking at #1, why should any other team? It also gives the teams that benefit from it an unfair advantage. And then there's always the possibility of collusion. I just see no point in allowing a team to skip and then come back whenever they want and make their pick.

[BlueBandit24]

I see your point, but how far can it be taken? Will the first 5 teams do it? If the Dolphins dont see anyone worth taking at #1, why should any other team? It also gives the teams that benefit from it an unfair advantage. And then there's always the possibility of collusion. I just see no point in allowing a team to skip and then come back whenever they want and make their pick.

I agree. It really sets a bad precedent IMO. In years where there is not a clear #1 pick, we could see several teams bypass the pick. It could also have adverse effects on team's draft strategies. GM's are sitting there looking at who the teams ahead of them are likely to take. If a team suddenly starts dropping down the draft board without trading, it can really foul up draft plans and affect any trading up they may potentially do. It would also make a process that is already painfully long, even longer.