2010 draft picks

Here are your Miami Dolphins 2010 draft picks:

• 1st round: DT Jared Odrick (Penn State)
• 2nd round: LB Koa Misi (Utah)
• 3rd round: OG John Jerry (Mississippi)
• 4th round: LB A.J. Edds (Iowa)
• 5th round: CB Nolan Carroll (Maryland) and S Reshad Jones (Georgia)
• 7th round: LB Chris McCoy (Middle Tenn) and LB Austin Spitler (Ohio State)

Overall, this was a solid draft, IMHO. The team did a good job filling need positions. I wrote about Odrick before, and Misi and Jerry are similar picks -- good players whose position with the Dolphins will probably not be what they played primarily in college. Reshad Jones was a steal in the fifth round. I wouldn't be surprised if all four started by the end of the season. I don't know much about the other players drafted, but they certainly filled the needs the team had on defense. If you include the big trade for Brandon Marshall before the draft, it feels like the Dolphins made another big step forward in improving the team.

Dolphins trade down in first round, select Jared Odrick

The Miami Dolphins traded their first round pick, #12 overall, to the San Diego Chargers for their first rounder, #28 overall. In addition, the Dolphins swapped their fourth-round and seventh-round picks for San Diego's second-round and fourth-round picks and linebacker Tim Dobbins. (I don't know much about Dobbins, but I don't expect him to start anytime soon.) With the #28 pick, the Dolphins selected Penn State DT Jared Odrick. I like the pick at the position where he was picked (i.e., the Dolphins didn't reach like they did with Ted Ginn and Pat White). I've read some good things about Odrick, but it's still unclear whether he'll play DT, DE, or even LB for the Dolphins.

Jason Taylor leaves for Jets

It's been rumored for days, and now it's official. Jason Taylor is leaving the Miami Dolphins to join the NY Jets. Taylor wanted to play for the Dolphins in 2010, but Miami wanted to wait until after the draft to decide whether or not to re-sign him. His new contract is worth $13 over two years, much more than what the Dolphins would've been willing to pay him even if they kept him. I don't blame Taylor for switching teams, but it'll be hard to watch him play for a hated division rival.

Dolphins trade Ted Ginn

The failed Ted Ginn experiment is over. Ginn, the 9th pick of the 2007 draft, was dealt to the SF 49ers for a lowly fifth round pick. That Ginn was traded was no surprise, especially after the Dolphins obtained Brandon Marshall. However, I was somewhat surprised at how little Miami got in return. Though he never fulfilled his potential as a wide receiver, Ginn did have a few good games and was a decent return man. Ginn finished his Dolphins career with 128 receptions and five TD catches.

Dolphins trade draft picks for Brandon Marshall

The Dolphins finally have a bona fide wide receiver on their roster. It took two second round draft picks -- one this year and one next year -- but Miami got WR Brandon Marshall from the Denver Broncos. In terms of talent and productivity, Marshall is now the best wide receiver on the team. However, his downside was always off the field, and Bill Parcells must think he can keep Marshall in control enough for the trade to pay off. Marshall's aquisition most likely means the Dolphins will not draft Dez Bryant in the first round, which is fine with me because Bryant was another player with character issues. And Marshall has proven his ability to play in the NFL, unlike Bryant.

2010 draft preview

The Miami Dolphins have the 12th pick in the first round of this month's draft and ten picks overall. The Dolphins have a wide range of needs, the most pressing being wide receiver, defensive line, linebacker, and safety. The players most talked about to address those needs in the first round are:

• WR Dez Bryant - Oklahoma State - the best WR in the draft, but has character issues; Bill Parcells is also notorious for not wanting to draft WRs in the first round
• NT Dan Williams - Tennessee - best NT in the draft, but there are other good NTs later in the draft
• LB Rolando McClain - Alabama - great prospect, but some think that signing Karlos Dansby implies the team will not draft another ILB in the first round
• DE/LB Derrick Morgan - Georgia Tech - good size and speend, but more suited to the 4-3 than the 3-4 that the Dolphins run
• S Earl Thomas - Texas - slightly undersized but the best safety in the draft

At this point, I still have no idea which way the team will lean on draft day, but I hope they pick someone like Thomas or Morgan rather than Dez Bryant.