Dolphins (and Panthers) will coach at Reese's Senior Bowl

To be fair, nearly half of the teams who passed are currently seeking head coaches and general managers. But this is a great opportunity to kick wheels on these players.

"Galant wrote:

Dolphins staff coached in the 2010 Senior Bowl. Coaches fell in love with John Jerry during that week. In the draft Dolphins selected Jerry in the third round while passing on TE Jimmy Graham from the University of Miami.

— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) January 11, 2021

way to kill a party Galant!

"OwesOwn614 wrote:

To be fair, nearly half of the teams who passed are currently seeking head coaches and general managers. But this is a great opportunity to kick wheels on these players.

As important as culture is to Flores, I think that emphasis on “interacting” with the players will give us a nice edge to keep building this the right way.

"Galant wrote:

Dolphins staff coached in the 2010 Senior Bowl. Coaches fell in love with John Jerry during that week. In the draft Dolphins selected Jerry in the third round while passing on TE Jimmy Graham from the University of Miami.

— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) January 11, 2021

:lol:

"Galant wrote:

Dolphins staff coached in the 2010 Senior Bowl. Coaches fell in love with John Jerry during that week. In the draft Dolphins selected Jerry in the third round while passing on TE Jimmy Graham from the University of Miami.

— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) January 11, 2021

Does Armando realize there are 1 or 2 new coaches on the staff from 11 years ago?

Great opportunity for Flores and Company to get a first look and interact with all the incoming (seniors) draft class.

How Dolphins, Panthers will benefit from coaching 2021 Senior Bowl
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Cameron Wolfe David Newton

The 2021 NFL draft season begins at the Senior Bowl for most NFL teams, and despite the COVID-19 pandemic, that will be the same again this year.

The Senior Bowl announced Monday the Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers have been assigned to coach the two teams of top senior and graduating college football prospects on Jan. 30 in Mobile, Alabama.

With uncertainty over whether the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis and college pro days will even happen, the Dolphins and Panthers will gain an advantage by spending a week evaluating and coaching some of the draft's best prospects in person.

The Senior Bowl staffs are typically decided by draft order and/or winning percentage and neither the Dolphins nor Panthers were first up. Multiple teams passed on the opportunity to coach, either because of coaching changes or other issues. But Dolphins coach Brian Flores and Panthers coach Matt Rhule expressed their excitement over the opportunity.

Senior Bowl officials have stated that players, NFL personnel and game staff will be under stringent COVID-19 protocols and testing throughout the duration of the practice week.

The Dolphins have two first-round picks (No. 3 and No. 18) and two second-round picks (No. 36 and No. 50), while the Panthers have the No. 8 pick and could be a candidate to select a quarterback.

Dolphins: In need of offensive playmakers
For the second consecutive year, the Dolphins are one of the draft's top power players. With four picks in the top 50 and nine overall, there's a good chance Miami will end up selecting at least one and likely multiple players whom they will coach in the Senior Bowl.

All eyes should focus on finding playmakers to surround quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and bodyguards to protect him -- that means running back, wide receiver and offensive line will be high priority positions. Many first-round options at those positions -- Alabama's DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle and Najee Harris; Oregon's Penei Sewell; LSU's Ja'Marr Chase; Northwestern's Rashawn Slater and Clemson's Travis Etienne -- are not scheduled to be at the Senior Bowl, but there are plenty of exciting prospects who could be good fits for the Dolphins.

Ohio State's Trey Sermon, North Carolina's Michael Carter and Mississippi State's Kylin Hill are among the top running backs. Oklahoma State's Tylan Wallace, Michigan's Nico Collins, Florida's Kadarius Toney and Clemson's Amari Rodgers are among the top receivers. Oklahoma center Creed Humphrey, Alabama center Landon Dickerson, Tennessee guard Trey Smith, Ohio State center Josh Myers and North Dakota State tackle Dillon Radunz are among the top offensive linemen.

On defense, the Dolphins are in better shape after finishing the 2020 season tied for fifth in scoring. But there are Senior Bowl prospects, particularly at linebacker, safety and edge rusher who can help the Dolphins close the gap between themselves and the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills.

This is the first time the Dolphins have coached the Senior Bowl since 2010, and that year their first four selections played at the Senior Bowl. Flores is ecstatic for the coaching opportunity, especially in an uncertain offseason when opportunities to evaluate players in person might be difficult to come by.

Panthers: In search of quarterbacks
Let's start with quarterback, the position getting the most attention for the Panthers with the No. 8 draft pick because of uncertainty around starter Teddy Bridgewater, along with backups PJ Walker and Will Grier. That's one reason Carolina had former Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins in for a visit on Monday even though it doesn't believe Haskins is ready to be a starter now. The likely top five quarterbacks in the draft won't be in Mobile, but the Panthers could fall in love with one of those at the Senior Bowl like they did safety/linebacker Jeremy Chinn last year and draft one in the second round. Florida's Kyle Trask comes to mind. That would free Carolina to go with another position at No. 8. Chinn, by the way, turned out to be a great pick.

The Senior Bowl is also a good place to get an up-close look at offensive linemen, another big need with only center Matt Paradis under contract among Carolina's 2020 starters. Tackle in particular is a priority with the Panthers likely to move on from left tackle Russell Okung, 32, and right tackle Taylor Moton likely to draw interest in free agency that could make him too costly. Offensive line is one of the hardest positions to evaluate unless that player is dominating, and it's highly unlikely Sewell will fall to No. 8. There aren't many after him who are guaranteed a first-round grade, so Carolina likely will have to build that area with lower picks. Many of those players, such as Notre Dame's Liam Eichenberg, will be at the Senior Bowl.

The secondary is another tough spot to evaluate. A player such as LSU's Kary Vincent Jr. comes to mind. He opted out of the 2020 college season because of COVID-19 concerns. He's undersized at 5-foot-10, so the more Rhule's staff gets to know him could make a difference.

Rhule has been hoping the Senior Bowl would fall past several other teams to his staff, particularly in a year when in-person scouting and evaluation is limited by the coronavirus. A player's mental toughness and desire is as important to Rhule as size and 40 times, so this gives his staff a big leg up in evaluations.

"We're thrilled to coach at the Senior Bowl,'' Rhule said.

Linkage: How Dolphins, Panthers will benefit from coaching 2021 Senior Bowl (espn.com)

"Galant wrote:

Dolphins staff coached in the 2010 Senior Bowl. Coaches fell in love with John Jerry during that week. In the draft Dolphins selected Jerry in the third round while passing on TE Jimmy Graham from the University of Miami.

— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) January 11, 2021

Hindsight is always 20/20. No one knows how any of these players are going to work out in the end.

"The_Dark_Knight wrote:

Hindsight is always 20/20. No one knows how any of these players are going to work out in the end.

Thank you. Selecting a gem in the late rounds is often seen as being proof of a GM's ability to find talent but it's just as likely an indictment against him since he passed on the same guy (sometimes the best player in his draft) 5-6 times. If you draft a franchise player among the final 60-100 players, I'd attribute it more to luck than skill. Props to Belichick for eventually drafting Tom Brady but if he knew he'd be in the GOAT conversation, he'd have drafted him in round 1. Nobody knows how these players are going to turn out and I'm convinced that some players flameout on some teams who would be studs on others. NFL talent evaluation is a crap shoot. That's why redrafts NEVER come out with the same players being taken in their original slots.

In fairness to Armando's Tweet, I think he was pointing out that just having this opportunity to coach and scout players doesn't guarantee successful evaluations. Maybe it's a bit of a negative view, but then it's always worth remembering there are no guarantees. Grier and co. are in charge, so let's see what they can do with this opportunity given to them.

"OwesOwn614 wrote:

Thank you. Selecting a gem in the late rounds is often seen as being proof of a GM's ability to find talent but it's just as likely an indictment against him since he passed on the same guy (sometimes the best player in his draft) 5-6 times. If you draft a franchise player among the final 60-100 players, I'd attribute it more to luck than skill. Props to Belichick for eventually drafting Tom Brady but if he knew he'd be in the GOAT conversation, he'd have drafted him in round 1. Nobody knows how these players are going to turn out and I'm convinced that some players flameout on some teams who would be studs on others. NFL talent evaluation is a crap shoot. That's why redrafts NEVER come out with the same players being taken in their original slots.

Even if I had hindsight I wouldnt pick Brady in the first round. Hindsight also tells me his relative value to other teams at the time.

It's not just about getting the player you think might be best, it's about getting them at a position relative to their value to other teams to maximize all of your picks.

"AGuyNamedAlex wrote:

Even if I had hindsight I wouldnt pick Brady in the first round. Hindsight also tells me his relative value to other teams at the time.

It's not just about getting the player you think might be best, it's about getting them at a position relative to their value to other teams to maximize all of your picks.

You're right. It's a crapshoot and intel has a lot to do with it. The Crows might have moved back to take Dobbins if they didn't know that we were likely to snatch him in last year's draft. We might have moved up if we thought they were going to nab him. Smart GMs are the ones who can accurately predict other teams' boards moreso than the ones who can get late round gems. Don't get me wrong, that takes talent. What I'm suggesting is that when you get a huge success in late rounds, it's luck because a guy you placed a 3rd round grade on was still there because you and other teams had greater needs.

Nobody could see Brady's career. He was ho hum at UM and didn't stand out at his workouts. He got in camp and Bill saw him flash but he still didn't take Bledsoe's job until Bledsoe got hurt. He's had a wonkier path the Brees, who was an injured mid... (excuse me) little person who San Diego had zero qualms about letting go. Even Breezy wasn't so lights out that the Fins tried hard to get him. You don't know what you're getting until you get the right guy with the right coach.

"Galant wrote:

In fairness to Armando's Tweet, I think he was pointing out that just having this opportunity to coach and scout players doesn't guarantee successful evaluations. Maybe it's a bit of a negative view, but then it's always worth remembering there are no guarantees. Grier and co. are in charge, so let's see what they can do with this opportunity given to them.

Mando has no problems going back 10 years to take shots at the Fins. I remember him on a national radio show trashing us a few years ago. I understand cynicism. I understand doubt. I even understand negativity when the team hasn't shown any reason to have faith. But to spend almost the whole interview trashing the team you're covering makes it seem like you'd rather be doing something else. And that would probably be best for all concerned. He made it seem personal. I stopped reading him regularly after that.

"Galant wrote:

Dolphins staff coached in the 2010 Senior Bowl. Coaches fell in love with John Jerry during that week. In the draft Dolphins selected Jerry in the third round while passing on TE Jimmy Graham from the University of Miami.

— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) January 11, 2021

Ya ya...and in 2010, nobody gave a damn what you had to say...some things never change.

Coupe things from the recap broadcast of today's practice on the NFLN just now.

DeVonta Smith doesn't interview well. Gave very short monotone answers to the questions from the panelists. To his credit, he said the reason he went back for his senior year is because he promised his mother he'd get his degree. Props. But, he didn't do the weigh in today. He opted out, and will instead do it on his pro day.

Najee Harris was advised to go the the Senior Bowl, but not to compete. Just to do the interviews. He went against that advice saying he couldn't attend and not compete. Like him a lot more just for that. 6'2" 230 with 10" hands? I'd have no problem taking him at #18.