By Barry Jackson bjackson@MiamiHerald.com Chatter on some quarterbacks and running backs on the Dolphins’ radar, heading into the NFL Combine: • If Miami stays at No. 15, it might not be conducive to taking a quarterback at that spot, based on current projections. The popular view is Missouri’s Blaine Gabbert will be gone by 15, and there’s a good chance Auburn’s Cam Newton will be, too. Mel Kiper has Newton third and Gabbert 10th in his mock draft. And many evaluators believe 15 is too high for Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett and Washington’s Jake Locker, neither of whom is in Kiper’s projected first round. With Newton, “there are character questions that need to be answered,” Kiper said. Miami is heavily researching him in case he falls to No. 15, or in case it trades up. • NFL Network’s Mike Mayock ranks TCU’s Andy Dalton, FSU’s Christian Ponder, Iowa’s Ricky Stanzi and Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick as the next four quarterbacks. “Kaepernick has the most upside of any of them but he has technical flaws,” Mayock said. “There’s so much work that has to be done” with him. Ponder must build on a strong Senior Bowl and show enough arm strength. Evaluators like Stanzi’s size (6-4), smarts and instincts but want to see sharp downfield throws; some of his passes were short or sailed at Senior Bowl practices. The Dolphins have spent time with Idaho’s strong-armed Nathan Enderle, but he must show better accuracy. • Alabama’s Mark Ingram, projected by some to go to Miami at No. 15, “is not the game-breaker some people want but they said the same thing about Emmitt Smith,” Kiper said. But Pauline cautions, “He can’t run badly” at the Combine. Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/20/2075886/plenty-of-qbs-running-backs-on.html#ixzz1EhWuOTYf
