Is it just me, or have the Dolphins been pretty easy to root for recently? I think their string of wins at the end of last season was sort of cool in a dark horse / underdog / other animal idiom sort of way. They threw some of the playoff narratives out of whack with interesting wins. And, it does look like the pieces are in place - roughly.
This is still a team with a lot of holes. Some serious positions need fixin'. Added to this is the QB question - a question which has plagued the Dolphins for a while now.
But, they are hoping to have solved it this last draft with the selection of first rounder QB Ryan Tannehill from Texas A&M. Even though this draft saw ten picks from the Dolphins, the "quality" of this year's draft a few years down the road may lay with Tannehill's success. And if that's the case, then you might as well pick up a solid o-lineman like OT Jonathan Martin from Stanford to protect him. He will be joined on the o-line by third round pick TE Michael Egnew from Missouri.
The rest of the offensive picks for the Dolphins were skill players, which is probably helpful for Tannehill's adjustment to the NFL. The Dolphins got an absolute steal in RB Lamar Miller from Miami. I really thought that he would go much higher - like the second round. The last two offensive picks were WRs BJ Cunningham from Michigan State and Rishard Matthews from Nevada, in the sixth and seventh rounds respectively.
The Dolphins also got a nice slate of defensive players who happen to fill some nice needs. On the d-line, the Dolphins picked DE Olivier Vernon from Miami in the third round (what is that, like the sixth person from Miami going to Miami?) and DT Kheeston Randall from Texas in the seventh. The Dolphins needed some pass rush, so these picks might be of assistance. Moreover, the Dolphins selected OLB Josh Kaddu from Oregon, though he is still a fairly raw player and more geared toward run defense than pass rush.
Last, but not least, the Dolphins brought in a little DB help in the form of Jonte Green from New Mexico State. I thought maybe a little more would have been coming their way on the secondary front. Instead they went with a sixth round pick.