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Miami Dolphins' draft challenge: Finding a nose tackle
It is difficult to find a massive body capable of playing nose tackle, and finding a way to draft that player might be just as hard.
Jason Ferguson (6-3, 305 pounds) has the ideal size for a nose tackle. Ferguson, 34, is near the end of his career but finding a replacement could be difficult. MARC SEROTA / STRINGER
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Related Content
•Chat with other Dolphins fans
•Complete NFL Draft coverage
•Entering NFL Draft, Miami Dolphins have holes to fill •Blog | Dolphins in Depth
By JEFF DARLINGTON
jdarlington@MiamiHerald.com
When trying to explain the difficulties of drafting a talented NFL nose tackle -- a position that requires players to be massive yet nimble -- Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland simplified his reasons as best he could.
''Well, how many guys do you see walking around the street that are 6-4, 320 pounds?'' Ireland said. ``There's just not many.''
Finding that big man is one thing. Finding a big man with disproportionate coordination and adequate intelligence is another. But finding a way to be in a position to draft that player might be the toughest task.
Dizzy yet? Ireland isn't.
''You know that going into it, and there's a strategy behind that,'' Ireland said. ``We're going to strategize our [draft] board based on the team's needs, and we are going to try to get in front or behind certain teams to get certain players.''
That challenge will be increasingly difficult this year.
Given the limited supply of nose tackles in this NFL Draft -- along with a high demand for them as a result of the number of teams now using the 3-4 system that requires them -- Miami will be ready to pounce.
Make no mistake, the team is certainly in the market for such a player if he is attainable. The Dolphins' starter, Jason Ferguson, is 34, and he likely won't be playing for longer than the two-year span it likely will take to groom his successor.
`VERY IMPORTANT'
They haven't given up hope on backup Paul Soliai, and they still are intrigued by Joe Cohen's potential, but the Dolphins know as well as anyone how critical the position is. And how difficult it is to fill.
''It's very important to find someone who can back him up and go in and help [Ferguson] that way a little bit,'' Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said.
So whom might the Dolphins, who pick 25th, be targeting?
Only a handful of players (probably fewer than 10) in the draft pool seems to fit the size/speed criteria Ireland is most likely to pursue. And only two of them (B.J. Raji and Ron Brace) seem to be primed to get picked in the first two rounds.
NFL Draft analyst Mike Mayock said he sees a small group of others capable of also playing the position: Terrance Taylor, Jarron Gilbert and Terrance Knighton. Chris Baker, Sammie Lee Hill and a few others also probably belong. But as Mayock noted, ``They're probably the most logical nose tackles right now, but they aren't a bunch of high-level guys.''
Raji currently isn't expected to make it past the midway point of the first round, which means Miami likely would need to jump nearly 10 spots to snag him. Then again, although still a stretch, don't discount the notion of Raji sliding.
He has publicly disputed reports that he failed a drug test at this year's Scouting Combine. The Dolphins' Ferguson learned the hard way how the same public perception can damage draft value. In 1997, Ferguson also reportedly failed a drug test, which led to a dramatic slide on draft day. Initially considered a third-round value, he wasn't picked until Bill Parcells nabbed him in the seventh round when he was the coach of the New York Jets.
Raji's talent likely will keep him from making the same dramatic fall, but even the slightest drop could cause him to move into Miami's trade range. Otherwise, Brace (who played with Raji at Boston College) could be the next best and more attainable option.
''I think he can play a couple different schemes, but he's best on the nose,'' Mayock said.
Brace also possesses one of the characteristics that makes Parcells salivate: He's a weight-room warrior. At 330 pounds, Brace benched 225 pounds 34 times at this year's combine.
`HARD TO FIND'
Whether the Dolphins make a move toward landing Raji, or position themselves for Brace after the first round, Ireland will surely remain busy forming his draft-day strategy when it comes to knowing exactly what every team will do before and after him.
As he knows, drafting a solid nose tackle is already difficult. And drafting a dominant nose tackle might be among the toughest tasks in football.
''The ones that are dominant are hard to find,'' Ireland said. ``It's very difficult to tell you how many guys are in the pool this year. There are a few. But there's usually not very many of them in every draft.''
It is difficult to find a massive body capable of playing nose tackle, and finding a way to draft that player might be just as hard.
Jason Ferguson (6-3, 305 pounds) has the ideal size for a nose tackle. Ferguson, 34, is near the end of his career but finding a replacement could be difficult. MARC SEROTA / STRINGER
Photo
Related Content
•Chat with other Dolphins fans
•Complete NFL Draft coverage
•Entering NFL Draft, Miami Dolphins have holes to fill •Blog | Dolphins in Depth
By JEFF DARLINGTON
jdarlington@MiamiHerald.com
When trying to explain the difficulties of drafting a talented NFL nose tackle -- a position that requires players to be massive yet nimble -- Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland simplified his reasons as best he could.
''Well, how many guys do you see walking around the street that are 6-4, 320 pounds?'' Ireland said. ``There's just not many.''
Finding that big man is one thing. Finding a big man with disproportionate coordination and adequate intelligence is another. But finding a way to be in a position to draft that player might be the toughest task.
Dizzy yet? Ireland isn't.
''You know that going into it, and there's a strategy behind that,'' Ireland said. ``We're going to strategize our [draft] board based on the team's needs, and we are going to try to get in front or behind certain teams to get certain players.''
That challenge will be increasingly difficult this year.
Given the limited supply of nose tackles in this NFL Draft -- along with a high demand for them as a result of the number of teams now using the 3-4 system that requires them -- Miami will be ready to pounce.
Make no mistake, the team is certainly in the market for such a player if he is attainable. The Dolphins' starter, Jason Ferguson, is 34, and he likely won't be playing for longer than the two-year span it likely will take to groom his successor.
`VERY IMPORTANT'
They haven't given up hope on backup Paul Soliai, and they still are intrigued by Joe Cohen's potential, but the Dolphins know as well as anyone how critical the position is. And how difficult it is to fill.
''It's very important to find someone who can back him up and go in and help [Ferguson] that way a little bit,'' Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said.
So whom might the Dolphins, who pick 25th, be targeting?
Only a handful of players (probably fewer than 10) in the draft pool seems to fit the size/speed criteria Ireland is most likely to pursue. And only two of them (B.J. Raji and Ron Brace) seem to be primed to get picked in the first two rounds.
NFL Draft analyst Mike Mayock said he sees a small group of others capable of also playing the position: Terrance Taylor, Jarron Gilbert and Terrance Knighton. Chris Baker, Sammie Lee Hill and a few others also probably belong. But as Mayock noted, ``They're probably the most logical nose tackles right now, but they aren't a bunch of high-level guys.''
Raji currently isn't expected to make it past the midway point of the first round, which means Miami likely would need to jump nearly 10 spots to snag him. Then again, although still a stretch, don't discount the notion of Raji sliding.
He has publicly disputed reports that he failed a drug test at this year's Scouting Combine. The Dolphins' Ferguson learned the hard way how the same public perception can damage draft value. In 1997, Ferguson also reportedly failed a drug test, which led to a dramatic slide on draft day. Initially considered a third-round value, he wasn't picked until Bill Parcells nabbed him in the seventh round when he was the coach of the New York Jets.
Raji's talent likely will keep him from making the same dramatic fall, but even the slightest drop could cause him to move into Miami's trade range. Otherwise, Brace (who played with Raji at Boston College) could be the next best and more attainable option.
''I think he can play a couple different schemes, but he's best on the nose,'' Mayock said.
Brace also possesses one of the characteristics that makes Parcells salivate: He's a weight-room warrior. At 330 pounds, Brace benched 225 pounds 34 times at this year's combine.
`HARD TO FIND'
Whether the Dolphins make a move toward landing Raji, or position themselves for Brace after the first round, Ireland will surely remain busy forming his draft-day strategy when it comes to knowing exactly what every team will do before and after him.
As he knows, drafting a solid nose tackle is already difficult. And drafting a dominant nose tackle might be among the toughest tasks in football.
''The ones that are dominant are hard to find,'' Ireland said. ``It's very difficult to tell you how many guys are in the pool this year. There are a few. But there's usually not very many of them in every draft.''
