26 Teams Passed On Dan Marino

26 Teams passed on Dan Marino due to the same Red Flag as Tunsil.

26 Teams passed on Dan Marino due to the same Red Flag as Tunsil.

Laremy Tunsil and Dolphins great Dan Marino share a similar start.

First, let me be clear: this article isn’t about comparing Dan Marino and Laremy Tunsil’s careers. Tunsil hasn’t even played a down in the NFL, so no one can say if he will even be able to carry Dan Marino’s jock when all is said and done. But, it’s worth noting, for many Miami fans seem to have forgotten, 26 teams passed on Dan Marino due to drug use – and if I’m not mistaken, he turned out okay.

I admit, when his name was called my eyes crossed like a kick to the crotch. But, that’s when I started looking into Laremy Tunsil.

And I started to really like what I found –  and no to the smart-asses, it’s not his bong time.

Mike Tyson once said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.”

Tunsil was blasted square in the jaw Thursday night, and how did he respond? Watch Deion’s interview here.

To me, it shows a great deal of maturity, grit, and fortitude to get lambasted in public, lose $8mill, and respond as he did.

Just like Dan Marino, a mistake shouldn’t condemn Laremy Tunsil.

Now, I am also not saying there isn’t an inherent risk with this pick. It doesn’t take a pay per head bookie genius to see this isn’t a guarantee. I’m also not saying that he will be a Hall Of Famer. What I am saying is Dan Marino fell even farther, yes under different circumstances, but due to the same stigma many more teams passed on him. So, Dan Marino’s tale demonstrates that there is hope in history that the 2016 NFL draft can be remembered as a resounding success.

It’s being reported that the video was floated around for months, looking for a buyer. This kid was blackmailed, sabotaged, and defamed. Everyone one of us has a moment that if recorded, would squirm if it were brought played to those close to us, much less revealed to the world. Miami fans, let’s keep this in mind as words like a thug, bum, bust, and even worse is thrown around. Laremy Tunsil is a Miami Dolphin, and more importantly, a human being, who had this video made when he was twenty.

Let’s be real can we, if the President of the United States can admit to drug use and get his hands on the nuclear codes, I think there is a chance for this kid to make it as an offensive linemen in the NFL. This is a good and possibly great pick!! Have we become so jaded that we can’t enjoy the hope it offers. Go Fins.


 

36 comments

  • Steve

    These are two players I had high on my Draft Board for the Dolphins. RB Jonathan I felt was the 3rd best Back in the Draft if cleared medically for his foot? Drake will do fine for us? We will see how well they play against us with the Bills?

    139 Picked

    Cardale Jones | QB, Ohio State
    Height: 6-5 Weight: 253
    A big off-and-on starter at Ohio State that finished his career undefeated as a starter, including a national championship.
    Grade B
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    5 Round
    156 Picked

    Jonathan Williams | RB, Arkansas
    Height: 5-11 Weight: 220
    Another RB to add to the stable in Buffalo, Williams has some durability concerns, but is a second-round talent if not for his recent injury.
    Grade B-

    • admin

      Needed a day or two to composes myself and think on the situation clearly:

      Dolphins, in my opinion, went all in on give Tannehill he best opportunity to prove himself. There will be NO excuses. I think this was their primary focus, even over a balanced team. Cardale…while it would have been a good pick, wouldn’t have moved their primary agenda forward.

      • Steve

        Admin

        The offensive line like Coach Gase says the Best Five will play! We have seen early games where 1&2 linemen will go down! We need to have the right filler’s when that happens less hope that the best five stay healthy and out of trouble?

  • Steve

    Overall I thought we did well in the Draft! I did not understand not selecting one these ILB’ers vs. The TE? Their was more value with the ILB’ers? are then I missed something?

    7 Round
    231 Picked

    Thomas Duarte | TE, UCLA
    Height: 6-2 Weight: 231
    Tweener TE/WR athlete with red zone potential, though needs to develop as a run blocker. Likely depth TE used in passing game and special teamer.
    C Grade
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    7 Round
    246 Picked

    Tyler Matakevich | ILB, Temple
    Height: 6-0 Weight: 238
    Not the best athlete, but is a tackling machine with 493 tackles in his college career. Team first attitude, high motor overachiever who coaches will love. Possible starting potential.
    Grade A

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    7 Round
    250 Picked

    Scooby Wright III | ILB, Arizona
    Height: 6-0 Weight: 239
    Team captain with great instincts and tremendous production at MLB despite below-average pass coverage ability. Likely a future starting two-down LB and special teams contributor.
    A+
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    7 Round
    251 Picked

    Joe Walker | ILB, Oregon
    Height: 6-2 Weight: 236
    A fast, athletic LB whose motor always runs hot. Good instincts and toughness. Likely special teams contributor and developmental LB prospect.
    B+

    • admin

      I can’t understand why they didn’t take WRight…he must be terrible in coverage. But, again they went all in on providing makeup option for T-Hill’s final year.

      • Steve

        Admin

        I don’t think so! I was surprised very! Who do we have for the OLB, MLB? less hope undrafted free agents can fill the Need? This has to be address?

      • Steve

        Admin

        New England PAT’s all look brilliant because Tom Brady is the Nucleus of that offense! Once Brady’s seasons are over then they will look like an averaged team?

        Me I’m about equipping my team properly and base on performance retweet each player to get there Best!

        Rather RT,RG,QB,RB,LB,DE,Kicker etc. no one is non expendable. Recall the great coaches will not go down with a player when he has a chance to win the game. Performance and no more excuses? We have 3 QB’s some body is hungry to win games?

  • Steve

    1st Rnd 8th pick overall

    Trade details:
    Philadelphia acquired the No. 8 overall pick (later traded to Cleveland) from Miami in exchange for CB Byron Maxwell, LB Kiko Alonso and a first-round pick (No. 13).

    2nd Rnd 38th pick overall

    Trade details:
    Miami acquired the No. 38 overall pick from Baltimore in exchange for the No. 42 overall selection and a fourth-round pick (No. 107).

    3rd Rnd 86th pick overall

    Trade details:
    Miami acquires the No. 86 overall pick from Minnesota for a sixth-round pick (No. 186) and their 2017 third- and fourth-round selections.

    5th Rnd 147th pick overall

    Trade details:
    New England acquired a fifth-round pick (No. 147) from Miami in exchange for two sixth-round picks (No. 196 and No. 204) and a seventh-round pick (No. 250).

    6th Rnd 186th pick overall

    Trade details:
    Miami acquired a sixth-round pick (No. 186) from Minnesota in exchange for a sixth-round pick (No. 196) and a seventh-round pick (No. 227).

    7th Rnd 223rd pick overall

    Trade details:
    Miami acquired a seventh-round pick (No. 223) from Cleveland in exchange for cornerback Jamar Taylor and a seventh-round pick (No. 250).

    • admin

      They attacked the draft…they had better be more right than wrong, because Tunsil feel to them through patience and the rest they were impatient. I hope it was wisdom that made those moves and not nervousness.

  • Steve

    Alain Poupart
    Lead Writer
    Dolphins.com
    @apoupartFins

    The quarterback became last season the third quarterback in FBS history with 4,000 passing yards and 40 touchdown passes in consecutive seasons.

    The Dolphins stayed close to home for their first pick in the seventh round, taking Western Kentucky quarterback Brandon Doughty.

    Doughty is from Davie, Florida, and played at North Broward Prep.

    “My hometown team, the Miami Dolphins, who would have thought?” Doughty said in a conference call with South Florida reporters. “It ended up being a blessing for me (to be) taught to by Dan Marino and being coached by him in high school. It’s an unbelievable honor for me. I can’t be thankful (enough). I am so thankful for all of the opportunities I have in front of me.

    “Funny story: Dan Marino, I went to the same high school as his son. He used to have this foreign exchange student that would come to the school, and I would take him home every day to Dan Marino’s house. Occasionally, I would go in there and try to talk to Dan and stuff like that. I’m very, very local. Now that they’re my team, I think I’ll work a little harder, because this is my team. This is my home team. This is whom I’ve loved since I was a little kid. It’s going to be a really cool run.”

    Doughty ended his college career by passing for 461 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-35 victory against South Florida in the Miami Beach Bowl.

  • Steve

    Dolphins’ Xavien Howard: Second-round pick for Miami

    by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire

    The Miami Dolphins selected Xavien Howard in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft, 38th overall.

    Howard (6-0, 201) stumbled a bit at the Combine, logging a 4.58-second 40-yard dash and 33-inch vertical, but he improved drastically at the Baylor pro day, running a 4.44 40 and improving his vertical to 38.5 inches. Howard’s film isn’t as good as the other corners to get drafted to this point, but if his pro day numbers are an accurate insight into his athleticism, he should possess similar upside. He in any case has the size and athleticism to develop into a starting NFL corner, which Miami needs.
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    Dolphins’ Laremy Tunsil: Falls to Miami at 13

    by RotoWire Staff | Special to CBSSports.com

    The Dolphins selected Tunsil in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft, 13th overall.

    Tunsil fell from the top five due to a Thursday incident where Tunsil’s Twitter account was allegedly hacked and a video of him allegedly smoking marijuana was uploaded for all to see. That Tunsil was potentially the victim of an illegal hack by someone with the worst intentions shouldn’t be overlooked, and NFL teams should have already been versed on Tunsil’s character questions prior to that video surfacing. Still, be it for PR reasons or just general panic on the clock, NFL teams clearly veered away from Tunsil in response to the video. Miami stopped his slide and gets itself a potentially big bargain, as no one questioned whether Tunsil was the best tackle in the draft. He’s simply more talented than Ronnie Stanley and Jack Conklin, who went sixth and eighth overall, respectively.

    • admin

      Xavien was the best of the last prototype press corners. I’m all right with the moves as they needed a corner…BAD. As far as the trade up a 4th is alot. He better be worth it.

      • Steve

        Yes I agree the jury’s verdict is still out, But overall we did great offensively.

  • Steve

    Dolphins’ Leonte Carroo: Third-round pick by Miami

    by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire

    The Miami Dolphins selected Leonte Carroo in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft, 86th overall.

    It’s not a good landing spot for Carroo’s fantasy value — Jarvis Landry and DeVante Parker aren’t going anywhere — but it’s an excellent value for the Dolphins. Carroo is an innately skilled receiver with adequate athleticism to project as a legitimate NFL contributor, and his incredible production at Rutgers gives reason to believe he’ll produce if he gets targets. The target count could be meager for the foreseeable future, though.
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    Dolphins’ Kenyan Drake: Third-round pick by Dolphins

    by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire

    The Miami Dolphins selected Kenyan Drake in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft, 73rd overall.

    Drake is the third running back selected after Ezekiel Elliott and Derrick Henry. He showed a lot of rawness at Alabama but is certainly explosive, showing good open-field running that translates especially well on kick returns and passing downs. Playing as a backup for the length of his Alabama career, Drake ran for 1,495 yards and 18 touchdowns (6.4 YPC) while catching 46 passes for 570 yards and four touchdowns. It’s hard to see Drake stealing more than off-the-bench work from Jay Ajayi.

  • Steve

    Dolphins’ Jordan Lucas: Selected by Dolphins

    by RotoWire Staff | Special to CBSSports.com

    The Dolphins selected Lucas in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, 204th overall.

    Lucas played safety in 2015 but played cornerback before that. It’s not clear which he might play for Miami. Lucas (6-foot, 201) certainly showed cornerback athleticism at his pro day, running the 40 in 4.45 seconds while displaying a 38.5-inch vertical.
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    Dolphins’ Jakeem Grant: Selected by Dolphins in sixth round

    by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire

    The Miami Dolphins selected Grant in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, 186th overall.

    Grant’s production at Texas Tech speaks for itself (90 catches, 1,268 yards in 2015), and his tape shows him to be one of the quickest and most elusive prospects in this year’s class. However, the biggest knock on Grant, and the biggest hurdle standing in his way of a successful NFL career, is his size. Grant checks in at 5-6, 165 pounds, which would make him one of the smallest players to ever step on an NFL field. He has blazing speed with a 4.38, 40-yard dash and a 4.03 shuttle time, but his hands are suspect at best. Grant’s elusiveness could get him onto the field, but he’ll need to work on route running and catching ability to warrant any sort significant role in Miami’s offense. He could be a practice squad candidate as a rookie.

  • Steve

    Dolphins’ Thomas Duarte: Selected in seventh round by Miami

    by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire

    The Miami Dolphins selected Thomas Duarte in the seventh round of the 2016 NFL Draft, 231st overall.

    Duarte was a receiver at UCLA but moves to tight end due to a lack of NFL speed. A ceremonial move to tight end would do well for his fantasy potential, but not necessarily his odds of making the roster. If he does stick, though, he’s worth monitoring to see if fantasy owners can more or less get a wideout with tight end classification.
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    Dolphins’ Brandon Doughty: Dolphins pick in sixth round

    by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire

    The Miami Dolphins selected Brandon Doughty in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, 223rd overall.

    Doughty is old for a rookie and showed some problems with decision making earlier in his career, but he was extremely productive for the last two. After falling just short of 10,000 yards and 100 passing touchdowns over the last two years, Doughty will hope his video game numbers translate to NFL success.

  • Steve

    Miami Dolphins
    Record: 6-10-0 Division: AFC EAST
    General Manager: Mike Tannenbaum Head Coach: Adam Gase Draft Scout: Terry Bradway
    Team Needs: CB, RB, MLB, OLB

    Picks
    Trades
    .Full Team Page

    Rnd # Player Pos. School Grade
    1 13 Laremy Tunsil OT Ole Miss A
    2 38 Xavien Howard CB Baylor B+
    3 73 Kenyan Drake RB Alabama B+
    3 86 Leonte Carroo WR Rutgers B
    6 186 Jakeem Grant WR Texas Tech B+
    6 204 Jordan Lucas SS Penn State C-
    7 223 Brandon Doughty QB Western Kentucky C+
    7 231 Thomas Duarte TE UCLA C

  • Lemmus

    …don’t recall anyone predicting a WR, much less 2 WRs in this draft …both of whom profile …imnsho …as KR first, WR second …Gase must not want to see Landry doing any more returns …and I couldn’t agree more on that

    …the QB pick seems a throw away but then so did Brady …but if’n I were a bettin’ man

    …not high on the last picks but the first 2 made this draft a success no matter what happens with the others …unless of course …ah hell, not going there …the first 2 will start and at least one will be a perennial pro bowler

    …now …if only Jordan starts at LB and finally proves up …and a couple of those injury concerns break our way …we may actually have a decent team to put on the field …assuming of course Gase proves up as well

    • Steve

      Lemmus

      I thought we would have drafted another linemen or two, ILB? The Receivers were a surprise to me also, Receiver I never studied in this draft due to team needs. We all saw! Which direction the fins were swaying toward with the QB the last few months.

      My assessment was This QB from Kentucky was already a Dolphins? I See his potential and in my opinion one of the top QB’s in this Draft. Hopefully Tannehill will play well enough to keep him on the Bench a few years etc. to be ready when his number is called? I had some concerned about the price for the 2nd and 3rd round picks? Overall this was a B+ Draft for the Fins! Go Dolphins!

      You would have to say that we finally have some competent Management and Coaching staff. New England PAT’s Days are numbered and We have the Team to compete now?

    • admin

      Lemmus, Steve…needed a day or so to collect my thoughts. I was under the assumption that Miami would patiently build their team with a long term concept. When they shifted gears and did a repent, I was taken back. But, it is clear to me now that they went all in on the one year evaluation of T-Hill. They went for the pieces necessary to have a spread-matchup offense without weakness to give T-hill all the rope to hang himself or pull himself up out of the ditch. They also added the few pieces they needed to not have a track meet for a pass D. This is all about a semi competent D with an aggressive athletic O that offers ZERO excuses to T-Hill. I wasn’t mentally prepared and was taken back for a bit. They had better make more hits than misses.

      • Steve

        The offensive line like Coach Gase says the Best Five will play! We have seen early games where 1&2 linemen will go down! We need to have the right filler’s when that happens less hope it does not happen.

        • admin

          it’s got happen one year when no none goes down…the odds are in our favor…I hope!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

  • Steve

    There’s a lot of talent in the undrafted Free Agents.

    Reggie Rorthrup ILB 18
    Devante Bond OLB 27
    Delvon /simmons DT 28
    DeAndre Elliot CB 35
    Antonio Morrison ILB 11

    Taveze Calhoun CB 38
    Ryan O’Malley TE 14
    DeRunnya Wilson WR 36
    Nick Richter OT 24
    Andy Janovich FB 6
    Jake McGee, TE
    Jay Lee WR 43
    Parker Ethinger OG 19
    Lumpkin OT
    Laquan McGowan OG 23
    Joel Health, OT 27
    Alex Redmound OG 29
    Stephane Nembot OT 21

  • Lemmus

    …one more thing …the comp picks can be traded next year …and with what we expect to get, maybe its not looking all that bad …if Carroo pans out of course 

    • admin

      He and Xavien need to pan out. You makes those moves, especially for Carroo and you lay ALOT on the line. They have many low roll, high rewards, now they added several High roll, high rewards to that list. It will be interesting, they just turned the volume up to 11!!!!

  • Lemmus

    …I was thinking LB or OG, certainly not WR …but its a done deal and I’m not going to cry over it …still think we need OL depth but ST is going to be a major consideration in the remaining picks
    …Carroo was the star receiver at Rutgers but his profile reads to me more like a run blocker at this level and/or a KR who is reliable in traffic and can make the first tackler miss …guess we’ll see

    • admin

      I almost soiled myself with the WR picks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am giving them the benefit of the doubt because I can see the vision (no matter how difficult it will be to achieve), but it will be short lived if they do same ole’, same ole’ Dolphins stuff!!!!

  • Steve

    Well

    Considering when the Fins were at the 8th spot / Laremy Tunsil was still out out of Reach!
    Some how we come out with the numer 1 pick at #13 plus two starters Wow Great Job again.

    Day 2
    Picked # 38 Xavien Howard, CB (The Fins Over Reached) Howard was Ranked 8th best CB and overall 75 Best player who would have been there at 42nd Picked) Traded away 4th round missing out on IL Tyler Matkevich or Scoopy or Willie Beavers OT.

    4th pick Leonte Carroo, WR
    3rd Rnd 86th pick overall

    Trade details:
    Miami acquires the No. 86 overall pick from Minnesota for a sixth-round pick (No. 186) and their 2017 third- and fourth-round selections. So we traded away 6th round, plus 2017 3rd and 4th round already placing us in the Hole for next year?
    (Another overreached for a player overall 104 best player and 12th best Receiver)

    “But Since peer pressure says its prices but okay I have to go with the team”.

    We have some really Talented players in the undrafted Free agent category to select as well!

  • Dunner

    Well said Lemmus, LMAO… I and the rest of the Fin fans can laugh because no matter what, we stole the top rated player at a BIG position of need. Don’t forget the 2 starters we also received from our first round pick. Don’t believe they were taking tackle at 8 unless it were Tunsil, which I and they thought no way. The draft board suddenly changed last night.

    We needed a CB desperately, and if you like the player, get him, worry about compensation loss once you have said player. Xavien is a big CB that excels in press coverage, think’in we are going to watch an aggresive defense this season. I’ll take any improvement. I really was hoping it was a 5th rounder though, but we have a good player at a BIG position of need.

    Third round pick is another position of need. RB Drake is a do all complete explosive player at RB, a perfect compliment to Ajayi. Competitor!!!

    Then all the sudden trade back into the third round for all positions, a WR. Interesting positional pick. He must have been really high on their board. After looking into Leonte Carroo bio here is the weaknesses for Leonte; Per CBS: “Only ordinary height and length. Arrested and charged Sept. 12 with simple assault under domestic violence and suspended two games by the program”. Wow that is the only negative on this ultra explosive competitor, majority of the first rounders have more negatives the Carroo? He can stretch field and runs angry. We already have one angry running WR. 2 words in common for the last 2 players “explosive”.

    4 picks, 3 offensive players, you called it Admin. They got 2/3 of their defenders via trade. Nicely done thus far.

    Then

  • Lemmus

    …yeah …pricey …we’ll know in 3 years or so whether we got value

    …RB …last pick that might matter …no 4th …Henry’s backup …not an every down back …another “need” pick taken a bit high

    …still …not a bad draft …if we get one or more keepers out of the last day plus udfas, I’ll be ok with it …the 1st 2 will almost certainly start …the 3rd has the potential to rotate at RB with Ajayi …but you never know until the games begin …the last time we picked a backup behind a 1st round sure thing, we got Landry …so there is reason to hope, eh

  • Lemmus

    …missed Jack by a hair …decent CB selection but a need pick, not bpa …Whitehair will be gone soon …too many teams need OGs …so LB or RB? …more need picks, nothing else they can do …maybe RB Henry will fall to them but hes not rated as a good pass blocker

    • admin

      I thought it was alittle pricey…and Grier made a mistake. He got nervous about a CB run (which didn’t happen) and blinked. Another team traded up with ravens two spots and gave a 5th. We moved up 3 and gave up a 4th. It was the first time this season that the FO got desperate and it cost them. If Xavain pans out fine…I think RB or DE next.

  • Lemmus

    …anyone who doesn’t like Tunsil at 13 has to be a rabid Patriot/Bills/Jests fan trolling this blog

    …good god, even Dunner sees the value …and even hinted he’d be ok with Whitehair tonight …now THAT is a conversion of biblical proportions 🙂

    …if they manage to take either Jack or Whitehair tonight, I swear I’ll be wobbling down the middle lane of I-95 singing that atrocious Dolphins fight song in drunken joy …and I don’t even drink …much less sing 🙂

    …the team medicos must be really down on Jack’s nerve regrowth …but even if we had to put him on injured reserve for an entire year, if he did recover …whoeeeeeeeeee!!!

    …and yes Dunner …4 first rounders on the OL …no serious injuries …and just barely adequate coaching …means Tannehill gets no pass this year …he plays to his contract value or we find his successor before his contract gets locked in …I’m ok with that now

    …and if my satellite link goes out again tonight just before Miami makes its pick …like it did last night …I’m going to make more noise than all the thunder and lightning in heaven and hell combined 🙂

  • Dunner

    Could the tide be turning for the Dolphin Organization, finally? Last night’s Christmas gift may be a sign, along with the other 2 starters we got from this one draft slot, 3 starters. Again, oh yea Brady is out the first 4 games. Sooner or later this franchise gets some good fortune, so far in ’16,,,,, thumbs WAY UP ^^^^. 🙂 🙂 🙂