Round 6: Hardworkers could go a long way
In the 6th round of the NFL draft the Dolphins actually doubled up on a position that most sports gambling fans would say they were already pretty deep at. Before the draft the Phins had a pretty decent group of wide receivers in Mike Wallace, Brian Hartline, Rishard Matthews, Brandon Gibson, and Armon Binns. However, almost every single one of these players have some kind of nagging injury issue, so it is telling that with other obvious needs such as linebacker, safety and guard, that they decided to double down on the wide receiver position. I would assume that someone’s injury is not progressing the way it should be. Also Hickey hinted that he was looking to either trade or cut one of his current receivers this year or next year, so it looks like that hint may become more of a reality than just smoke and mirrors.
Matt Hazel is another small school product that played at Coast Carolina for his full four years. In each of his 4 seasons he did not have one season in which he scored less than 5 touchdowns. Each season he steadily got better, and ended his senior year with 70 receptions for 990 yards (a 14.1 yard per catch average) and 9 touchdowns. He showcases good playing speed, which helps him to create separation and make the first defender miss . He is also a very tough young man who is not afraid to get his nose dirty and block bigger linebackers. Hazel is another high character guy, that also can catch anything thrown his way. Obviously he has some weaknesses, which is that he has short arms and small hands, and lacks in the strength department. But again he is another hard worker who with the right coaching may be able to make the team, and get some situational playing time.
One thing that has to be noted about all of these draft picks, is that they are all hard workers and tough football players. Sometimes if a player has those two traits then they can still be highly productive in the NFL, even if they may not be the most naturally gifted and talented players. Hard work and determination goes a long way, and some sports gambling fans would say they would rather have a team full of hard workers then a team full of talented prima donnas. Look at the Patriots, I know they have Tom Brady, but they also have a team full of hard nosed football players.
