With the 2nd pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins select Derrick Johnson, LB, Texas...
Cleveland is now in the clock...
First thing I wanted to do was move down. While this draft may not have 1 or 2 solid blue chippers, I actually believe it is pretty loaded with talent at the top (10-15 guys who might warrant a pick in the 5-10 range in other years' drafts). And I believe Nick Saban is completely rebuilding this team in his own (or in Bill Bellichick's) image. I think we are in a rebuilding mode, so 2-3 picks would have been better for us than one.
However, not much interest from other teams to move into this spot. Going ahead with the pick, I looked at a few different angles...
Quarterback. Rodgers was very tempting, especially since he actually measured 6'2" at the combine. I really think he will develop into a solid NFL starter with potential to be a star. Alex Smith I think will only be solid (like a Drew Bledsoe). I have 2 problems with going in this direction. One, we just spent a 2nd round pick on AJ Feeley last year and didn't get a chance to see what he really has to offer us. For one thing, Wanny didn't even let him start until about 1/2 way through the season. For another, the offensive line play was so horrible, ANY QB would have looked bad back there. The second problem I have with going QB here is that I think Saban doesn't have to. He has the luxury of seeing what Feeley can do this year, and if he doesn't work out, trying to acquire a QB next year. Saban will be given plenty of time to work his magic here in Miami. The fans here ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE GUY. It's kind of scary actually. They almost worship him. He has the time to wait until next year to draft a QB and then give him 2-3 more years to develop. Plus if we pick up a 2nd in a trade for Surtain, Adrian McPherson might be available
Running Back. This is where I would have gone most likely if we were able to move down (assuming DJ was gone -- which I believe he would have been). 3 top backs in this year's draft all rated very closely. Couple of things made me shy away from this pick. One (same situation with the QBs), we already spent a 3rd round pick to get Lamar Gordon and he was never really given a chance last year. He was injured after a short time and the play of our offensive line last year was attrocious.
We do have reason to believe our OL play will be vastly improved this year. His name is Hudson Houck -- probably one of the best if not THE best OL coaches in the league. I think between Gordon and Sammy Morris, behind an improved offensive line, we may be okay at RB this year. Also there is the fact that this year's RB class is not only impressive because of the talent at the top, it is most impressive because of its depth. If we want we should be able to pick up a quality RB in the 2nd (if we get one in a trade) or 3rd or even 4th round.
Defense. All of our free agency moves thus far have led me to believe we will be running more of a 3-4 defense this year than not. We restructured David Bowens (DE), signed Vonnie Holiday (DE), are in the process of signing Kevin Carter (DE) and already have Jason Taylor under contract. Why so many defensive ends? Me thinks it is because Saban has plans of having Taylor play a lot of OLB in a 3-4 set (a position I think he would be even better at than a DE in the 4-3

). Who scarier to play OLB opposite Taylor than Derrick Johnson, OLB, Texas?
Some people will cry about this pick and claim that DJ isn't rated high enough to warrant this pick. I'm not buying it. DJ ran an impressive 4.5 time at the combine and I think he put on 10-15 pounds too! And there is no doubt with some good coaching (ie Saban) Johnson will develop into one of the best OLBs EVER. Right up there with LT. I think Jason Taylor will excel so much at the position under Saban, that we could have an absolutely amazing set of OLBs!!! Every scouting web site I've looked at (scout.com, NFL Draft Countdown, Draft Blitz, etc) has DJ rated in the top 5 overall. Not necessarily the BPA at #2, but without being able to trade down, I think he's a good fit here for my team...