Jeff Ireland did a fine job filling some crucial needs for the Dolphins this past weekend in the draft. The offense as a whole is in much better shape than it was this time last week.

With Mike Pouncey, the Dolphins may have reached some and his brother Maurkice may always be a better pro, but they have virtually a sure thing. Pouncey is likely going to be a solid starter, if not a Pro Bowl caliber lineman on the interior of the Dolphins’ O-line for years to come.

In the second round, the Dolphins traded up to get a back they obviously had a conviction about. If they weren’t so confident in Daniel Thomas’ ability they wouldn’t have bothered trading up.

Quality backs like Kendall Hunter and Roy Helu Jr. would have still been on the board when the Dolphins were on the clock in the third round. I have my concerns about Thomas’ upright running style and ball security issues, but we will give the front office the benefit of the doubt until we see the kid play because they obviously felt they had to have him.

Then there is the guy everyone is excited about- Edmond Gates- and the elite speed he brings to an otherwise slow Dolphins’ offense. And in the sixth round, Jeff Ireland and company finally addressed the need for a receiving tight end when they took Charles Clay, who figures to play H-back for the Dolphins in the same manner Chris Cooley is utilized in the Redskins’ scheme.

So all in all, this once needy offense is looking a little more complete these days. But there is still plenty of work to do. The Dolphins weren’t able to address all of their needs and whenever the lockout is actually lifted for good and free agency commences, they’re going to need to spend a little cash to complete the renovation process.

1. Running Back: I thought the Dolphins might double up on the running back position in the same way they addressed positions like corner and defensive end in years past. Daniel Thomas gives them one starting caliber back, but unless the Dolphins plan on retaining either Ronnie Brown or Ricky Williams, another back needs to be acquired via free agency.

They nabbed their power back in Thomas, so look for the Dolphins to reel in a scat back that is capable of bringing some big-play potential to the Dolphins’ running game. Obviously, the ideal signing would be DeAngelo Williams, who is one of the league’s elite runners, but don’t rule out slightly less expensive options like Darren Sproles and Ahmad Bradshaw.

Instead of grading the Dolphins’ 2011 draft, something many sites will be doing in the coming days, I thought I would interview writers/bloggers that watched these prospects first hand in college.
 
Mainly because it’s kind of pointless to grade a draft class until the players are given a couple years. But also, while I have been reading up on the guys Miami drafted, I think it would be more insightful to hear from guys who followed their every move in college and have a real idea of what the Dolphins are getting.

First up, we will start with none other than first-round pick Mike Pouncey. Please welcome in Sean Quinn from Alligator Army, SB Nation’s Florida Gators’ blog, to answer a few questions about the Dolphins’ new interior lineman.

Phins Phocus: What are some of Pouncey's biggest strengths that he will bring to the Dolphins' offensive line?

A: To me, his chief most strength was off-the-field. Pouncey served as the team's captain, but more than that he controlled the mood of the offensive line and was the senior leader the otherwise young offense needed. He served the role that new Tampa Bay Buccaneer S Ahmad Black did, morally at least, for the offense. He was someone Coaches Meyer and Addazio respected and he often appeared after to the press after games as the voice of the offense.

When it comes to matters on-the-field, the guy can block. He's a big guy and he was able to block some of the strongest defensive tackles the SEC threw at him - guys like Terrence Cody, Marcell Dareus, and Nick Fairley to name a few. Very good blocker and incredibly strong off the line.

Phins Phocus: What are some of the things he struggles with?

A: The adjustment to center last year wasn't pretty - mainly dealing with Pouncey's inability to learn the shotgun snap. Beyond that, a lot of "normal lineman issues" - sometimes he'd be a bit slow to realize the blitz or end up flopping a bit too much, but nothing stands out like the shotgun snap.

Jeff Ireland’s first draft on his own, without the influence of Bill Parcells is in the books. He took a conservative approach by remolding the running game and passing on the opportunity to bring in a young quarterback to compete with Chad Henne.

If one of the signal callers the Dolphins passed on, Colin Kaepernick, Andy Dalton, or Ryan Mallett, emerge as a franchise quarterback, we will forever second guess the decision to play things safe and take Pouncey, or in Mallett’s case, trade into the second round and draft Daniel Thomas.

But there is no turning back now. What’s done is done. And on paper at least, Chad Henne, who is the biggest winner in all of this, should have a better supporting cast around him in 2011. Henne isn’t out of the woods yet, as the Dolphins could, and likely will, bring in a veteran to compete with him in training camp.

But for the time being, this is still Henne’s offense. Some fine-tuning still needs to be done on it in free agency, but for the most part, Brian Daboll’s unit appears to be headed in the right direction. Let’s take a look at some clips of the players the Dolphins drafted this weekend.

We already highlighted Pouncey in his own individual film study on Friday and I couldn’t dig anything up on the obscure seventh-round selections, Frank Kearse and James Wilson, on Youtube. But I was able to pull up some film on Daniel Thomas, Edmund Gates, and Charles Clay. Enjoy.

Daniel Thomas, RB, Kansas St.

As I posted on Twitter this morning, I was out of town today and could only follow the final day of the draft from my phone. I unfortunately didn’t have time to post about any of the Dolphins’ picks until now.

I wasn’t a huge fan of what this front office did in the first two days, as they were a bit too conservative for my taste with the Pouncey pick and I thought they should have taken a chance on Mallett when they traded up into the second round instead of landing Daniel Thomas. But nonetheless, I think this Dolphins’ offense is headed in the right direction.

Tony Sparano has a run first mentality and to play his brand of football, the Dolphins had to improve the running game. They did that in the draft’s first two rounds. The game continues to evolve towards the passing game, and I still feel that you can’t be a legitimate title contender without a franchise quarterback, but if you can play great defense, which you could argue the Dolphins are on the verge of, and control the clock with the running game you can compete with most teams in this league.

Just look at the Jets. I hate them as much as the next Dolphins fan, but they’ve come a game away from the Super Bowl in back-to-back seasons without a franchise quarterback. No, Mark Sanchez is not a franchise quarterback. Maybe the Dolphins aren’t as far off as we think.

Anyways, on to today’s picks. I was a bit critical of the Dolphins’ first two selections, but I’m a huge fan of what they did today.

With the 111th pick (4th round), the Dolphins selected Edmond Gates, WR, Abilene Christian
I had the feeling the Dolphins would use their fourth-round pick on a tight end, but instead they went with one of the most explosive playmakers in this year’s draft. A refreshing selection to say the least.

Some were disappointed that they took Daniel Thomas in round two, because he’s a power back that fits the slower mold this team has been constructed on the past few years. But Edmund Gates, on paper anyway, is just the player this offense needed.

They didn’t have a guy who was a threat to take it the distance any time he touched the football. It was often times difficult for the Dolphins to score points in 2010 because they were forced to put together long, methodical drives to do so. They lacked chunk yardage and players that could produce quick scores. Now they have a guy who is capable of just that.

There are concerns about Gates’ raw route running ability, but he’s the type of burner (mid 4.3 speed) that could potentially exploit the single coverage he will likely face with all the attention Brandon Marshall requires on the other side of the field. He will have his hands full beating out Brian Hartline, though, but this offense is going to find a way to utilize this guy’s wheels regardless. He also figures to be a dangerous kick/punt return option. Needless to say, I like this pick a lot.

I thought it was a sure thing when the words trade flashed on the screen. With Ryan Mallett continuing to descend, and with a few quarterback hungry teams waiting in the top half of the third round, it appeared the Dolphins were trading up with the Washington Redskins to snag arguably a top ten talent at the game’s most important position near the end of round two.

Instead, the front office chose to give up their 3rd (79th), 5th (146th) and 217th overall selection in the 7th for Kansas St. running back Daniel Thomas. Thomas is a back that could have been available with the 79th pick, so I’m a little bit surprised that Ireland felt trading up was necessary.

Many felt like the Dolphins would look to draft a scat back, with speed supposedly being a top priority this offseason, but Thomas fits the power, workhorse mold. They will likely be bringing in another back this offseason, though, whether it be later on this weekend with one of their remaining picks or in free agency, so expect a speedy back to be acquired eventually.

With Mike Pouncey and now Thomas on board, the Dolphins are rebuilding their running game and getting back to their identity. I know many fans wanted Mallett here, as did I, but with Mike Nolan’s defense possibly bordering elite status in 2011, maybe a great running game is the only thing preventing the Dolphins from sneaking into the playoffs.