My offseason plan with 7-round mock

[PhinsTD]

I hope the Phins find a way to trade down a time or grab another mid-round pick, but that's hard to predict, so I won't go that route. Instead, I've laid out what I'd do with the cap room and picks Miami has. There are a ton of ways they could go, and it's hard to predict what free agents are going to do because you can't make them sign here. I think Jairus Byrd and Michael Johnson get franchised, so I didn't consider them for us.

Here's one direction I'd go for the Phins and I like the way the team stacks up with this direction.

$44.561 million before any cuts/signings.

Mike Wallace- 5 years, $55 million, $28 million guaranteed. $7.4 million against cap. (Vincent Jackson signing as model)

Signing draft picks will take around $6.3 million.

Cut Richard Marshall. Saves $3.02 million.

Cut Dan Carpenter. Saves $2.70 million.

Dustin Keller- 5 years, $26 million, $15 million guaranteed. $5 million against cap. (John Carlson)

Restructure Dmitri Patterson to reduce salary by $1 million. He can be cut and save $4.3 million if not.

Derek Cox- 5 years, $44 million, $24 million guaranteed. $6.8 million against cap. (Cortland Finnegan)

Geoff Schwartz- 5 years, $22 million, $6 million bonus. $3.5 million against cap. (Mike Briesel)

Re-sign Nate Garner- 2 years, $3.0 million. $1.5 million against cap. (Anthony Collins)

Mike Goodson- 1 year, $2 million. $2 million against cap. (Peyton Hillis)

Glen Dorsey- 2 years, $5 million. $2.5 million against cap. (Amobi Okoye)

Let Sean Smith, Jake Long, Randy Starks, Reggie Bush, Brian Hartline, Chris Clemons walk.

Increases for Reshad Jones, John Jerry, Nolan Carroll based on playing time escalators of around $750k.

I don't think a mock is worth much without considering free agency, so this is what I would do after free agency with the picks.

12. Cordarelle Patterson- WR- Tennessee- Explosive WR to team with Wallace. Long, rangy athlete would fit well in WCO.

42. Tank Carradine- DE- Florida State- Maybe the best pass rusher in the class, he may not last to this pick. I’d take Alex Okafor if he’s gone already.

56. Jonathan Cyprien- S- FIU- Risky strategy letting Clemons go and not signing another S in free agency. Chance Cyprien is gone at this point, but a few S’s I like that could go later, namely Shamarko Thomas.

77. Jamar Taylor- CB- Boise State- This is the kid I like in this range for the CB class, but several other kids will be available in this area that fit our scheme.

82. Travis Kelce- TE- Cincinnati- Talented TE prospect who will compete with Egnew for the seam threat needed in this offense. Gavin Escobar amd Vance McDonald are candidates if Kelce is gone.

108. Xavier Nixon- T- Florida- Underrated kid who will compete to start at RT right away. I think he has a chance to be better pro than college player and can play G or T if needed and has the athleticism needed for zone blocking scheme.

140. Joe Kruger- DE- Utah- The Dolphins’ brass has made it clear they like Odrick in his role as a big, run stuffing DE who can slide inside on passing downs. Kruger has the strength and athleticism to fill a similar role and is an ascending, under-aged prospect with upside.

7a. Daxston Swanson- CB- Sam Houston State- It’s the 7th round and it’s hard to say who will be here because it just takes one team to like a guy earlier than this, but Swanson has good feet and decent size. He has starter potential this late in the draft.

7b. Earl Watford- G- James Madison- Great fit in a zone blocking scheme, needs to add strength and will probably take a year or two before he’s ready for big snaps.

In parenthesis is the player whose contract I used to estimate amount to sign. This leaves around $10 million for free agent signings/injury settlements, and several of the contracts can be structured to increase/decrease initial cap hit. I feel like this addresses the Phins’ needs and gives them some explosive weapons as well as a few upside shots on limited contracts in Dorsey, Goodson.

[PHAZINPHINZPHAN]

I hope the Phins find a way to trade down a time or grab another mid-round pick, but that's hard to predict, so I won't go that route. Instead, I've laid out what I'd do with the cap room and picks Miami has. There are a ton of ways they could go, and it's hard to predict what free agents are going to do because you can't make them sign here. I think Jairus Byrd and Michael Johnson get franchised, so I didn't consider them for us.

Here's one direction I'd go for the Phins and I like the way the team stacks up with this direction.



$44.561 million before any cuts/signings.

Mike Wallace- 5 years, $55 million, $28 million guaranteed. $7.4 million against cap. (Vincent Jackson signing as model)

Signing draft picks will take around $6.3 million.

Cut Richard Marshall. Saves $3.02 million.

Cut Dan Carpenter. Saves $2.70 million.

Dustin Keller- 5 years, $26 million, $15 million guaranteed. $5 million against cap. (John Carlson)

Restructure Dmitri Patterson to reduce salary by $1 million. He can be cut and save $4.3 million if not.

Derek Cox- 5 years, $44 million, $24 million guaranteed. $6.8 million against cap. (Cortland Finnegan)

Geoff Schwartz- 5 years, $22 million, $6 million bonus. $3.5 million against cap. (Mike Briesel)

Re-sign Nate Garner- 2 years, $3.0 million. $1.5 million against cap. (Anthony Collins)

Mike Goodson- 1 year, $2 million. $2 million against cap. (Peyton Hillis)

Glen Dorsey- 2 years, $5 million. $2.5 million against cap. (Amobi Okoye)

Let Sean Smith, Jake Long, Randy Starks, Reggie Bush, Brian Hartline, Chris Clemons walk.

Increases for Reshad Jones, John Jerry, Nolan Carroll based on playing time escalators of around $750k.

I don't think a mock is worth much without considering free agency, so this is what I would do after free agency with the picks.

12. Cordarelle Patterson- WR- Tennessee- Explosive WR to team with Wallace. Long, rangy athlete would fit well in WCO.

42. Tank Carradine- DE- Florida State- Maybe the best pass rusher in the class, he may not last to this pick. I’d take Alex Okafor if he’s gone already.

56. Jonathan Cyprien- S- FIU- Risky strategy letting Clemons go and not signing another S in free agency. Chance Cyprien is gone at this point, but a few S’s I like that could go later, namely Shamarko Thomas.

77. Jamar Taylor- CB- Boise State- This is the kid I like in this range for the CB class, but several other kids will be available in this area that fit our scheme.

82. Travis Kelce- TE- Cincinnati- Talented TE prospect who will compete with Egnew for the seam threat needed in this offense. Gavin Escobar amd Vance McDonald are candidates if Kelce is gone.

108. Xavier Nixon- T- Florida- Underrated kid who will compete to start at RT right away. I think he has a chance to be better pro than college player and can play G or T if needed and has the athleticism needed for zone blocking scheme.

140. Joe Kruger- DE- Utah- The Dolphins’ brass has made it clear they like Odrick in his role as a big, run stuffing DE who can slide inside on passing downs. Kruger has the strength and athleticism to fill a similar role and is an ascending, under-aged prospect with upside.

7a. Daxston Swanson- CB- Sam Houston State- It’s the 7th round and it’s hard to say who will be here because it just takes one team to like a guy earlier than this, but Swanson has good feet and decent size. He has starter potential this late in the draft.

7b. Earl Watford- G- James Madison- Great fit in a zone blocking scheme, needs to add strength and will probably take a year or two before he’s ready for big snaps.

In parenthesis is the player whose contract I used to estimate amount to sign. This leaves around $10 million for free agent signings/injury settlements, and several of the contracts can be structured to increase/decrease initial cap hit. I feel like this addresses the Phins’ needs and gives them some explosive weapons as well as a few upside shots on limited contracts in Dorsey, Goodson.

Like the people you cut and let walk. Not a fan of the offseason signings. With all the cap room i think you can swing for the fences with another 2 stars . Not a fan of Keller. I think the top of the draft is very realistic

[Roman529]

I also would maybe like to see if we could trade down from #12....we could still get C. Patterson or Keenan Allen anywhere from #13 to #18 in my opinion and get an extra second or third rounder for it. If they should get scooped up, we can still find many very good receivers in round two...but first I would love to sign Wallace or Jennings, so we don't have to sweat out getting a receiver at #12. I like the players you let walk. There is no way we should keep Carpenter at $3 million a year....we can draft a kicker in the seventh round or even sign one after the draft and pay him $400,000 for the rookie minimum. I like Kicker Dustin Hopkins of FSU, and Brett Baer from IL-Lafayette. I would let Jake Long, Sean Smith, Reggie Bush, and Hartline go...they are wanting too much. We can pick up Danny Amandola for less than what Hartline is wanting.

[PhinsTD]

Like the people you cut and let walk. Not a fan of the offseason signings. With all the cap room i think you can swing for the fences with another 2 stars . Not a fan of Keller. I think the top of the draft is very realistic

You want 2 stars in ADDITION to the best free agent WR and CB?

Due to future implications, that's not realistic.

If you walk through this exercise and see how quickly the money goes away you'll see we couldn't fit another star into our offseason, and history tells us big free agent signings rarely work out.

[Fin Thirteen]

Who is your go-to x-receiver in this projection? With Patterson, Wallace, Bess and Matthews it's a little lacking in dependability, size and TD threat. Just my view.

Presume you're cutting Fasano? It's a lot of upheaval overall - quite risky - but very considered and well thought out. Not the direction I would go, but I can absolutely see the logic.

[SMadison29]

Who is your go-to x-receiver in this projection? With Patterson, Wallace, Bess and Matthews it's a little lacking in dependability, size and TD threat. Just my view.

Patterson is 6'3. We used to run with Clayton & Duper who were both 5'9.

[Fin Thirteen]

Patterson is 6'3. We used to run with Clayton & Duper who were both 5'9.

Yeah, but Patterson is a raw, rookie, part-time receiver. If Jabar Gaffney took weeks to pick up our offense, how long do you think it'll take Patterson, so that he could be the primary target?

Im a Patterson fan but he's a guy you have to pair with a solid, route running, physical receiver. That's not Wallace. Both these guys are complementary players to a primary receiver, IMO.

[SMadison29]

Yeah, but Patterson is a raw, rookie, part-time receiver. If Jabar Gaffney took weeks to pick up our offense, how long do you think it'll take Patterson, so that he could be the primary target?

Im a Patterson fan but he's a guy you have to pair with a solid, route running, physical receiver. That's not Wallace. Both these guys are complementary players to a primary receiver, IMO.

I'm not saying I'd draft Patterson first but he'll have an entire offseason to learn the playbook, Gaffney only had a couple weeks. Patterson only had a months worth of practices before suiting up for UT last year. I know what you're saying though, it's easier to pair a Mike Wallace with a Keenan Allen/DeAndre Hopkins & a Dwayne Bowe with a Cordarrelle Patterson/Terrance Williams.

[hooshoops]

i can tell you worked really hard on that...man thats a lot of coin for mike wallace...you're low on dustin keller imo...think 5 years $40 mil there...i wouldn't do it...

i like the idea of gettin glen dorsey on the cheap to play what he should have been drafted for all along...a penetrating 43 dt...

not much of a fan of the draft

[SMadison29]

i can tell you worked really hard on that...man thats a lot of coin for mike wallace...you're low on dustin keller imo...think 5 years $40 mil there...i wouldn't do it...

Do you really think Keller will command that much on the open market? He'll be 29 this year. I wouldn't give him the $26M PhinsTD does in the opening post.

Speivey is Detroit's SS.