DOLPHINS BOLSTER BACKFIELD

The Dolphins entered the 2011 NFL draft with needs at the interior of the offensive line, running back, quarterback and possibly tight end. The Dolphins have so far made two selections and have filled two of those holes with two of the best players at their respective positions. Roughly 24 hours after selecting the top rated interior lineman in Mike Pouncey, the Dolphins traded into the 2nd round to select Kansas State running back Daniel Thomas. 

With Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown both not expected back, the Dolphins drafted one of the top running backs available in this year's draft. Miami did not have 2nd round pick going into the second day of the draft, so they traded their 3rd round, 5th round and one of their 7th round picks to obtain the 2nd round pick from the Washington Redskins. The Dolphins still hold a pick in the 4th round, 6th round and two picks in the 7th round.

The plan for the Dolphins from day one seemed to be to team up a power back with a quick game breaking back. The Dolphins got their power back today when they selected the 6-2, 227 pound Thomas. The Dolphins could look to add a speed back later in the draft or look to free agency, where rumors are already swirling of possible interest in free agent running back Reggie Bush. Though that is a discussion for another day.

What do the Dolphins get in Thomas? They get a highly productive back from the Big 12 who in the past two years has rushed for 2,850 yards, scored 30 rushing touchdowns and averaged 5.2 yards per carry. Pretty impressive stats. While it may not excite many Dolphins fans, Thomas does have an extensive background running the wildcat formation and will likely take over the trigger man role that Brown has held for the past three seasons.

When the Dolphins traded up into the 2nd round, most had a feeling they were trading up to select Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett, who despite having some impressive talent, comes with a ton of red flags and has been considered the next Ryan Leaf. Luckily for Dolphins fans, they passed on a potential disaster of a pick in Mallett and chose a running back who could easily become the best back from the draft. Good pick for the Dolphins, and while people want a quarterback there was no franchise caliber guy available to the team in this year's draft. Lets also not forget that Miami will likely look to add a quarterback to challenge Chad Henne in free agency or via trade for a veteran once the league year kicks off.

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