Three Miami Hurricanes were rumored to go in first round of Thursday’s NFL Draft. In the end, it was two and hopefully the beginning of a new streak for a proud program that earned the moniker “NFL U” over the years, for obvious reasons.
Offensive tackle Ereck Flowers went ninth overall and he’s headed to the New York Giants, while wide receiver Phillip Dorsett was the twenty-ninth pick, going to the Indianapolis Colts—where he’ll join former UM greats and free agent pick-ups Andre Johnson and Frank Gore, as well a former Canes-assistants-turned-NFL-coaches, Chuck Pagano and Rob Chudzinski.
Regarding Flowers, the Draft “gurus” have spoken and the consensus is good:
“At 6-6, 329 pounds, Flowers is a huge, powerful man, if still a bit raw at age 20. But this mauler should immediately improve New York’s substandard ground attack, ranked 23rd in 2014.” — Nate Davis, USA Today
“Offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo wants to get the ball out of Eli Manning’s hand quickly. Drafting Flowers assists the Giants in their running game as he can play right tackle and they can move Justin Pugh inside to guard.” — Jay Glazer, FOX Sports
“Flowers is a big, strong, power man. He’s a powerful run blocker and has prototypical tackle traits. He reminds me of the 49ers’ Anthony Davis when he came out of Rutgers.” — Mike Mayock, NFL Media
While Giants head coach Tom Coughlin won’t yet say where Flowers will end up playing, though his future will be at tackle, while general manager Jerry Reese seemed high on their first rounder as he has “a little bit of a nasty streak.”
Coughlin went on to refer to Flowers at a “battleship”, saying he’s an outstanding athlete, one of the strongest guys in the draft and that he has outstanding feet. The Giants also love Flowers’ age—having just turned 21 days ago—feeling that ceiling is very high.
Regarding Dorsett, the pick seemed to be a bit of a surprise solely because of Indianapolis’ overall depth at receiver, coupled with defensive needs.
Receivers T.Y. Hilton—a Pro Bowler last season, former Cane great Johnson, second-year Donte Moncrief and recent CFL signee Duron Carter—son of Cris Carter and Dorsett’s former high school coach—round out a talented and deep unit for quarterback Andrew Luck.
The Colts defended the choice with understandable Draft logic; he was the highest player left on their board when No. 29 rolled around.
“This just shows that we stick to our guns when it comes to taking our best player on our board,” Indy general manager Ryan Grigson said late Thursday night. “It’s not just party talk.”
While the gurus praised Flowers-to-New-York, the same isn’t the case regarding Dorsett-to-Indy, simply based on the Colts’ overall needs. Especially one close to the franchise; Mike Wells, who covers the team for ESPN.com
“Shocking. That’s probably the best way to describe the initial reaction. Offense isn’t the issue for the Colts. They had more pressing needs on the defensive line and at safety, but they decided to continue to give quarterback Andrew Luck more offensive weapons,” explained Wells.
“Alabama safety Landon Collins and Florida State defensive tackle Eddie Goldman were still on the board and would have helped a Colts defense that has struggled under coach Chuck Pagano.”
Wells praised Dorsett’s “blazing” speed, citing the 4.29 and 4.27 40-yard dash efforts on pro day, as well as the 24.2 yards-per-receptions last season—but like many others in his field, felt that Indy needed to go defense; something Grigson was quick to address when asked about the other side of the ball.
“We have eight more picks,” the GM reminded the media and naysayers.
As long as the Colts’ defensive needs are met, the Dorsett pick will earn praise. Regardless, the franchise deserves credit for pulling the trigger based on what they had seen out of the four-year Miami player, despite little action last season.
Dorsett hauled in an inexplainable 36 passes for 871 yards in 2014, but did have 10 touchdown and was a big-play machine. Still, compare that to some other wide receiver greats who went before him on day one.
Miami native and Alabama product Amari Cooper had 124 receptions while West Virginia’s Kevin White hauled in 109 grabs. Arizona State’s Jaelen Strong is still on the board and even he had 82 catches for the Sun Devils in ’14.
Rounds two and three get underway from Chicago at 6:00 p.m. CT on Friday and Miami expects to see at least three more Hurricanes find new homes by night’s end; linebacker Denzel Perryman, tight end Clive Walford and running back Duke Johnson.
For those hoping some solid Canes stay home, it should be noted that the Miami Dolphins pick No. 15 in the second round (47th overall), but don’t have a third round pick, trading No. 14 (78th overall) to New Orleans.
Friday night’s NFL Draft coverage will take place on ESPN2.