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Miami Dolphins Draft Needs

Heading into the offseason the Miami Dolphins had a few majors holes. The biggest holes are definitely on Defense as their offense is surprisingly pretty set. The Miami Dolphins have a lot of young players who are almost ready to contribute continuously to the team and just need to fill some holes on the defense.

On Offense, the Dolphins are extremely young. The Dolphin's offense is actually the youngest offensive unit in the NFL. Because of their youth, the offense should be expected to improve from last year simply based on the fact that the players are a whole year more experienced. The Dolphins offense was really no slouch to begin with. The Dolphins could already run the ball extremely well. The run game is anchored by Jake Long and Vernon Carey and they plow holes open for Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams on a consistent basis. Miami had quality guards but decided to bring in another great option by signing Incognito. Incognito, while being a troubled player in the past, is extremely talented and could turn out to be a steal for the Dolphins.

While the running game was one of the top rated for much of the 2009 season the Dolphin's passing game wasn't too bad either. The Dolphins obviously did not resemble the Colts or the Saints on offense, but they were effective. The Dolphins receivers run crisp routes and always find a way to get open on third downs and 1st year quarterback Chad Henne always has a way of finding them. The deep ball has not developed yet but it can be expected in the future. While many blame the receivers for the lack of deep balls, the blame should really lay with Chad Henne. Henne had accuracy troubles with the deep ball but should be much improved after a full season as a starter.

The Defense is where the Dolphin's real problems are. The Miami Dolphins had a very soft defense in 2009. The defense was great against the run, in large part to Langford, Starks and Ferguson. Once Ferguson became injured the run defense went downhill. Soliai can be effective, but not every play. The dolphins need to look for a NT in the first three rounds. The Dolphins pass defense was also terrible. The bad pass defense is a direct result of having 2 rookie corners starting along with bad safety play. Those corners aren't rookies anymore and the bad safety had been cut. In order to sure up the pass defense, the dolphins just need to find a free safety. There are a couple good options in the draft that could easily fill the role, and the Dolphins also could consider 2009 draft pick Chris Clemmons or standout reserve Tyrone Culver.

Another weakness, inside linebacker, has already been addressed. Early in the offseason the Dolphins signed free agent Karlos Dansby to a lucrative contract. Dansby is expected to help the Dolphins defense greatly and will likely fill the void left by the termination of Akin Ayodele's contract.

There is great reason for optimism among the Dolphin's organization and they should be a much improved team in 2010. The Dolphins are getting better, but so are the Patriots and Jets. The AFC East will continue to be a tough division and the Dolphins will have to continue to get a lot better if the wish to compete.

Brian Gibson is a writer who specializes in subjects such as Sports, Entertainment and Money Management. He also has a website, Products Review Network, which reviews products such as Calms Forte 4 Kids.