I know what you’re thinking. “One of these things is not like the other”. I get it, I really do. Stick around with me for a while…suspend your disbelief, and I promise I’ll make it make sense:
If you go back and look at scouting reports in 2012, you’ll see mostly glowing reviews about Draymond Green. “The ultimate glue guy”, he was praised by the vast majority of scouts as being an excellent defender, rebounder, and team leader. He didn’t have a great shot, but he didn’t need one because he could muscle inside and score in the post, and he could score when necessary. At times, he carried his Michigan State Spartan team on his back. Defense, check. Rebounding, check. Intangibles, check. That sounds like a top-five pick, right? Nope. Well, actually, yes. but not in a good way.
Unlike the NFL Draft and its seven rounds, the NBA Draft has only two rounds, which makes sense, seeing as how NBA rosters only go 15 deep in total, and the NFL has 11 starters on both offense and defense. Anyway, back to 2012. Green was coming off a solid season where he averaged 16 points-10, rebounds, and assists per game, leading his team to a split of the Big Ten regular season title as well as outright winning the Big Ten tournament. Michigan State earned a 1 seed in its region and made it to the Sweet Sixteen before ultimately succumbing to the Louisville Cardinals (who ultimately made the Final Four).
If you’re keeping track, we’ve seen a great regular and post-season effort from a guy that scouts are raving about. So, that begs the question: Why in a league that only goes 15 deep, where starters have to play offense and defense, does a guy who has that kind of season at that level of basketball with that kind of scouting report get drafted with the fifth overall pick in the (checks notes) second round of the NBA Draft?! Answer: His height. Draymond Green was *only* listed at 6’7”, which was considered “too small” to play his position of power forward, yet he wasn’t considered “athletic enough” to play at small forward. In the years that have followed, Draymond Green has been the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, been an All-Star and a part of numerous All-NBA and All-Defensive teams, and has been “the ultimate glue guy” for a franchise that has won four NBA championships in the last ten years.
I know you’re probably thinking something along the lines of “Thanks for the history lesson, now get to the point.” That is a fair thought, so let me skip down to my point. Every single team outside of a couple at the top who drafted Hall of Famers on their own (Anthony Davis to New Orleans, Damian Lillard to Portland) should have jumped all over Green, but they were too worried about whether or not he would “fit” on their team, rather than drafting him and allowing that talent to fit on its own.
Draymond Green is a physical representation of a modern-day draft lesson (and yes, I’m applying the lesson to the NFL as well). Too often, teams draft the player that best “fits” into their system, hoping they can develop the talent rather than going for the obvious talent staring them in the face. Some teams have the fortitude to take the best player available regardless of need. The Cowboys did that in 2020 with CeeDee Lamb. The Cowboys had multiple positions of need, but they also had Lamb as their number one overall non-quarterback prospect in that year’s draft. Lamb was expected to go in the top ten, if not higher, but he slipped past ten…and then past twelve…and then finally to pick seventeen, where Jerry Jones had that card turned in faster than he reached for his glass of Johnny Walker Blue having to watch the Cowboys each week during the season.
What does this have to do with Miami? Well…in case you’ve been living under a rock for the last five months, the Dolphins have some (actually, a lot of) holes to fill. Offensive line, defensive line, linebacker, safety, etc. They need some serious help, and they don’t exactly have the cap space to spend big in free agency, so nailing this draft is a must. Here’s a *potential* conflict with that: The 2025 NFL Draft is shaping up to be more unpredictable than most years and may even be downright volatile. At least four players have been linked to the top overall pick, and that may even increase to five by the time we get closer to the draft in April. That’s pretty unusual and has the potential to create A LOT of chaos. Owners, general managers, and coaches need to be ready.
So, hypothetically, I’m still running the show (see parts one and two). I’ve got my eyes on the Malaki Starks, the Safety, out of Georgia. Maybe you’re looking hard at Tyler Booker, the Guard from Alabama. I’m waiting to fill one of those two positions of need…and maybe, while I’m following the draft, I see our top overall player falling from the top overall pick down to the sixth pick. Of course, the Raiders will take him because there’s no way Pete Carroll would actually pass on – (boom, the Raiders draft Ashton Jeanty from Boise State). Ok, now our guy is falling to the Jets, and there’s NO WAY that they pass… (boom, the Jets draft the receiver from Arizona, Tetairoa McMillan, with the seventh pick). Now he’s really falling. He gets by the Panthers, Saints (!!!), Bears, Niners, and Cowboys. Now a massive choice has to be made that will alter the course of the franchise.
Cam Ward, quarterback of the Miami Hurricanes and my number one overall prospect, is available. I know, I know. Impossible, right? There’s no way Cam Ward would drop all the way to the Dolphins at #13…just like there was no way CeeDee Lamb would drop to Dallas at #17 in 2020…or Draymond Green to the Warriors at the top of the second round in 2012…or…
If we really want to go old school and be close to home, there’s no way Dan Marino could have dropped like he did to the Dolphins in 1983, right? I know I could have led with a number of current or former NFL players, but in the case of someone like Marino, it’s been done to death, and we all know about the BS rumor about drug use that caused him to drop down to South Florida, though I’d say it worked out for both parties. I also thought about invoking the name of Lamar Jackson, but even I, the proud UofL fan that I am, wasn’t convinced that he would be what he’s become. Actually, I’m shocked that he’s already basically punched his ticket to Canton this early in his career, if at all, but I digress…
I’m not saying Cam Ward will be seeing Canton outside of an early August exhibition at some point in his career, and I don’t actually think he’ll fall to #13, but this is where the chaos comes in. Most drafts have a few surprises, but this one could get crazy and fast…so…forget about my hypothetical tenure as head of all things Dolphins: If you’re Steven Ross, Chris Grier, and Mike McDaniel…and Cam Ward really is your top guy, AND Cam Ward really is there for you at #13, what do you do? Do you try to fill your holes, trade down, and accumulate picks and players that fit with your nine-figure, injury-prone quarterback who you actually like and maybe can win with? Or do you pull a Jerry and turn that card in immediately and get to pouring a glass in celebration? I know what I would do, I know who I would draft, and I know I wouldn’t let history repeat itself. The pick is in, and we have our guy:
Spoiler: He won’t have to travel far.
