Dolphins negotiating with Gholston
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- April
- 10
Surprising news out of Florida today. According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Dolphins are negotiating with two potential draft picks, Jake Long and Vernon Gholston. Whoever agrees to a reasonable contract first will presumably be the No. 1 pick.
Long, the offensive tackle out of Michigan, has long been believed to be in the mix for the top pick. He’s a cornerstone tackle in a draft loaded with offensive linemen. Miami did not have a good O-line. But Gholston, a defensive end from Ohio State who would play linebacker in Miami’s 3-4 defense, has never been mentioned that high. He’d been considered in the No. 5-8 range. Speculation had been growing that he’d go to the Jets at No. 6. Supposedly Mangini and the Pats, who draft seventh, both loved him. Now he might be off the board before the draft even begins. If so it’ll change the dynamic of the whole draft.
This doesn’t feel like a great move by Miami prez Bill Parcells. Gholston has as much physical potential as anyone in the draft but has been accused of a spotty motor. He was tremendous against Michigan (in fact he beat Long for the only sack Long allowed last year) but disappeared in the title game against LSU. It’s easy to get lured by someone’s combine workout. Gholston tied Long with a combine-best 37 reps of 225 pounds in the bench press and ran a 4.6 40-yard dash. But can you really risk the top pick on a player that doesn’t try hard all the time? The bust potential here is too big. I can see Parcells ripping into Gholston in three years when he’s back with ESPN and Gholston is making three sacks a year with a huge contract.
Interestingly, the last first-round pick Parcells ever made was another Ohio State LB, Bobby Carpenter. That was in 2006 with Dallas. He also took a first-round linebacker when he was picking the groceries for the Jets — James Farrior in 1996. That didn’t work out so well.
This entry was posted
on Thursday, April 10th, 2008 at 1:45 pm by Jake Thomases.
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