 |  No. 56 | MIAMI |
SB Nation Writers Mock Draft: Round 2, Pick #56
One cornerback isn’t enough for Matty I of The Phinsider after taking Darius Butler in the first. He continued the defensive trend with his first second-round selection of Robert Ayers.
My gamble has paid off! Back at pick 44, I was torn between one of the corners on the board or the highest-rated player remaining on my board. I went with the highest rated player, Robert Ayers. Some questioned the pick because me may not be an ideal candidate for a 3-4 defense. But having selected CB Darius Butler at pick 25, I decided I could wait on taking another corner until 56 because I had a feeling my guy would drop. So I selected the best player available, according to my board, and will let our coaches find a way to get him on the field, whether it's at WOLB, SOLB, or DE. When you have a shot at a Pro Bowl caliber player, you take him and then make a spot for him. After all, we are in the "talent acquisition" business and by taking Ayers instead of reaching on another player, we acquired a major talent.
As I said, my risk paid off now. Alphonso Smith is such a talented cornerback. Many scouts believe that if the 5’9 Smith was just 2 or 3 inches taller, he’d be the top rated corner in the draft. He has amazing ball skills - perhaps the best of all the corners in this draft. While his height is certainly a limitation, I think that Smith, in his worst-case scenario as a player, will be a GREAT nickel back. And, of course, his best-case scenario would probably be as a very good starting corner. To me, that’s well worth the 56th overall pick - especially with the Dolphins likely to head into the 2010 offseason with three free agent corners, including current starter Will Allen.
MTD thoughts: Smith here is a great value pick. I'm really not sure why he dropped quite this far in this mock. However, I'm not sure it's a smart pick. A wide receiver is really needed and someone like Ramses Barden would fit really well with smaller receivers Ted Ginn and Davone Bess.
Mocking the Draft’s Top Five Remaining Prospects - QB Josh Freeman, RB Shonn Greene, CB Victor Harris, DT Jarron Gilbert, RB Javon Ringer
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