With the acquisition of veteran Trent Green the Dolphins appear to be in good shape heading into the 2007 season at QB.  Green only played in 8 games last season for the Chiefs due to a nasty concussion he suffered in the first week of the season.  He appeared to be a little off all of last season but the off season rest might recharge the batteries a little bit for the old vet.

Cleo Lemon and rookie John Beck will battle for the backup job.  Lemon would appear to have an advantage based on how he played at the end of last season for the Dolphins.  Lemon played in 4 games (1 start) for the Dolphins last season and he completed 38 for 68 passes (55.9%) for 412 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 interception (77.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 3 times for 7 yards (2.3 ypc).

John Beck was the 2nd round pick for the Dolphins in this year’s draft.  Beck comes from BYU and he was a good college QB.  He also is a little old for a rookie at 25, so the clock is ticking early on his NFL career.

The Dolphins probably drafted Wright with the idea of converting him to outside linebacker.  Wright was a good defensive end in college at Colorado but he’s too small at 6’2″, 234 pounds to play there in the pros.  Wright has the speed to handle the shift as he runs a 4.66 40 but it’s questionable as to how he will play in space.  He also has never had to cover a running back or tight end on a pass play and that could be a problem.  At Colorado, Wright played in 36 games (26 starts) and he made 107 tackles, had 28 tackles for a loss, 21 sacks, forced 3 fumbles and broke up 8 passes.  Wright is a project on defense but he should be able to help the Dolphins on special teams.

The Dolphins might have drafted themselves a good punter.  They expect Fields to win the starting job as a rookie.  Fields is a big guy at 6’5″, 236 pounds and he’s fast enough (4.81 40) to get down the field and make a tackle if he has to.  Fields had a solid senior year and that’s what caught the Dolphins eye.  He punted the ball 57 times for 2,469 yards (43.3 avg) as a senior at Michigan State.  Fields punt team downed 16 of Fields’ kicks inside the 20 yard line and only 23 of his punts were returned at all.

Kelvin Smith was a good player in college but he doesn’t project well into the NFL.  He has nice size at 6’2″, 240 pounds but he only runs a 4.82 which is a tad slow.  Smith can make all of the plays between the tackles as he’s strong at the point of attack, but he struggles in coverage or when trying to make a play towards the sideline because of his poor speed.  He also might be too slow to help out much on special teams.  Smith played in 47 games (46 starts) at Syracuse and he made 316 tackles, 21.5 tackles for a loss, had 5.5 sacks, forced 2 fumbles, recovered 2 fumbles and broke up 3 passes. 

Drew Mormino was a good pick for the Dolphins as he will provide depth on the interior of the O-Line as he can play both center and guard.  Mormino is a good pass blocker but he usually needs help blocking as he can be overpowered in one on one situations and sometimes he has trouble with fast interior linemen.  Mormino projects to be a solid backup at the pro level but he will need to develop a bit of a mean streak if he’s ever going to be a starter in the NFL.  Mormino is 6’2″, 300 pounds and he has the frame to take on a few more pounds without losing his quickness.  Mormino started in all 42 of the games he played in at Central Michigan.

Reagan Mauia is a monster of a fullback at 6’0″, 296 pounds and he can move as he runs a 4.88 40.  He does have some skills despite being so big.  He played 2 years at Hawaii and he carried the football 43 times for 212 yards (4.9 ypc) and he caught 10 passes for 109 (10.9 avg) as a senior.  If Mauia can keep his weight under control and he develops a mean streak the Dolphins could really have something here.

The Dolphins wanted a tackle with some bulk and Paul Solial has great size at 6’4″, 325 pounds.  Solial has only started one season at Utah on the defensive line so he likely will have a lot to learn before the season starts.  But, Solial is very strong and he’s quick off of the football.  If Solial can keep blockers away from Zach Thomas the Dolphins will be happy.  Solial played in 24 games (12 starts) at Utah and he made 40 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, had 3 sacks, batted down 4 passes, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.  Solial will likely be a backup as a rookie but he could turn into a starter down the road for the Dolphins.

This move comes as no surprise.  The Dolphins had traded Wilkinson to the Denver Broncos but he failed to report which nixed the trade.  So the Dolphins decided to cut their losses so they released him anyways.  Wilkinson played in 10 games for the Dolphins last season and he only made 13 tackles, defensed 3 passes and forced 1 fumble.  This is likely the end of the 34-year olds NFL career.

With the Dolphins ready to cut their ties with Rickey Williams they needed a backup for Ronnie Brown.  That’s why they selected Lorenzo Booker in the 3rd round.  Booker is on the small side at 5’10″, 188 pounds but he’s extremely fast as he runs a 4.4 40.  Booker was not a full-time back at Florida State so he should have a lot of tread left on his tires.  At Florida State, Booker played in 48 games (17 starts) and he carried the ball 497 times for 2,389 yards (4.8 ypc) with 15 TD runs.  He also caught 114 passes for 995 yards (8.7 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Look for Booker to be a good third down back and maybe more for the Dolphins as he’s a tough back despite his size.

The Miami Dolphins have acquired 36-year old QB Trent Green for a 2008 Draft Pick.  The pick will be a 5th round pick unless Green plays in 70% of the Dolphins offensive plays, if he does the pick will jump to a 4th rounder.  If Green has anything left at all this is a good trade for the Dolphins.  That’s the big question though…..How much does Green have left in the tank?  It’s hard to answer that question based on his play last season as he missed half of the year due to viscious concussion that he suffered early in the season.  He only played in 8 games (8 starts) for the Chiefs last season and he completed 121 of 198 (61.1%) passes for 1,342 yards with 7 TD passes and 9 interceptions (74.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 19 times for 59 yards (3.1 ypc).  Green also played poorly in the playoffs so this trade was not without some risk.

However, Trent Green has had a good body of work in the NFL over his career.  He has played in 112 games (107 starts) in his career and he’s completed 2,143 of 3,527 passes (60.8%) for 26,963 yards with 157 TD passes and 101 interceptions (87.5 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 233 times for 878 yards (3.8 ypc) with 6 TD runs.

Trent Green will likely be the Dolphins starting QB from Day #1.  The Dolphins pair of young QBs (Cleo Lemon and John Beck) will likely battle for the starting job in the near future but they will learn from Green for now.  Where does all this leave last year’s starter Daunte Culpepper you ask?  On another team as he will either be traded or released before Training Camp.  He only played in 4 games (all starts) last season for the Dolphins and he completed 81 of 134 passes (60.4%) for 929 yards with 2 TD passes and 3 interceptions (77.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 10 times for 20 yards (2.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.