The Miami Dolphins pulled off a draft day surprise not by trading up to the no.3 spot, but by passing up on Lane Johnson amongst others at that spot and selecting former Oregon Ducks star Dion Jordan.
The 6-foot-7, 250 pounder has had labrum issues in the past which made him a question mark as to when he would go in the 2013 NFL draft, but clearly Jeff Ireland and the Dolphins brass saw enough from him to trade up and nab him to play opposite of Cameron Wake on a sensational defensive line (potentially anyway) for Kevin Coyle and Joe Philbin.
The type of injury Jordan is recovering from is hardly career-threatening, so I am not concerned about that. In fact, I can’t help but be excited and intrigued by this addition. In the first round last season, Miami took a quarterback who is pretty new to the position; well, the same can be said for Jordan, who went to Oregon as a tight end. He has three years under his belt on the defensive side now, and his upside looks to be massive.
The explosion and athleticism that Jordan brings is akin to Wake so opposing QBs will need to be weary against him. Plus, add the fact that new linebackers Dan Ellerbe and Philip Wheeler will likely provide better pass rushing at their positions than Miami previously had, and we see a team trying to get after guys like Tom Brady going forward.
I am reminded of when the Houston Texans drafted Mario Williams over Reggie Bush because they knew to compete in their division, they had to deal with Peyton Manning.
Well, the addition of Jordan to this d-line means 2013 Dolphins opponents like Andrew Luck, Matt Ryan, Drew Brees, Joe Flacco, Andy Dalton, Josh Freeman, Philip Rivers, Cam Newton, Ben Roethlisberger, plus of course Tom Terrific (twice) will have a sleepless week leading up to facing this Dolphins front seven.
Miami was a top-seven team in 2012 for sacks, and that looks like it will get even better in 2013.
Jordan can cover tight ends (heck, he even covered slot receivers at times in college) and he is a guy who will chase you down quickly. On plays where Wake is making the QB get away from his pressure, Jordan will be quick enough to be at the proper spot to make a play. Plus of course, there will be times where Jordan’s own skill will force the QB into Wake’s beastly arms.
His strength surely needs to improve, but at this point he is working with NFL players/coaches/trainers daily and his recently turned 23-year-old body should be ready to add some legit NFL strength.
Miami was going to get a good player in the first round, and trading up to add a potential monster like Jordan only cost them No. 42 overall (along with their No. 12 first rounder, of course), so it is a potentially fantastic move for the somewhat drafting-challenged Ireland.
Be sure to check out Jordan’s 2013 NFL Draft prospect profile by clicking HERE.
Craig Ballard is a NFL/NBA/MLB writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @craigballard77, and you can find all of his articles HERE
