Revenge Of The Birds Community Mock Draft: 12th Pick, Miami Dolphins

With the 12th pick of the Revenge of the Birds community mock draft the Miami Dolphins select...
Earl Thomas | Safety | Texas

 
Strengths: Thomas has excellent athleticism and agility. He has great speed with a burst to recover and close. His 40 was a blazing 4.35, the third fastest of any player this year. His football instincts are fantastic and he has great awareness and anticipation. He is a very physical player with great hands and balls skills and is a very hard worker. Thomas has the ability to play CB as well as S and has a lot of upside.
 
Weaknesses: Thomas does not have the ideal size for a safety, 5-10 ¼ 208 lbs. Both his body and his game must mature for him to be successful in the NFL. He often misses tackles due to being outmatched physically and by being too aggressive. He has limited experience, only starting for two years with the Longhorns.
 
Why the Dolphins will draft him: Miami could go one of several ways here, but the Dolphins defense gave up way too many games last year (Colts, Saints, Texans) so I feel they need to address that first. Miami really needs a LB, but with the way the draft is going and the depth in this years LB class, I think they can take care of that in the 2nd round. Thomas is too good a talent to pass up. Some people argue he is the best S in the draft. The NFL is now a passing league so it’s important to have a strong secondary.  Thomas fills a need for the Dolphins and gives them a young, strong secondary that will help them dominate on the defensive side of the ball for many years to come. 

Thanks to AlaskanCard for posting the pick and the write up. Lorenzothedog is now on the clock with the San Francisco 49ers selection while 7ftcard is on deck with Seattle's pick. Please send me your pick to revengeofthebirds@gmail.com later today. The remaining picks are after the jump...

1. St. Louis - Sam Bradford, QB
2. Detroit - Russell Okung, OT
3. Tampa Bay -  Ndamukong Suh, DT
4. Washington - Bryan Bulaga, OT 
5. Kansas City - Eric Berry, S
6. Seattle - Gerald McCoy, DT 
7. Cleveland -  Jimmy Clausen, QB
8. Oakland - Trent Williams, OT 
9. Buffalo - Bruce Campbell, OT 
10. Jacksonville - Joe Haden, CB
11. Denver - Rolando McClain, LB
12. Miami - Earl Thomas, S
13. San Francisco - lorenzothedog
14. Seattle - 7ftCard
15. New York Giants - najmsh
16. Tennessee - kj197728
17. San Francisco - lorenzothedog
18. Pittsburgh - Cardscrazy247
19. Atlanta - durst
20. Houston - DaCards
21. Cincinnati - LAcardsfan
22. New England - Hadrarius
23. Green Bay - notliketheboardgame
24. Philadelphia - robloosli
25. Baltimore - Skii
26. Arizona - ROTB community
27. Dallas - manderson367
28. San Diego - WhiffSD
29. New York Jets - Drullin'OverDaCards
30. Minnesota - tooman234
31. Indianapolis - TheAngelsColts
32. New Orleans - Reo Hayes