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Round One – 22nd Overall
Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama (6-foot-6, 312 pounds)
Could arguably the best offensive lineman in the draft “fall” to the Dolphins for a second straight year?
It is quite conceivable.
Prior to the start of the 2016-17 college season, Cam Robinson was considered a top five overall guy, but the draft boards began to change as more and more skill guys, linebackers and defensive backs began to rise.
Robinson was a Freshman All-American and two-time first-team All-SEC selection at Bama. He started every game of his career at left tackle and showed exceptional athleticism for a human being his size.
Robinson plays the game with power – he can uproot defenders and move them out of running lanes. And his tape shows that he’s able to respond to power with power.
Though the Fins took Laremy Tunsil in the 2016 draft and plan on kicking him out to tackle this coming season after spending the past year inside at guard, taking Robinson would give Miami the tools to have one of the most dominant offensive lines in the AFC.
The knock on Robinson – and the thing that could push him right in the Dolphins’ lap – is that he was arrested with a teammate with marijuana and a stolen handgun in their vehicle.
Again, see Laremy Tunsil.
The Dolphins could do the same thing with Robinson in year one, work him inside at guard – a position of need now – on either the left or the right side and re-evaluate the situation in 2018, when former 2014 first round pick and starting right tackle Ju’Waun James’ contract is up.
And for the fans who think the pick isn’t sexy enough, I point out to you the drafting strategy of the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2010 through 2012. In that three-year span, the Steelers drafted an offensive lineman in the first round twice and one in the second round twice. Of those four picks, three of them are currently starting on their O-Line.
