Miami Dolphins: Biggest Draft Day Regret In Franchise History

The Miami Dolphins were a team in the 1970s and early 1980s that could find players deep in the NFL Draft and make them superstars.

Nat Moore and Tony Nathan were both third round draft picks. Mark Clayton was an eighth rounder from Louisville and although no one may have heard him, Mark Duper was a second round pick. Don Shula and his coaching and scouting staff knew a thing or two about finding the right fits for the franchise.

But for every good pick, Shula proved to be shortsighted in his decisions in the mid to late 1980s.

John Bosa and Eric Kumerow are two names that come to mind.

Bosa, a defensive end from Ohio State, lasted all of three seasons in Miami and never started a game in Aqua and Green. Bosa may have been a late first or early second round pick, but he was way out of his league. The Boston College product was one of many missteps in the Dolphins drafting process in the middle of the 1980s.

Kumerow will forever be inked to Paul Zimmerman who asked “Who?” when his name was called by the commissioner of the NFL, the Draft analysts were left speechless over this pick in 1988. He and Bosa also show that it may not have been the lack of a running game that hurt this team as much as it was a poor pass rush.

To Shula’s defense, those draft picks were about as average as the 1987 and 1988 Drafts where few players made the playoffs or the Pro Bowl. Other questionable draft picks the team has made and had lived to regret are these “fine” players.

John Avery

He is arguably the worst first round pick of the Dolphins since their inception in the AFL/NFL. This pick also shows Jimmy Johnson wasn’t always as astute about draft picks as he was in Dallas. Thinking Avery could resurrect the running game and find the team’s inner Emmitt Smith. Avery played in the XFL after two seasons in the NFL.

Ted Ginn, Jr.

I have always hated this pick. The franchise was struggling and could have chosen Brady Quinn. The team needed defensive help and could have had Patrick Willis. Management took Ginn and had to wait until 2012 to select a franchise quarterback.

Sammie Smith

When the Dolphins took Smith in 1989 and showed he could be the workhorse running back Dan Marino needed in the backfield, Seminoles and Dolphins rejoiced. He was out of the league by 1992. A series of personal problems led to his ouster. He continued to have legal issues well after his playing days.