Drive Time: Offensive Line 2024 Dolphins Draft Preview with Dane Brugler and Dante Collinelli

know the process behind the Beast. Do you start with the tape, then get to your background as a vice versa? And then if you had to count them, how many cumulative hours do you think you put into the Beast every year?

And it starts, really it starts eighteen months ago, because you know, like right now, I'm not looking for the twenty twenty five draft, but I can't help pick up some random info whether you know, maybe I'm talking to a player or a coach or a scout, and ultimately something comes up about a player for next year, and so I'm making these notes and or watch tape and who's this number twelve?

important to the overall picture. But just to make sure I get all the puzzle pieces I can, because when you put it together in the report, it's the most clear picture of who this guy is as a person, as a player, who's going to be at the next level. So yeah, it's it's an exhaustive process, but yeah, I tell you, when I release it and it's available for everybody, it makes it all worth it to hear all the feedback and how much people use it and get out

of it. And so even though it is a beating it, it does make it all worth it.

I feel like that it's gotta be an annual thing for you.

toront Armstead. We don't know how many more years he'll play beyond this one. It could be this one, it could be Multimore years, who knows. They also have Austin Jackson their right tackle, who just got a contract extension too, So Miami, I think is certainly in play to add somebody there. My question to you to start this thing off is how many of the tackles do you think

are gone? How many guys do you think are completely out of the equation by the time MIMI comes up to twenty one to make their selection.

the board in the top twenty picks. And then it's a question of okay, who's Amarius Mims, Geydon, do they Tyler Goyiton, do they go sneak into the top twenty, into the top twenty two or are they more in the mid twenties. So we're gonna see these guys fly off the board. We might even see some of the interior guys like a Graham Barton sneaking at top twenty as well. So it's gonna be a very offensive line

heavy first round, very offensive period heavy first round. Where in my mock draft, my seventh round or that just dropped on the athletic I had twenty one offensive players and we've never seen twenty offensive players drafted in a first round. So we're gonna see this very offensive heavy first round, and those tackles are going to play a big part.

their own individual way they do this. And for the Dolphins, I mean it's Chris Career talked about earlier this week, like, we have the style of play we play, and we need the guys that fit that style of play. And it's pretty clear on the offensive line it's good ten splits, guys that fire off the snap, Guys that can get out in space and make blocks outside of the numbers, and be able to really emphasize the Dolphins wide zone

play action concept that marries up together. So with that in mind, I know Amarus Mims is an athletic, Marvel has some injury concerns that go back, you know, a couple of years. You talked about Tyler Guid and I'm just curious, which guy do you think that could be available at that spot twenty one.

looks at it like that. But if maybe they're their options are wiped out at that point and they're picking at an interesting spot where they might only have one or two true first round grades left on their board, and so do you go with that first round grade even though maybe it's not an immediate need over a second rounded graded ed drusher or whoever they in what a position they might view as a little bigger need. So that plays into this as well. With Mims and Giton,

you've got guys that are physically impressive. I mean, Amarius Mims six seven three quarters, three hundred and forty pounds. I've never seen a three hundred and forty pounder look like him. It is very clean, it's there's no sloppy weight, it's it's really impressive. And then okay, eleven inch chances over thirty six inch arms of almost eighty seven inch wingspan.

And now, of course you wish he would stayed on the field, and you know, I don't know that it's necessarily you're worried about him staying healthy. I didn't think it was just more freak injuries. He had the ankle injury, and you know he was waited his turn to see the field. So I don't know that I'm as much worried about the durability as I am just the inexperience and how long is it going to take before I'm comfortable putting him out there on the field and trusting

him to get his guy blocked. But you're very encouraged by the traits. And so for a team like the Dolphins that maybe don't need a guy from day one, they can develop him at his own pace. He makes some sense. And same thing with Tyler Guiton. He's a similar size, just maybe not as not caring as much weight, but he's six seven and three quarters. He's three hundred and twenty five pounds as they were, thirty four inch arms, eighty two inch wingspan, but he's at You love the

Tyler Geiton tape where he's out in space. Use him as a lead blocker, whether he's pulling short pulls, long polls. If you're a safety, the last thing you want to see is Tyler Geiton barreling down on you. And you know both these guys, it's interesting they're right tackles. I think they have the athleticism and the ability to play loft tackle, but we just don't have that body of

work to pull from. And so this is why you pay your offensive line coaches all that money to evaluate that first and foremost to you know, during these meetings, during the the pro days, during the personal work outs to figure out, okay, can they play left tackle? And then once they get them into the into the facility and onto the practice field, actually developing them and making sure that they can play left or right and be

interchangeable at the offensive tackle position. So these two players are really interesting because they have the traits just and all the talent and all the traits in the world, just maybe not the consistency. But will that come with more experience. There's a good chance it does, but of course that's not guaranteed.

you can get guys that fall and drop. And just looking at the Dolphins, you know current draft cap and I want to get to your your mak your seven round mock here in a second, but you know they have that big gap between pick fifty five and one fifty eight, and so I'd love to get back into that range and add a pick. Do you think that there's a guy that they could possibly target in a

trade back scenario? Is it Geytin or Mims that they could then also recoup a mid round draft pick for like, who's kind of the next tier of tackles if the Dolphins move back in that between twenty one and fifty five range.

your position early if you want that offensive tackle. So after the first round, if we're looking and say that early to mid second round, we're talking about Kingslisue from Byu. Really talented, but it's gonna takes a little bit of time. There's going to be a big development process for him. Patrick Paul from Houston six seven and a half, three thirty.

You love the length over thirty six inch arms, but he's an example of where the length kind of works against him because he if he misfires with that punch, it takes him at an extra half beat to pull those arms all the way back and get his guy blocked.

second round. It's for a reason. And you're sacrificing something, and in most cases with these guys, it's because it's it's just going to take time and it's more of a projection for them at the next level. So now I do like in the third round, I really like Herrying Megaggi from Yale. He he's a inexperienced raw player, but I love where he could be three years from now. Cayden Wallace from Penn State, He'll be in that third fourth round mix, just he's a really consistent player. Some

teams really like Javon Foster from Missouri. He'll be also in that fourth fifth round mix. So even though this isn't a super deep class at tackle, after that first round, there are some players that you can target and say, Okay, I think he could be a starter for us down the road.

back on the other side here. I want to get to your mock draft for the Dolphins and just kind of ask you for a couple of deep round sleepers. That's why I say, like the scouts make their money right in on Day three and in the UDFA priority guys. We're going to talk about all that next to my guest today from The Athletic, Dane Brewer. Draft Time podcast host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by Auto Nation. Back

here with my guest today from the Athletic. The Beast just dropped the greatest draft guide there is out there right now, go check it out on The Athletic Dane Brugler talking about the offensive tackle class and how the Dolphins might dip their toe into that water. And you gave me a bunch of great names in the middle rounds there. But if the Dolphins keep the status quo and do not move draft picks around, we will not have a chance to see both of these guys most likely.

So one fifty eight is the first pick they have outside of the first two rounds. Then again one eight four, one two forty one, Dane, you're an area scout for the Miami Dolphins in this hypothetical, and you have to pile on the table for a guy that you think we should take on Day three or a guy that goes undrafted and you think has a chance.

clearly he wasn't one hundred percent just yet. But when you have a guy that's just naturally stout like he is, you can line him up in the middle as kind of that nose, but he can be interchangeable because there is more pass rush potential in him than I think what he put on tape. So you have got a guy that's stout, he's gonna hold a versa run. But then give you a little bit extra because he is a pretty decent athlete for that size, and we're talking

about a fifth round price tag. I think he's in that mix to be one of the first first two or three non combine guys drafted. You know, there's plenty of love around for him around the league. And then in the sixth round, I had them going with a

really interesting corner from Colorado State Chi Jose Unusium. He's a col transfer, only one career interception, and I know that that was something that you know, you want ball production when it comes to corners, but you also want six pounds with four to three speed, really good tester, and it shows up on his film at the athlete that he is. He's a player that again the ball production is going to really bother you as if you're

looking at draft a player like this. But we're talking six round and so heightweight, speed, Give me a guy that stays attached in with his coverage. He can play man, he can play zone. Just a guy that is a he's a quality tackler as well, So there's a lot of things alike about this player as another non combine guy who I think has a good chance to get drafted late.

tight end from Texas. Someone'm just curious about how you feel those guys would fit into the Dolphins if they want not being the picks come draft night.

And when talk about his journey and with the medicals and all that, Leatsu Latsu is not in terms of size and speed, He's not something that you know, is not superhuman in those areas. But where he does stand out is his pass rush savvy. He understands how to use his hands, the timing, the moves, the transitions. A lot of guys coming from the college level, they're used to being bigger, stronger, faster, and they have never really had to hone in on the technical aspects of playing

the position. Where a lot too. That's where he shines. He's not deficient in terms of his size and athleticism. It's just his technical know how and the understanding of how to break down the rhythm of blockers. That's where he really stands out. So, and it's the last two years and he was stayed healthy, So I think that you know, you take that as a positive. Even though he had the medical situation at Washington, he stayed healthy the last two years at UCLA. As long as the

doctors give him two thumbs up. You're looking at this guy as a someone's going to come in and help contribute from day one and someone that's going to make your defense better. So a lot too. If he's still on the board, I mean he might very well. You know, you look at the rams at nineteen and several teams I think in the top twenty will have him on the short list of players that are looking at.

Tough grad. He works for the thirty third team and covers your Miami Dolphins at Fannation and at Dolphins Talk written and podcast forms there. Dante Colinelly Dante slow down all the jobs many making us all look bad out here?

stuff like that. You know. Now my main job is covering the entire league, and obviously I also cover the Dolphins, as you mentioned, but it's a lot different, you know, I kind of just you have to follow thirty two teams instead of just the one, so it's a big change. But man, I love it. There's just nothing like NFL football. You know. I love college football. I love the draft obviously, but it's a dream come true to cover the NFL. Man, So I'm enjoying it, soaking it up.

South forty yea. I was like, it was like very minimal, but someone's like one of my wife's co workers got their car gut hit by a big piece of haill hey Man. Crazy times for living in Besides the fact of weather and temple life all that stuff, we wanted to get downtown today to talk about the offensive line class. We did tackle before this, and as you can imagine, there are some there is some crossover there between tackles and guards, and so let's go ahead and start with

this Dante because I've seen it mentioned. You know, Troy Fatanu, who is, for my money, I think he's the best off I'm in the entire class. I'm curious to get your take on that, Talisi Fuaga. These guys are players that have been projected to play either tackle or guard. No one seems to agree on whek Ram Barton might play.

I'm curious tell me where you place some of these guys that have that fringe ability and how do you think teams should view it in terms of, you know, we're taking this guy in the first round, and to hit on a tackle is more valuable than to hit on a guard. Right, I'm curious how you think teams might have those discussions about, well, yeah, he can't play guard, but ideally tackles the best spot for.

beaten defensive linemen up, moving them off the ball. But you watch him at the combine and he just looks phenomenal moving around. And his arm length was actually a lot better than I was expecting. He came in with thirty four and a half inch arms, which is sixty seven percentile among offensive tackles since nineteen ninety nine, which which is like well above average. So that was a pleasant surprise. And then you know, you go back and you watch his tape and you're like, all right, maybe

this guy is a tackle, right, He moves well. He's got the footwork, the arm length, checks the box ninety eight percent tile jumps at the combine as well. He's really explosive. So font Now, for me, I'm probably I'll probably end up ranking him as a guard just because that's where i've had him, and I have him as the top rated interior player in this class period. I have a first round grade on him. I think he's a really good football player. Fluaga I have a tackle.

I just I think he's I think he's too big to play guard, like. I think he's too tall. I like my guards to have a little bit more leverage on the interior, right, So when you compare him to font Now, who's six foot three, I think Fluaga's like pushing six foot six. I think he's at least six foot five. So I like my guards have a little bit more leverage on the interior. That's a really like old schoolish approach to that position. But I don't know.

I like Fluaga tackle. Bartin's an interesting one because he played three years of left tackle at Duke. I like him as sam. I think that's his best position. He can play guard for you if you need him to. He can play tackle in a pinch. I'm a little bit more worried about Barton's ability to anchor against speed to power rushers in the NFL. I think he's got the athleticism. He tested really well. He ran well at his combine or at his pro day. Sorry, so he's

got the athleticism to play tackle. I worry about his ability to just like getting these long you know, these like long power rushers into his chest. At the NFL levelers a lot of those guys, And I don't know if I love him on the on the outside. There on the interior, I think you make the most of his movement skills. He's another guy who's that really aggressive mentality, which I really like. On the interior. I went back and watched his center tape when he was a freshman

at Duke. He played I think it was like five games at center. I think he made four starts. It might have been five starts in six games. He looks good like that. That center tape is solid. And that's as a freshman, as a three star recruit, not a five star recruit, wasn't expected to play right away. He looks good, so I would have bar and it's center I think Vlogg is a tackle fought now for me. I think he's probably the guy that might be able

to do both. And I think for Miami particularly, that's important given what other pieces they have up.

to stretch things out wide. In the zone game, that center position becomes a little more valuable for teams like Miami or San Francisco or Green Bay because of just the expansion of the playbook that a player like that gives you. And we talked about Connor Williams last year with how he did that for Miami. Aaron Brewer, sorry, Aaron Brewer provides that for the Miami Dolphins this year

as well. So very intriguing there. You know, Jackson, Powers, Johnson, Zach Frazier, all these guys that could possibly be in that range for Miami. I'm just curious, is there anybody at Guard or Center that you think is worth or should be in consideration for twenty first pick?

twenty one. I just I don't. It's not that I don't like them, right Like I have high grades on Barton, I have high grades on Zach Frazier, the high grade on Jackson powers Johnson. I just you pay Aaron Brewer enough money to be your starting center and free agency, you're gonna have to position switch one of those guys or you're gonna have to put Brewer back at Guard, And frankly, I just think Brewer has done a better job at center, right Like, I think that seems like

a more natural position for him. So you gotta play musical chairs. I like what you said there at the end about a trade back. Right, if you move back to I don't know, twenty nine, twenty seven to twenty eight, you get an extra Day two pick. You select Jackson Powers Johnson, and you know what, he's got the size to play guard, and you're one, we're gonna make that position switch. We're gonna put Aaron Brewer at center, and we're gonna go from there. Right. That makes a lot

more sense to me. But at twenty one, I have a hard time, especially for the Dolphins specifically, thinking that they are going to value that position that high. I don't know that they will, right like, I think center is very important to them. But you can get Zach

Frazier in a trade back. You can look at pick fifty five and you can attack some of the other guys that we'll get to, right Like, I think that there's value if guard is really important to you, right, you want to replace the right guard spot where Robert Hunt, you know he left. Right, there's guys that you can look at pick fifty five who I think are going to be on the board to do that. So I really think that they should try to maximize this o

line as much as possible. I think when you're a team like the Dolphins, who is clearly a good football team, clearly team that's gonna win, compete for the playoffs, they're trying to take that next step, right to me, like, this is an opportunity on the offensive line to improve on the fringes and really open up the playbook even more. But I think it's twenty one. If you're gonna do that.

To me, it's got to be a tackle of the future who's gonna play guard for a year and kick out right, So I would not take the interior guys at twenty one in a trade back. Sure, you can talk me into a lot of guys.

because don't take a player doesn't figure system. But in terms of where he might have the quickest path to playing time, like I look, you'd mentioned Aaron Brewers addition at center, like I would.

We mentioned Brewers played center and guard. All these guys they've they've brought in have played multiple spots and so they kind of have this versatility that allows them to, Okay, well you can play here, but you can play there as well, So we have options with how that works out. And this class seems to have that as well, with guys that played multiple spots.

I held off for a long time before I got into them, but one of the things I noticed in doing them was that fifty to fifth pick sometimes like a lot of the guys that I wanted were off the board by the time I got there, but there was one guy that was typically there that I like a lot. I want to hear the names that you like in that spot and who you expect to be available for Miami at fifty five.

Dominic Pooney, Christian Hayes Cooper Bebe would be the three guys that I would highlight, so Dominic Pooney from Kansas. He is another guy who played tackle for them, but he also has experience a guard. They kicked him out to tackle this year. I wildly impressed with his Senior Bowl. Didn't even know he existed until he went to the Senior Bowl. He was great there. And then you know, when you watch the Senior Bowl and you see a guy perform like that, you just run straight to the tape.

And I was honestly so impressed with Pooney. I've got a pretty solid second round great on him. He's got the power, athleticism. I think he's got the size. I think he's a guard. I don't think he should play tackle. I'm a little bit worried about his ability to just defend high side rushes and I don't like messing with that at tackles at the NFL level. It scares me. Christian Hayes from Yukon. Eric Christian Haynes, Sorryish Haines from Yukon,

really athletic, experienced. He's like to me, he's a plug and play right guard. I don't know that he's gonna have like the ceiling necessarily be like an all pro or whatever. But like just I think you plug him in at right guard and you just forget about him for a couple of years. He's really solid, agile, athletic pass protector, has the athleticism to match some of these like quicker interior guys that we're getting into the league,

like interior defensive lineman there. They're getting quick every year. These guys are getting thinner and faster, right, Like I want like the Christian Haines of the world who can do that. And then also they have that mentality I was talking about earlier, right, like Haines likes to hit people. He likes to move people off the line of scrimmage, like I want that in my interior guys. But he's got the athleticism back it up, right, And to me,

that's what the prototype starting guard is. And in the NFL these days, you got to be able to do both. You can't just be a maller on the inside anymore. And then Cooper Beebe's just like he's just solid. Every rep is the same, it's just out of his stance, perfect hand placement, push the guy out, you know, a little bit a little angle running back those office but five yard game it's just rinse, repeat every play. So

I really like Cooper Bebe. I think he's like a he's like a technician, man like, he just he knows what he's doing. He's played a million college football snaps at this point. He's been a starter Kansas State forever. I think that's the type of player too that I think somebody like Mike McDaniel might really gravitate towards, just because maybe he doesn't have the elite athleticism that the Dolphins really really like upfront. But I think he's a good mover. I don't think he's a limited player by

any stretch. But he's gonna go out there and he's going to run this scheme that you want to run. He can do a lot of different things for you. He can do the inside stuff, you know, the inside zone stuff, the outside zone stuff. The Dolphins once in a while they like to dabble in those gap power type stuff. I think BB can do that for you as well. So those would be three guys I would

target at fifty five. But like you mentioned, offensive line, you know, guard is becoming like low key premium position across the league. We just saw Guards get paid. You know the bookoo Bucks this offseason, Rockron obvious got a ton of money to go into the Panthers, right, so Guards becoming a premi musician. It's not smart to just sit there at fifty five and be like, oh, we're

definitely going to get one of those guys. But I think one of those three guys could be there at fifty five would be a smart.

on those three guys, So Puny. I remember talking to danegre Remiah, you know name drop on the on his conference call back when he did his first one before the combine, and I asked him about who are some players that you think are what skill sets translate as guys that played tackle book and also kick inside to guard, and he's he mentioned Dominic Piani is one of those guys. Even took some reps at center. If I'm not mistaken, I think in Mobile. I believe that was where I

heard that from. And then you mentioned Christian Haynes, like explosive blocks out to the numbers man, the way he buries DB's. I love that stuff on tape and then bibe the set and forget like you sold me on that too, because all those all those.

Frasier already recover from a broken leg. Everything I've read about Ziner is that he's on track, and so he's a guy that I think honestly could be there in the fifth round, just because I don't think he's gonna play right away. But if you're the Dolphins, I think you get a chance to take a future starting guard in the fifth round. And look, when you're in the Day three, it's you're throwing duards at guys right, and to me like Ziner has the power, the size, the

mass to be a starting guard. Now, I think where you run into some problems for his fit with Miami. Not the best athlete in the world. I don't think he's like this elite mover. But again, you're on day three. If you sit down and you're like, all right, look, this guy can start a guard for us in a pinch. You know, maybe he's our like, you know, swing guard. If you will, right, you teach him to play both spots.

He's your primary backup there. That's a valuable piece. The other one I would highlight is Mason McCormick from South Dakota State. I just like, I'll be honest, like I'll get into the trades here. The aesthetic is phenomenal. Looks he plays, he's got the neck role, he's got the hair, South Dakota State. He you know, his whole tape is him just running over FCS players like it's awesome. Dude,

looks plays like a starting guard. But trades wise, I think, you know, you like the movement, skills, you like the power, you like the mentality. I think that he's a developmental player. I think you've got some things in pass protection that you're gonna have to work out for him. I don't know that he's got necessarily right, like his his foot and hand timing right. How good is that? How good of the level of competition that he faced at the

FCS level. That's a big kickup to the NFL. We've seen some FCS offensive linemen like struggle with that a little bit in recent years. You know, you know, obviously when a scout each individual player, you don't want a helmet scouter in this case lead to subdivision scout. That's a new one. But at the same time, like, I really like McCormick. I don't know that he'll be there in the fifth round. But with small school guys, especially now, you don't know, right, so many of them go back

to school. He doesn't have a ton of hype, but I like him. I think he's a good athlete. The other one, the last one i'll highlight here Bo Limmer from Arkansas, pure center. Really good run blocker. I think I think he can do a lot for you in his own scheme. He could go higher than this. I like the movement skills, like the experience there. Ricky Stromberg was drafted by the Commanders. Last year. Limber played guard and then kicked into center after Stromberg left a couple

of years of good film for him. I think he could be a Day three guy. Another guy I worry about in pass protection a little bit. Didn't love how he anchored, didn't love necessarily how he dealt with counters. A lot of these guys are great when everyone's just pushing them. But at the NFL level, you get those defensive linemen who have, you know, a few tricks up their sleeve because they're the best in the world, right

and so Limmer needs some development there. But I think you have the bones of a contributing, solid interior player. So those would be the three that stand out to me. I like this interior O line class. I think the Dolphins, you know, like we said, maybe it's not perfect to twenty one, maybe it's not perfect at fifty five, but I'd like them to invest in this group somewhere. I think there's a lot of players who are gonna contribute either as starters. I don't know that there's like a star.

I don't know that we're gonna get like a Quentin Nelson, Zach martinside player in this group. But to me, a lot of really good football players. And the Dolphins has done a nice job addressing the offensive line, There's no doubt about that. Like you said, feel like they could use just maybe one more piece really push that group to the next level.

first round for your Miami Dolphins. Busy, busy times ahead here on the show That's gonna be my time today, though you all please be sure to subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, wherever you get your podcast from. Go ahead and leave us a rating, leave us a review. You can follow me on social at winkld NFL and

the team at Miami Dolphins. Check out the fish Tank podcast with my guys Seth and Juice, and we're gonna be at Peer five on Draft Night hosting a radio show and a live panel for the draft for your Miami Dolphin Draft parties. We'd all miss that on Thursday night at eight o'clock.