Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland didn’t waste much time after picking Ryan Tannehill in the first round before he started crowing about the value of the pick.
Ireland said that experience was the only difference between Tannehill, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. His bullish feelings didn’t stop in the first round, though. During an interview with the team’s website, Ireland said that he’s never been part of a draft where his team got so much value for its picks.
“If our board was right, then we killed it,” Ireland said.
Plenty of teams feel that way in the days after the draft, but it will take a while to find out if their board was actually correct. Drafts need time and perspective to be accurately evaluated and that could still wind up being a problem for Ireland.
There’s a lot of pressure on the Dolphins to start winning now and Ireland’s comments will only fuel expectations that things will be better right away. The Dolphins definitely addressed some of their biggest needs over the course of the three days. In addition to Tannehill, they got offensive help in tackle Jonathan Martin, running back Lamar Miller and tight end Michael Egnew. The defense got a pass rusher it really needs in Olivier Vernon. If all those things pan out, then Ireland will wind up looking very smart.
He just needs to survive long enough to see that happen.