Busy in free agency, Dolphins glad to have flexibility heading into draft

DAVIE, Fla. -- The free-agency period has largely been a success for the Miami Dolphins, with big names such as Ndamukong Suh, Jordan Cameron and Greg Jennings among those who have joined the team.

To date, the Dolphins have signed eight new players, traded for wide receiver Kenny Stills and re-signed 10 of their own free agents.

The next phase in fortifying the team comes with the draft.

Over the course of three days beginning April 30, Dolphins executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum, general manager Dennis Hickey and assistant general manager Eric Stokes will be tasked with getting the most value from their six selections. They hold the 14th overall selection, along with picks in the second round, fourth round, fifth round (two) and the sixth round.

By all measures, Hickey did well last year in charge of his first draft for the Dolphins with the selections of offensive tackle Ja'Wuan James, wide receiver Jarvis Landry, offensive lineman Billy Turner, defensive back Walt Aikens, tight end Arthur Lynch, linebacker Jordan Tripp, wide receiver Matt Hazel and defensive end Terrence Fede.

James and Landry were solid selections who came in and immediately bolstered the Dolphins, and each of the rookies also had moments that demonstrated their potential.

Sitting together at the Dolphins practice facility at Nova Southeastern University for a predraft news conference Friday, the three executives mentioned few draft prospects by name, notably running back Todd Gurley which Stokes described as a “talent” and “an exciting guy to watch”, but they had plenty to say about the quality and character of the players they're targeting.

More then once, they spoke of finding players who have a genuine love for football beyond their talent and skill set.

"Our emphasis on character has not changed," Hickey said. "We're relying on our scouts and the interactions that we've had with these young men and hearing their stories and what shaped them. That's always been an emphasis, and we judge each player, each prospect, on an individual basis."

In addition to what these players can provide on the field, Tannenbaum said the team wouldn't shy away from drafting someone with past medical issues if the team believed the prospect could eventually play at a high level.

"You have to be extremely thorough and then look at where the opportunity is," he said. "We always used to say, there's two sides to every story and the truth is in the middle and that can be an off-the-field issue, it could be medical, and it's a very subjective process. It's a learning process for all of us and that includes medical, so that's where this process is so interesting. It's subjective and then at the end of the day, you have to make your best decision."

Tannenbaum said the free-agent additions had impacted how the team was approaching the draft.

"Our goal heading into next weekend is to have as much flexibility as possible," he said. "By no means are we sitting here and saying that our roster is perfect, but we feel good where we are and with the recent addition of Greg Jennings, hopefully that gives us even more flexibility to make the best decisions possible for us, whatever they may be."

Throughout the 30-minute press conference, both Hickey and Tannenbaum declined to answer several questions pertaining to the whereabouts of 2013 first-round pick Dion Jordan during the team's first phase of voluntary workouts this week.

"Right now, in the voluntary part of the offseason program, we're really happy with the attendance," Tannenbaum said. "If somebody chooses not to be here, that's obviously their decision."

Without saying much, it was clear there was disappointment in Jordan's latest move that puts his future in doubt with the Dolphins, who used their No. 12 selection plus a second-round pick to land the defensive end with the third overall pick in 2013. Jordan has not had much impact on the field, with just seven sacks and 39 tackles to his name through 29 career games, and he was suspended twice last season for violating the NFL's performance enhancing substance policy.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the Dolphins brass is choosing to focus on unearthing high-character players. With both Tannenbaum and Stokes assisting Hickey with their knowledge and experience of the game, the Dolphins hope to hit a home run with their draft.

"We are finalizing (the draft board), and there will be minor tweaks, but for the most part, that's part of the process leading up to it," Hickey said. "We want to be proactive with our decision-making, and that's what we've been doing the last couple of weeks is we've been funneling the information and the evaluations. We still have time if there's a discrepancy and there's been a lot of healthy disagreements and healthy debate. We have the time to go back to the tape and watch it and work through any discrepancy and come to a final decision on the player and where he stands."

"The board is firmly etched in pencil," Tannenbaum added with a laugh.

You can follow Surya Fernandez on Twitter @SuryaHeatNBA or email him at SuryaFoxSports@gmail.com.