The Senior Bowl director dishes on Miami Dolphins’ draft after evaluating their picks
We’ve found Jim Nagy, the executive director of the Senior Bowl, to be a smart judge of talent, and he has 18 years of scouting experience with the Patriots, Chiefs, Redskins and Seahawks.
Nagy has closely evaluated these Miami Dolphins draft picks and shared insight on several of them in a phone conversation:
▪ On Tua Tagovailoa: “The injury thing scares me and that was a big gamble. I would have asked for every assurance from my owner and if I didn’t get the OK from my owner, that it shouldn’t cost me my job if Tua got injured.
“When they recruited Tua to Alabama, there were comparisons to Russell Wilson. I don’t think they’re very similar anymore. Whereas Russell is so good at extending plays and making plays off script, that’s not Tua’s deal. He is a springy and bouncy athlete but not great at creating. That’s where he gets himself hurt. Russell has a knack for getting out of harm’s way. Tua takes a lot of contact. You see on tape Tua gets hit a lot and goes down in a heap a lot.
“Where he’s better than Russell is he sees the field better and is more accurate. He gives that franchise some hope, which they haven’t had for a while. He’s got special instincts.”
Any on-field concerns beyond durability and protecting himself better against injuries?
“The only thing I would say is the supporting cast at Alabama, but you can’t knock the kid for it,” Nagy said. “His receiver and running back room won’t be as good in Miami, and his offensive line debatably won’t be as good. He was playing with an offensive line with multiple day-one draft picks and the best wide receiver room in college football history. Aside from LSU, they are better than everyone they line up against by a vast margin.
“One of Tua’s former coaches just told us, ‘he sees things you can’t coach.’ Best way I’ve heard it described this entire process.”
▪ On offensive tackle Austin Jackson: “Really high-end athlete, and to me, there wasn’t a lot of difference between his tape and the Tristan Wirfs tape. He was good value where you got him [at 18]. I know people said there were the four junior linemen [Jedrick Wills Jr., Andrew Thomas, Wirfs, Mekhi Becton] and then separation to the next group, but I didn’t see it that way.
“Austin needs to add bulk and strength but he’s only [21]. You can imagine what he will be at 25 when he puts on natural weight. You can get guys stronger. I don’t see that as a limitation [long-term]. He’s a legitimate left tackle. You don’t turn on the tape and say he’s a right tackle; he’s a left.”
▪ On Auburn cornerback Noah Igbinoghene: “I watched Noah a lot. I like that pick a lot. In terms of cornerbacks after Jeff Okudah and CJ Henderson, he was the No. 3 guy [for some teams].
“I really like him because of his newness at the position. It lends itself to a high ceiling. Obviously, there’s some rawness to work through from a technique perspective. He plays faster than he timed at the Combine, has good game speed and is really tough. That is what separated him for me from [much of] the rest of the cornerback class.
“He’s physical, tough and competitive and smart. He was a math and science major at Auburn, and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a math and science major coming out of Auburn in 20 years scouting there. I really like that pick.”
▪ On Louisiana guard/tackle Robert Hunt: “We had him at the Senior Bowl [though he didn’t play in the game or practice because of an injury]. Really high-end player. He will be ready to play right away because he’s so big and strong and physical.
“In terms of this year’s class, if you look at right tackle and guard candidates, he’s the most powerful, nastiest guy in this draft. If you project him just as a guard, there’s a pretty good gap between him and the next guy. Talking to the Dolphins guys the last few days, that is one guy they are really excited they got. Had he come to Mobile [healthy] and done what he was capable of, his value would have skyrocketed; he would have been in the first round somewhere.
“He’s big, powerful, moves people. In pass protection, he’s a better fit at guard in my opinion. He anchors really well, will be hard to move through in pass protection. And he plays with an edge” and fits the prototype of the type of player Brian Flores is looking for, Nagy said.
▪ On Alabama defensive tackle Raekwon Davis: “That’s a sore subject for me, because his agent called at 8:30 the morning he was supposed to show up in Mobile [to cancel], so I was a little [annoyed] at that. They said he had an ankle injury, but he played with it all year.
“But he’s a good player, a big, physical trench player. The question of why he slid [to No. 56] is, ‘Does he give you anything on third down?’ He’s really good on first and second down, really hard to move, really good on double teams, locks people up against the run. He’s a first and second down starter. He’s ready to do that pretty early in his career.
“I think there’s more to him than you saw the last couple years. He has upside as a rusher because he’s so long and powerful, but in Alabama they play run first before they play the pass. And there is upside there on third down as well. They did a nice job building physicality on both sides with Hunt and Davis. They’re what you’re looking for, those two.”
▪ On Texas safety Brandon Jones: “He was committed to come [to Mobile] and then had to have postseason surgery on a [shoulder] injury he played with all year.
“He’s fast, can play free safety, can play nickel. Smart kid. His agent brought him to Mobile and so did Robert Hunt’s to get interviews done, and I was cool with that since we had invited them. I love the speed and versatility.”
Here’s some insight from the person who is training more than a dozen Dolphins.
