Miami football needs to produce more early round NFL Draft picks
The Miami football program has continued to produce NFL talent since the end of their era of dominance nearly 15 years ago. The problem for the Hurricanes has been the lack of top-end talent going to the NFL.
Since a record six Miami football players were selected in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft only 10 players have been taken in the first round since. Three of those 10 or 30 percent were in 2007. Miami has had one player selected in the first 10 picks of the NFL Draft in the last 14 seasons.
For a program that was once quarterback U and tight end U and could have been labeled the same at a few other positions, it is tough to admit for Miami Hurricanes fans, but the talent is not the same. Tight end David Njoku of the Cleveland Browns was the last Miami first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Njoku had to wait until the 29th pick of the first round to hear his name called by Cleveland. Offensive tackle Ereck Flowers was the last Miami football player taken in the first round. Flowers went ninth overall to the New York Giants in the 2015 NFL Draft. Flowers signed with the Dolphins in the offseason as his third NFL team.
The projections for the 2020 NFL Draft are that no Miami players will be taken until the third day or at least the fourth round on Saturday. The draft begins with the first round on Thursday night and the second and third rounds on Friday before concluding on Saturday.
| Rk | Year | Lg | Rnd | Pick | Tm | Player | Pos | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 2017 | NFL | 1 | 29 | CLE | David Njoku | TE | College Stats |
| 21 | 2016 | NFL | 1 | 25 | PIT | Artie Burns | CB | College Stats |
| 23 | 2015 | NFL | 1 | 9 | NYG | Ereck Flowers | T | College Stats |
| 24 | 2015 | NFL | 1 | 29 | IND | Phillip Dorsett | WR | College Stats |
| 54 | 2008 | NFL | 1 | 31 | NYG | Kenny Phillips | DB | College Stats |
| 57 | 2007 | NFL | 1 | 24 | NWE | Brandon Meriweather | DB | College Stats |
| 58 | 2007 | NFL | 1 | 25 | CAR | Jon Beason | LB | College Stats |
| 59 | 2007 | NFL | 1 | 31 | CHI | Greg Olsen | TE | College Stats |
| 62 | 2006 | NFL | 1 | 31 | SEA | Kelly Jennings | DB | College Stats |
| 71 | 2005 | NFL | 1 | 8 | ARI | Antrel Rolle | DB | College Stats |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/20/2020.
This is expected to be the second straight season without a Miami player being chosen until at least the fourth round. The 2018 NFL Draft was not much better for Miami. Defensive end Chad Thomas was the only former Miami football player to be taken before day three of the draft. He went to Cleveland in the third round.
For Miami to improve on the field they are going to have to do a better job of developing the talent that signs with the Hurricanes. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald was told by an NFL Scout that the talent entering the NFL from the six Florida NFL schools this week is the worst he has seen in the 21st century.
Miami is expected to have a pair of highly-rated prospects for the 2021 NFL Draft. Defensive end Greg Rousseau could be selected in the first five or 10 picks in 2021 and TE Brevin Jordan is a consensus first-round pick. Getting the new offensive staff in place and developing the defensive players around Rousseau will be critical.
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Defensive end Quincy Roche who transferred from Temple early this year could go as early as the third round in 2021. Safety Bubba Bolden is another high-end talent to watch. Projecting for the future Miami still has a long way to go to developing talent as they did during their championship era. It will take an entire program effort.