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Stop bitching about the Dolphins drafting tactics, because according to one analysis, the team has been the second most successfully in the NFL over the past five years. Of course, looking at the Dolphins overall success over the past five years makes you wonder exactly how accurate the analysis is.
The rankings come from Tony Villioti of Draftmetrics for The National Football Post. The analysis used the number of games started by draft picks, average share of starts for the team’s players compared to the rest of their draft class, number of players drafted who were still with the team in 2012, and players selected to the Pro Bowl.
When taking into account all the data from the past ten years, the Dolphins only come in 19th. But when just looking at the past five years, the Dolphins jump all the way up to second place, behind only the Kansas City Chiefs.
Recent draftees have started 621 games for the Dolphins over the past five years, the second most in the league. 80.5 percent of their draft picks since 2012 are still active, which is also the second highest in the league. However, only one player drafted in that time, Jake Long, has been selected to a Pro Bowl.
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There’s of course a few obvious flaws here. A successful drafted kicker would have just as much impact on the rankings as a successful drafted QB, for example. One could also point out that a team like the Dolphins is more eager to start recently drafted players sooner because, well, their existing players weren’t that great to begin with.
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