Gillislee and Sturgis

With two picks in the fifth round (I'm sensing a theme here), the Miami Dolphins chose to plug two more holes, this time at Running Back and Kicker. Yes guys, kickers are people too. With the addition of these two, Miami has added depth at a critical position, giving Lamar Miller competition for the back-up/third down back role behind Daniel Thomas. The acquisition of Sturgis should allow Miami to part ways with current kicker Dan Carpenter, a move that will save the Dolphins nearly $3 million in salary cap space. Let's take a look at both former Gators.

What they do well: Gillislee is big enough (5'8" and 206lbs) to handle being a featured back in the NFL, with a size adequate enough to take a beating and power the ball through the line of scrimmage. However, he is also agile enough to come in off the bench as a quick, change-of-pace back. This dual threat potential is something that has been absent in Miami since Ricky Williams discovered marijuana. Gillislee is also a capable blocker in the backfield, which is essential to any running back wanting to see significant playing time. As for Sturgis, there's not much breakdown to be done on a kicker, either you can kick the ball or you can't. This kid definitely can. During his three healthy years at Florida, Sturgis connected on 81% of his field goals, including 8 of 13 from 50+ yards and a career long of 56 yards.

Where they need to improve: Sturgis is the easiest to address here, he needs to work on his touchback percentages. He improved last year, raising his touchback percentage from 17 percent in 2011 to 45 percent in 2012. While this is a significant improvement, he still has a long way to go to be where he needs to be at the next level. As for Gillislee, he has a tendency to be unsure what to do with the ball once he gets it. He's not a decisive runner, opting to dance and wait for a hole to open up instead of just trusting his instincts and hitting the hole right away with confidence in his line to do what they are supposed to. In the blocking game, Gillislee will occasionally go in for a cut-block too early, allowing the defender an opportunity to adjust and avoid the block. He will also occasionally carry the ball in the wrong arm, which just invites a defender to come in and cause a fumble.

Where they fit: I fully expect Sturgis to be our kicker come week 1, beating out Dan Carpenter in training camp and allowing us to cut Carpenter. That move would save us $3 million in salary cap space, which will afford us more room to address some of our expiring contracts next year. There are several key players whose contracts will need to be addressed in the next off-season and Miami will need as much cap space as they can get. I also fully expect Gillislee to beat out Daniel Thomas for the back-up running back position, possibly leading to his release as well. Thomas has been nothing but a disappointment since he arrived in Miami and I think we're looking to move on from him.

Highlight Videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46F1Yt3jF10 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYsQT5qar3U