Why the Miami Dolphins Should Draft Tavon Austin

This draft has been a highly discussed subject for the Miami Dolphins, especially after the beginning of free agency. Much of the talk centers around Jeff Ireland and how this is a make or break draft for him. A lot of it is also how he fails at evaluating talent. Personally, I feel Ireland has done a good job the past two offseasons and I feel he will earn praise after this draft.

That being said, in my opinion Miami should draft Tavon Austin with the 12th pick.

Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia 
5'8", 175 pounds, 4.34 40-yard dash
Statistics in Four Years
288 Receptions, 3,413 yards, 29 touchdowns
109 rushes for 1031 yards and six touchdowns
98 kickoff returns for 2,407 yards and four touchdowns

2012 Combined Yards: 2,910
2012 Combined Touchdowns 17

Up until last season there has not been much to get excited about on our offense since the days of Dan Marino and Don Shula. Drafting Tannehill was the start. He showed what he could do with limited weapons. This offseason Ireland went out and upgraded Tannehill's weapons, and drafting Tavon Austin would complete that transformation.

A lot has been said about Austin's size and possibility of injury. Well guess what, Jake Long was 6'7" 315 pounds and he was injured quite a bit the last few seasons. Austin has never missed a game or practice while at West Virginia. He possesses the game changing ability to light up the scoreboard, the confidence to make it happen, and the strength to handle man-to-man corner coverage (14 bench reps of  225 pounds). Not bad for a 175-pound man. He also has a 32" vertical.

He has all the tools, and combined with Wallace, Tannehill, Miller and Hartline he can help take Miami's vertical game to the next level. Plus, he put fans in the seats.

Tavon Austin a luxury pick? Give me the keys to the Porsche.

Here are some videos on Austin.

Tavon Austin is regarded as a top ten pick.



Here is ESPN's Todd McShay reviewing Austin.



The Supreme Tavon Austin video



Tavon Austin Draft Review: Strengths and Weaknesses

Click here to view Tavon's face to face interview

Tavon is a confident, yet humble, kid with no off the field issues. His style is suited for the West Coast Offense and he is a matchup nightmare for defenses. Tavon Austin meets the standards Joe Philbin looks for in a player. People are getting too hung up on his height and weight.

What Tavon Austin has can't be coached, and he is a natural born winner. I will close with this quote from Tavon Austin's Twitter page:

"Adversity causes some men to break and others to break records. Blessed!"

Thanks for your time and let me know your thoughts.