Dolphins pick size on first day

By Compiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 27, 2003

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DAVIE - Tennessee linebacker Eddie Moore answered the phone Saturday and was stunned to discover the Dolphins at the other end of the line.

They were calling to tell Moore he was their top selection in the draft.

"If you add another level to shocked, then that's me," Moore said from his apartment in Knoxville, Tenn. "I'm ready to get off the phone and start running down the street."

Moore figured he would be taken in the third round, and projections had him being drafted as late as the fifth. But the Dolphins took him in the second with the 49th pick, though they have four starting linebackers and more pressing needs on offense.

Coach Dave Wannstedt said Moore will bolster special teams and linebacker depth.

"I don't think he's going to be taking anybody's starting job," Wannstedt acknowledged.

Moore was the sixth linebacker selected and the first taken so early by Miami since Marco Coleman, a first-round pick in 1992.

In the third round the Dolphins took Wade Smith, an offensive tackle from Memphis, at No.78 overall, and Taylor Whitley, a guard from Texas A&M, at No.87 overall.

The Dolphins tried to trade up so they could draft an offensive lineman in the first round. One they apparently liked was Iowa guard Eric Steinbach, taken by Cincinnati with the first pick of Round 2.

"We were on the phone for four hours straight," vice president Rick Spielman said. "Some of the teams, it was ridiculous what they were asking for."

Miami also failed to shore up its receiving corps, a goal going in, but it has seven more picks today.

Moore, 6 feet, 237 pounds, will compete for playing time outside, where the Dolphins have 12-time Pro Bowl pick Junior Seau, acquired in a trade April16, and 2002 starters Derrick Rodgers and Morlon Greenwood. Rodgers is expected to be traded or released.

Moore was a two-year starter at Tennessee. Last season he was second on the team with 101 tackles and had three sacks. He was named to the All-Southeastern Conference second team.

He had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee after last season but said he's 100 percent.

Smith (6-4, 296) was drafted on his 22nd birthday and could be a starter of the future at left tackle, a position that has seen frequent turnover since Richmond Webb's last game with Miami in 2000.

"When they first showed interest in me, I said that's the best-case scenario," Smith said. "Because that's an organization on the cusp of being a championship team."

Smith has added more than 20 pounds of muscle in the past year after recovering from a broken hand in 2001. He was a second-team All-Conference USA selection and began his college career as a tight end.

Whitley (6-4, 321) was an honorable mention Associated Press All-Big 12 pick last season. He will reunite with offensive lineman Seth McKinney, a former Texas A&M teammate.

"My dad told me three months ago Miami was the team for me, and sure enough he was right," Whitley said. "I'm as excited as I could be."

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