With their options reduced, the Dolphins trade up to take the Canes' Vernon Carey, their only pick of the day.
By Associated Press
Published April 25, 2004
DAVIE - The Dolphins made an aggressive move to fill a desperate need.
The Dolphins selected Vernon Carey with the 19th pick of the first round Saturday, trading up one spot to get the 6-foot-4, 335-pound offensive lineman. Miami gave Minnesota a fourth-round pick to swap positions.
"Let's face it. The best player maybe on our team and on offense is (running back) Ricky Williams," coach Dave Wannstedt said. "It's critical that we try to give him as much help as we possibly can."
Carey, the team's first offensive player taken in the first round since running back John Avery in 1998, was Miami's only pick on the first day.
Miami traded its third-round pick to Green Bay for fourth- and fifth-round selections. Carey was watching the draft with about 60 friends and family members from a club in South Beach when his cell phone started ringing.
New England was first, telling him to be patient. The Vikings were next. Then they started fielding offers from teams looking to move up.
The Dolphins, meanwhile, had targeted three players with the No. 20 pick, and Carey was the only one left. They figured they had to make a move and did.
"We weren't going to take a chance not getting Vernon Carey," general manager Rick Spielman said.
Carey grew up in Miami, attended high school and college there and now begins his career there. It also made for a quick trip to Miami's training facility.
Carey rushed home to change into a new black and blue pinstripe suit, jumped into a white limousine with his fiancee and their 3-year-old son and arrived in Davie a few minutes later. Before being introduced at a news conference, Carey got another piece for his wardrobe, a Dolphins cap.
He also got thrown into a battle for the starting spot.
Wannstedt said Carey, who played guard and tackle with the Hurricanes, will compete with John St. Clair at right tackle.
"In my mind, I'm going to come in and start," Carey said. "But I've got to earn the position."
The Dolphins are revamping a line that struggled to create holes last season. Guard Todd Perry and center Tim Ruddy were released. Tackle Todd Wade left via free agency, and guard Jamie Nails was allowed to test the market with the possibility of re-signing.
The team signed St. Clair, Jeno James and Damion McIntosh during this offseason. But McIntosh had surgery and probably will start the season on the physically unable to perform list.
Left tackle Wade Smith, a rookie last season, is the lone returning starter. Center Seth McKinney, the team's top draft pick in 2002, should earn a starting spot.
Carey could, too.
He was a standout right tackle at Miami in 2002 then moved to guard to help the Hurricanes last season. He played through two ankle injuries and a torn meniscus in his right knee last season.
He dropped about 20 pounds in the offseason with the help of a nutritionist, had strong predraft workouts and wowed teams with his size, feet and arms that measured 34 inches in length.
"That's everything you look for in an offensive tackle," Spielman said. "He also has the size and strength to maul people at the point. And he's a good athlete for his size. So he has all the qualities and characteristics that you do look for in offensive linemen. And he's a good football player, a very good football player."
The Dolphins have had little success with former Hurricanes. Receivers Randal Hill (1991) and Yatil Green (1997) were two of the biggest busts to come out of Miami in the past two decades.
Carey said he hopes to change that.
"I know what it takes to win football games, and it starts in the trenches," he said. "I don't think this team needs that much. All they needed was somebody in the trenches to help them protect and open holes for Ricky Williams. I think that's what is going to get the job done."
