No Logo Needed Mock Draft: 25th Pick

It's been awhile (and you can refresh your memory of the previous picks by following the links on the side), but its time to get back into the No Logo Needed Mock Draft (and really start diving into the draft, which is coming up a lot faster than I thought). We left off with the Dolphins, the surprise winners of the AFC East last year. Making the pick on behalf of the Tuna will be the writers at the Phinsider.

With the 25th pick of the 2009 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins select...

LB Larry English, Northern Illinois

There were two ways to go about this pick. I could have taken the player I like the most that is still on the board - which would have been either CB Darius Butler or CB Sean Smith. That would have also addressed Miami's most glaring hole. But this is a mock draft - and I'm going to select the player that I think the Dolphins would most likely draft if the actual draft played out this way.

Bill Parcells loves linebackers. That's no secret. And among Miami's top three needs is the outside linebacker position (right up there with CB and WR). Larry English has the size and strength that this regime loves. And while I worry a litle bit about English's ability to drop back into coverage due to his lack of fluidity in his hips, I do think that Larry's upside here is tremendous as a pass rusher and potential heir to Joey Porter. He's also tough, smart, and a "high-motor" player - all things that Bill Parcells demands from his linebackers.