Ted Ginn Jr. (+) Coming off foot injury

College: Ohio State Number: 7

Height: 5-11 Weight: 178

Position: WR Pos2: KR

Class/Draft Year: Jr/2007

40 Time: 4.38 40 Low: 4.32 40 High: 4.45

Miami Dolphins-Ted Ginn, Jr.-WR/KR/PR-Ohio State

The breakdown: This man needs no introduction. Over the past three seasons, Ted Ginn, Jr. has used his remarkable combination of speed and acceleration to slice and dice his way through opposing defenses. In the process, he established himself as one of the most prolific kick returners in the history of college football. Over his career, he returned 64 punts for 900 yards, giving him a 14.1 average. He also had returned a hair-raising six punts back for touchdowns! On kickoff returns, he had 38 returns for 1,012 yards and two touchdowns, giving him a 26.6 yard average for his career. During his junior season in the 2006-2007 campaign, he became a much better receiver and lead his team in three major receiving categories: catches(59), yards(781), and touchdowns(9). He needs to work on running more polished routes, but when you're blessed with world class speed(he ran a 4.28-40 yard dash time in the Ohio State campus workout) and eye-gouging acceleration, then the abundance in those traits can easily help you overcome your deficiencies.

He is excellent at tracking the ball over his head, as evidenced by his beautiful over the shoulder touchdown catch against Texas in 2006. The Cleveland, Ohio native also uses his amazing ability to stop on a dime to make defenders miss. He has excellent north-south agility, in that he is very good at stopping and starting back up again when he's trying to move in a vertical direction. One of Teddy Ballgame's biggest weaknesses is that he does not have very good lateral agility. He's just not an east-west type of runner, but that isn't that big of an issue because of the speed and acceleration mentioned earlier. After watching some of his highlights, Ginn's amazing acceleration reminds me of the Bears' Devin Hester and his ability to stop on a dime reminds me of the Saints&rsquo Reggie Bush. He doesn't make lateral cuts nearly as fluidly as those two players, but he does have a little bit of each player in him. Once Ginn gets the ball in space, you might as well pack your bags because it's over, he's gone. He uses his acceleration to kick his speed into another gear and blow by opposing defenders with tremendous ease. Throughout his career, Ginn had eight touchdown returns on special teams, tying the NCAA record set by former Dolphin and current New England Patriot Wes Welker. He suffered a mild sprain in the national championship game in January, but that shouldn't be a concern. According to the PalmBeachPost.com post, Ginn opened the Dolphins' mini-camp sessions riding an elliptical machine, but you would have to think he'll be ready to fully participate in training camp in late July. For now, he&rsquos finishing up his degree at Ohio State so he can graduate.

I realize that many people were shocked by this selection at the time of the pick, including myself. I thought that the Dolphins were going to choose Brady Quinn, and there is no way I thought I would hear Ted Ginn, Jr.'s name called in the top 10. I figured he would be picked late-first round to early second round. At the time of the selection, I was asking myself, why in the world did the Dolphins take Ginn so high? Surely, they could've traded down to the middle or later in the first round and taken him there. After taking a step back, I'm willing to bet that nobody was willing to trade spots with the Dolphins to move up to the nine slot. So, if Ted Ginn was their man, then I totally agree with the pick. I love what the decision makers of the Dolphins did in this draft, because they made some bold picks and made sure everybody knew about them. I love the choice of John Beck as their signal-caller of the future instead of Brady Quinn. If you need to know any more of my thoughts on John Beck, then just check the 3,700 word scouting report I wrote on him for Associated Content and a few other places. The Dolphins' staff had a remarkable draft in my opinion, I love the choices of Booker, Beck, and Ginn as the centerpieces of the Dolphins offense.

Getting back to the selection of Ginn, I'll admit at first that I didn&rsquot agree with the pick, but after thinking about it, I think it is an excellent choice. I think Ted Ginn, Jr. will be one of the best punt/kick returners in the game and eventually be an all-pro. His acceleration ability coupled with his ability to stop on a dime will make him one of the most dynamic returners the game of football has ever seen.

Pick rating: 10/10

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