The point of the NFL Draft each year is to give teams the opportunity to grow and improve by infusing young talent into their squad. The history of the draft is full of players drafted with high expectations only to crash down to Earth rapidly, Akili Smith, Todd Marinovich, and Ryan Leaf, to name a few.

Each season though, teams hope their young draft choices can fill holes in their rosters. For teams like the Miami Dolphins, draft choices will be crucial if they are to rebuild this team and return the franchise to the glory days of Marino, Duper, and Clayton. So far this season, though we are still in training camp and pre-season there is hope that some of the rookies might shine through in their first year in the NFL.

In particular, Kendall Langford, Donald Thomas, and Chad Henne are showing signs of progression and growing confidence with each passing day. Although Langford is listed as the 3rd left Defensive End on the first depth chart released Monday, he has been seen getting more and more reps with the first team defense during practice and holding his own. Donald Thomas is listed as the back up Right Guard, but has been in with the starters on occassion and doing well.

Then there is the oft discussed Chad Henne, at least by this writer. Even though he’ll open pre-season listed #3 on the depth chart at the Quarterback position, with each passing day of practice Henne gets more and more reps with the first team offense. This is leading to a greater confidence in himself and more familiarity with the play book. This, combined with a lack of consistent performances from Josh McCown and John Beck, could (and probably should in my opinion) propel Henne to the #1 slot on the depth chart.

Only time will tell how each of these, and the other rookies in camp, will contribute to the Dolphins in their first season. But with 4 pre-season games to be played, they have time to show what they’ve got on the field to their coaches.