Contract talks begin with Jake Long and Gholston

In anticipation of the fast-approaching draft, the Dolphins have begun discussing contracts with T Jake Long and DE Vernon Gholston.

It's definitely beneficial to get some of this groundwork financial discussion out of the way now so that whoever is ultimately the pick will be less likely to hold out.

I would expect the team to start these discussions with DE Chris Long shortly. They may also start these talks with QB Matt Ryan and DT Glenn Dorsey.

Some people are saying that these discussions are just smokescreens, but they are simply precautionary measures to avoid a holdout from whoever is selected. Assuming the Dolphins stick with the No. 1 pick, I think it's safe to say that one of the above five players will be the pick. It only makes sense to start hammering out contract details as early as possible. Then, if one agent stubbornly makes signability a huge issue, Miami can move on to the next player on the board if they deem that to be the best move.