ESPN NFL

DAVIE, Fla. -- You'd think $1.1 billion would gain more draft insight than Mel Kiper Jr. provides on ESPN Insider.

Apparently that's not the case for new Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. Rather than dial a four-digit extension on his office phone to ask football operations vice president Bill Parcells or general manager Jeff Ireland what the latest word is, Ross tracks the latest draft rumors just like you do.

"I'm like every fan. You can't read enough," Ross said during an informal gathering with local reporters in the Dolphins board room. "Who's the draft choice going to be? What are they doing?

"You paid a lot to get the inside answer, but one thing about Bill, Bill keeps everything close to the vest, as you well know. I don't know if you guys have talked to him or anything ..."

Ross was interrupted by a roar of laughter.

"But I don't know much more than you," Ross said.

Ross insisted he won't be a meddlesome owner when it comes to football decisions.

"I believe when you have the best, you don't interfere," Ross said. "You know the great line, you want him to cook the meal, you let him buy the groceries. I believe in that when you got a guy like Bill."

To reiterate his point, Ross shared a story of the recent phone call he received from another NFL owner he declined to name.

"He said 'I gotta go. I have to go into a draft meeting,'" Ross said. "What is this guy thinking about? What in the world is going into a draft meeting for? You know what I mean?

"You don't want to be in there if you're the owner. These guys are going to be listening to you. You're their paycheck, right?

"That's the absolute wrong place where an owner belongs, giving his words of what he thinks about who you should be drafting."

Local sportscaster and former Dolphins tight end Joe Rose interjected to ask where Ross would be when the draft begins April 25.

"In the [draft] room," Ross said, eliciting more laughter. "Because I want to know before you guys know."

This will be Ross' second draft. He silently sat in on last year's proceedings as 50 percent owner. He purchased an additional 45 percent from former owner Wayne Huizenga this year.

"I learned a lot," Ross said. "You hear all the wheeling and dealing, the phone calls going and all that stuff. It's exciting. It's one of those days that's totally unique. It's not like any other typical day because the future of your team is really being decided that day."