The Miami Dolphins own the No. 5 pick in Thursday’s draft, but they can’t stay there if they want to be assured of picking the best player
The Miami Dolphins front office has had this date circled on their calendars since last offseason.
Thanks to a tearing down of their roster, including trades of former first-round picks Minkah Fitzpatrick and Laremy Tunsil, the Dolphins head into Thursday’s NFL Draft with three first-round picks, two more in the second round, and a league-high 14 overall.
General Manager Chris Grier and head coach Brian Flores have this unique opportunity to remake their team. They could use all three picks on Thursday to solidify three key positions, such as quarterback, offensive tackle, and running back. Or, and this option is seemingly becoming the most likely, they can use their draft capital to trade up.
The Detroit Lions are sitting with the third pick and are taking calls from a number of teams. The Dolphins are one of them. Miami can offer Detroit the fifth overall pick, as well as one in the second round, to swap positions in the draft order.
The Dolphins are looking at this possibility for two reasons. They need to address their offensive line, and this draft contains four tackles—Mekhi Becton, Andrew Thomas, Tristan Wirfs, and Jedrick Wills—that can all go inside the top-10. The New York Giants (with the fourth pick) are also looking for a tackle, and if the Dolphins want the best one available they need to get ahead of them.
Miami’s offensive line was a mess in Flores’ first year as head coach. They gave up 58 sacks last season, tied with Carolina for most in the league. They ranked last in rushing yards and earned only 3.3 yards per carry, the third-worst season for the franchise since the merger. Left tackle Julie’n Davenport was acquired from Houston in the Tunsil deal but missed half the season with injuries, giving up six sacks in eight games. Jesse Davis started 15 games at right tackle but is more naturally suited for guard, where he played his first two seasons.
If the Dolphins do trade up for a tackle, that would mean passing up the opportunity to get a franchise quarterback. Miami is heading into the 2020 season with 37-year-old Ryan Fitzpatrick as the starter on the final year of his contract and with no clear successor in place. With Cincinnati almost assured of using the top pick to take Joe Burrow, that leaves Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa and Oregon’s Justin Herbert as the next two top prospects at the position.
The Los Angeles Chargers, who pick immediately following the Dolphins at No. 6, are also in the market for a quarterback after parting ways with Philip Rivers this offseason. They can jump ahead of Miami to Detroit’s spot and take the player they want, which may or may not be the same one the Dolphins are targeting.
No one knows for sure, which means the Dolphins have to explore moving up to No. 3 to forestall that possibility. Some sources say a majority in the Dolphins virtual draft room likes Herbert better; others say Tagovailoa is the better player. Grier and Flores, though, aren’t revealing anything about their thinking heading into the draft.
The best option for the Dolphins is to take a quarterback—either Tagovailoa (who would be an easy choice if not for concerns about his health) or Herbert—with the No. 3 pick and address their offensive line at either No. 18 or 26.
Their strategy for the better part of a year has been to acquire enough resources in the draft to find a franchise quarterback. They have a chance to do it on Thursday, but they’ll probably have to move up to do it.