Raiders trading versatile rookie to Dolphins in odd move
By Scott Rogust
The Las Vegas Raiders made the perplexing decision to trade third-round pick Lynn Bowden Jr. to the Miami Dolphins.
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock never cease to amaze NFL fans. When experts suggest they go one way, they opt to go the other, especially when it comes to the NFL Draft. Even so, Gruden shocked us all and ground logic to dust on Saturday.
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport dropped the bombshell that the team has traded third-round rookie running back/kick returner Lynn Bowden Jr. and a 2021 sixth-round pick to the Miami Dolphins for a 2021 fourth-round pick. And that pick the Raiders received was the very same one they surrendered to Miami for linebacker Raekwon McMillan last week!
Sources: The #Raiders are trading RB/returner Lynn Bowden Jr and a 6th rounder to the #Dolphins in exchange for a 4th round pick, the same pick Miami just got from Vegas. The versatile Bowden was a third-rounder this year.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 5, 2020
The Raiders shock the football world once again
All in all, these two separate trades can be viewed as one super transaction. Bowden and a sixth-round pick go to Miami, while McMillan and a fifth-rounder go to Las Vegas.
Bowden made a name for himself for being one of the more versatile players in all of college football. Bowden mostly played at wide receiver and kick returner, but last season, he played quarterback. In his three years at Kentucky, Bowden accumulated 2,833 yards from scrimmage 19 touchdowns on 320 plays. Bowden returned 71 kickoffs for 1,628 yards and nine punts for 199 yards and two touchdowns.
After being selected in the third-round, the Raiders planned to use Bowden at running back. But given the crowded depth chart that included Josh Jacobs, Jalen Richard and Theo Riddick, as well as the loaded wide receiver corps, the Raiders opted to move on from Bowden before his NFL career even started.
More. The Raiders are giving Nathan Peterman a job in 2020. light
The trade was an absolute win for the Dolphins. The team has put all their eggs in the basket of rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, but the team lacks the quality offensive weapons to help him succeed, minus DeVante Parker. Now, they have a versatile playmaker in Bowden to make life easier for the former Crimson Tide signal caller.