Miami Dolphins: Realistic trade package to acquire Deshaun Watson

If Deshaun Watson is moved from the Houston Texans, the Miami Dolphins should be offering this exact deal. 

David Culley spent what had to be the best day of his life answering questions on the worst possible scenario. The Houston Texans named the 65-year-old Baltimore Ravens assistant their fourth head coach in franchise history on Thursday morning.

That was the secondary story since Deshaun Watson now is determined to play elsewhere.

Watson requested a trade from the Texans following a massive fallout this offseason. Not only is his social media wiped clean of Houston memories, but he’s gone out of his way to finally address it in a small capacity during the Pro Bowl events this weekend.

Texans general manager Nick Caserio and Culley shouldn’t be at fault. In fact, they still intend on trying to keep their franchise quarterback in the building for the 2021 season. The reality is, if Watson wants out, he’s likely going to be traded.

Now the question is where will Watson land? If the Miami Dolphins are seriously considering upgrading, this trade package should land No.4

Miami’s early selections should net a deal for Deshaun Watson

The Dolphins finished 10-6 but never felt like a legitimate playoff contender. Sure, the team’s defense rapidly improved, but the offense was in limbo under Tua Tagovailoa and Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Tagovailoa came from Alabama and was highly regarded as the next “it” quarterback. Was it because of his skills or the four first-round wide receivers and his disposal?

If the Texans are serious about moving on from Watson, Tagovailoa is the centerpiece of the trade. That would allow them to have up to four years of cheap quarterback play on a rookie deal to restart the franchise. And with Pep Hamilton’s success in Los Angeles with Justin Herbert, maybe Tua is the 2021 breakout star.

That won’t be enough for a top-five talent such as Watson. Miami will need to give Houston back their first-round pick from the Laremy Tunsil trade, which is the third overall pick. They also would have to give up the 18th pick, which is their own pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

That alone likely won’t be enough to trump the myriad other offers the Texans will receive so they’ll have to sweeten the offer.

Should Miami offer their 2022 first-round pick, things should be trending in the right direction to consummate a deal. Two first-round picks in 2021, another first-round pick in 2022 and Tua would make things enticing for the Texans, but the Dolphins may need to throw in some later picks and another player to get Houston to seal the deal.

Houston has to be sold that Tagovailoa can be the future of the franchise. From there, they’ll need to upgrade both the defensive backfield and the offensive line. And with the picks acquired in the Watson trade, they can draft Oregon’s Penei Sewell and South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn.

Houston has some leverage in large part to the no-trade clause. If Watson is 100 percent ready to leave, Tagovailoa and a multitude of early selection might make this somewhat reasonable for the Texans’ future.

But if they’re not sold on Tua, then it’s a non-starter.