Dolphins willingness to trade pick comes as no surprise
A week prior to the start of the NFL Draft, the Dolphins front office has acknowledged their willingness to trade the 22nd overall pick.
The 2017 NFL Draft is now less than a week away. This past week, the Miami Dolphins acknowledged something that the majority of us already figured to be true: They’re willing to trade out of the 22nd overall pick. With Mike Tannenbaum at the helm, trades in next week’s draft are almost inevitable.
Last year, Tannenbaum made a big splash prior to the NFL Draft when he agreed to trade the 8th overall pick to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for Byron Maxwell, Kiko Alonso, and the 13th overall pick. Even Tannenbaum’s harshest critics would have to admit it turned into a solid move for the Dolphins. Miami would go on to select Laremy Tunsil with the 13th pick, someone they would have gladly selected at number 8 after his draft day slide. In addition, they picked up two veterans in the deal looking to rebound their careers at crucial positions of need for Miami. There’s no doubt that all three players had major impacts in the Dolphins first playoff berth in eight seasons.
The move was a solid one done by Tannenbaum, but he has history of making unfavorable ones as well. The most recent also coming last year when the Dolphins agreed to trade three draft picks to Minnesota in order to move up and select Leonte Carroo in the third round. The trade included giving up this year’s third and fourth round picks. Carroo was nearly nonexistent in his rookie year, finishing with three catches for 29 yards and a touchdown. He will need to make a major turnaround in 2017 to avoid being labeled a bust, but it will be tough to do near the bottom of the depth chart.
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Tannenbaum’s track record with trades makes this week’s news unsurprising. Most Dolphins fans would agree that if the team is going to trade out of the 22nd pick, hopefully, they do so by trading down. The Dolphins have seven picks this year, and could benefit from picking up some additional spots. They still do not have a fourth round pick because of the trade with Minnesota, but do possess three 5th rounders.
Miami needs to add help on the defensive side of the ball more than anything. Thankfully, this is a deep defensive draft that can help them do just that. The Dolphins could trade down and still pick up a solid player at a position of need. The bad news is that most teams will be looking to trade down this year, with possibly only the Patriots looking to move up into the first round at the moment. That could change, however, come draft day.
If quarterbacks start coming off the board before Miami’s selection it could help lead to a trade down with a team eager to move up and snag one such as Deshaun Watson or Patrick Mahomes. Even if a trade does not occur at this point, a run on quarterbacks could lead to an elite defender sliding to the Dolphins at 22. Our own Ryan Davis points out in his latest that although the rest of the world may believe that the Cleveland Browns should undoubtedly select Myles Garrett with the number one overall selection, they’re still debating between him and Mitch Trubisky. The Dolphins would love nothing more than the Browns to select Trubisky number one overall as it’s likely to lead to a run on quarterbacks sooner than expected.
There is also the possibility that Miami tries to move up in this year’s draft. This move would be more criticized by the Dolphins faithful since Miami doesn’t have a ton of picks to barter with to begin with. They could consider it, however, if a prospect like Reuben Foster or Haason Reddick starts to slide. The Dolphins will look to add help at inside linebacker and both players are viewed as the top two at the position in this year’s draft.
Foster has not had a great offseason to say the least, and could start falling as a result of it. First, Foster was sent home early from the NFL Combine after an argument with a hospital worker. This week we learned that Foster also tested positive for a diluted urine sample at the Combine. On top of that, Foster could slide due to injury. None of this is sure to help Foster’s draft stock. Dolphins fans may want the team to steer clear of the linebacker altogether with the thought of Dion Jordan in the back of their minds.
Related Story: Laremy Tunsil vs. Myles Garrett
Still, the Dolphins may view Foster’s potential and athleticism too good to pass up. Personally, if that’s the case, Miami should stand pat at 22, in hopes that he falls to them similar to how Tunsil fell into their laps last season. He’s done nothing to warrant a move up and losing additional picks and/or current players.
Ideally, I’d prefer to see the Dolphins find a way to move down, even if it means out of the first round. In such a deep draft, chances are they could still select a player or two that they have been linked to early. We’ll just have to wait and see how it all pans out later in the week.