Joe Flacco trade could have draft implications for Miami

The Joe Flacco to Denver trade that was set in place on Wednesday surprised many. The trade could have an effect for a number of teams, including Miami, as far as the NFL Draft is concerned.

The first major announcement upon the 2019 season was made on Wednesday when Baltimore agreed in principle to trade QB Joe Flacco to Denver for what is expected to be a mid-round pick. The trade, of course, cannot be made official until March 13th when the new season officially begins.

Trading Flacco did not come as a surprise from the Ravens standpoint since Lamar Jackson has clearly become the starter since the second half of last season. It did come as a bit of a surprise, however, to see that the Broncos were the team to acquire him. John Elway has made a number of moves at the quarterback position since becoming general manager, and has gone in various routes to get his franchise quarterback since Peyton Manning retired following the 2015 season.

After a lackluster season with Case Keenum, everyone knew that Elway would continue his quest this off-season in finding a franchise quarterback. Trading for a 34-year-old veteran in Flacco, however, was not to be expected. With his age, there’s no way that Elway looks at Flacco as his franchise guy for years to come, but rather a stop-gap player that could be the Broncos’ starter for a year or two.

Denver does not plan to restructure Flacco’s contract, and he will be due $18.5 million in 2019. It’s a bit puzzling in that sense why the Broncos would make this deal. They were initially viewed as heavy hitters in the Nick Foles sweepstakes, and very much likely to take a quarterback in the first round of the NFL Draft with the 10th overall selection.

Foles is out of the picture now, but what the Broncos do in the draft remains a question. The majority believe that they will still try and take a quarterback with their first selection, with Missouri QB Drew Lock heavily mocked to them. Elway has reportedly been infatuated with Lock, but one has to wonder if that is a smokescreen.

Prior to the trade, I was thoroughly convinced that the Broncos would draft a quarterback, even if it meant moving up to do so. With the trade for Flacco, however, I’m not as convinced, and I now wonder if the Broncos would rather wait until 2020 to take a quarterback early, similar to how the Dolphins have been rumored to do.

Should Denver bypass on a quarterback with their first selection it would create a domino effect in the draft, and would have a huge impact on Miami, who selects just three spots below them. Quarterback has been the main topic of discussion for the Dolphins this off-season, with the team ready to move on from Ryan Tannehill. Whether Miami elects to release Tannehill or trade him, it’s clear that he won’t be suiting up in aqua and orange in 2019.

With a number of quality quarterbacks expected to declare in 2020, Miami has already been reported to have heavy interest in that draft class. How true that is remains to be seen, but it begs the question to what they should do regarding 2019. There’s the argument that the Dolphins should sign their stop-gap quarterback or put their trust in a guy like Nick Foles. The Dolphins are already heavily linked to Case Keenum as one of the teams to sign or trade for him, although Miami should not be offering any kind of capital for Keenum.

Then there is the argument that the Dolphins should go ahead, and try to get their franchise quarterback in this year’s draft. While it’s not as strong as next year’s class, there is belief that Miami can find their guy now. The news that Kyler Murray plans to play football certainly made things more interesting in this class. His size is a huge concern for most critics, but the Dolphins have been the team that most are looking at since he declared. Some think that he will fall, but there’s also speculation that he could go number one to Arizona so who knows, but he’ll go in the first round for sure.

Dwayne Haskins is almost certainly going to go within the top 10, and it would take the Dolphins trading up in order to get him. Miami needs to maintain their draft capital, and should not be trading up for anyone in this class. The possibility of Drew Lock, however, becomes more interesting for Miami with the Flacco trade, and whether or not he could slide to them.

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A lot of people believe that Lock has more of an “it” factor than Murray at the professional level. Unlike Murray, Lock has the size, as well as the tools to become a complete passer in the NFL. Lock also played in the SEC against better defenses than Murray did in the Big 12, with less talent around him, and still managed to put up impressive numbers.

I don’t pretend to know which quarterback will be better at this level so I leave my opinion out on the matter. I’m old enough to remember when JaMarcus Russell was selected with the number one overall pick, and expected to be the next franchise quarterback for the Oakland Raiders so even the experts get it wrong on a number of occasions. What I do know is that the Dolphins could find themselves in an interesting scenario if one or two quarterbacks are available for them at 13.

If you’re Miami, do you press the red button, and take one of the coveted quarterbacks, knowing that nothing is guaranteed when it comes to 2020? Or do you go in a different direction at another position or look for a trade partner to move down and acquire some additional picks? I see this Flacco trade having an impact in some form, and it will be interesting come April how things shake out, and whether or not it can benefit Miami.