Should the Miami Dolphins go all defense with their 3 first round picks?
By Nick Belotto
With the 2020 draft on the horizon, the Miami Dolphins might want to consider tripling down on defense in the first round.
The Miami Dolphins are in a prime position to begin building a quality team with the draft capital that they have in the first three rounds of the 2020 NFL Draft. With 3 first rounders, 5 picks in the top 56 and 14 overall, Miami has a lot of opportunities to fill the many needs that this team has as it is presently constructed. Miami will hopefully make smart, conscientious moves in free agency to fix a few holes on this unit, but the draft, as many have already written, provides the best opportunity to build a sustainable future for the team.
Both sides of the ball need a solid influx of talent at just about every position. That being said, what if Miami decided to pass on a franchise quarterback like Tua Tagovailoa, and completely bypass their offense entirely in the first round.
Miami struggled to do just about anything on defense, ranking in the bottom third of jus about every statistical category. They struggled to stop opposing quarterbacks through the air, did little to stop anyone’s running game and didn’t have any type of pass rush throughout the course of the season. Miami’s offense wasn’t much better, but their defense was particularly bad.
With that being said, it might be in Miami’s best interest to build a killer defense with their first-round picks in the 2020 NFL draft. That would mean bypassing on fixing the offensive line, with players like Andrew Thomas or helping to rebuild the putrid rushing game with guys like De’ Andre Swift towards the end of round 1. It also means waiting until, potentially, the 2021 draft to find the answer at quarterback (looking at you Trevor Lawrence).
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By all accounts, that is a heavy risk to take. Miami desperately needs help on offense to help build on the success we saw in the second half of the 2019 season. But keeping the team in the game might be one of the best ways to help a weak offense. Honestly, I may be a little biased. I have always believed that defenses win championships and can help overcome some struggles on offense.
Let’s say Miami does decide to build a defense in round 1. The question then becomes who they would choose to target. There are quality players that could be available at every pick the Dolphins have in the first round. Whether it be Jeffrey Okudah, Isaiah Simmons, Yetur Gross-Matos, A.J. Epenesa, Grant Delpit, K’Lavon Chaisson, Xavier McKinney or some other player that may rise up draft boards in the coming months, there is a considerable amount of first-round defensive talent in the draft. All of these players would be filling a need on this team and could help build a defense that could strike fear into the AFC for years to come.
This is not to discredit the importance of the offense (specifically the offensive line). But a scary defense can sometimes help ignite an offense and can carry a team. I, for one, would love to see a defense like this in Miami. If you couple that with a solid running game and a competent offensive line that can be helped in free agency, we may be looking at the playoffs sooner than expected.