The Miami Dolphins drafting a top wide-receiver is not out of the question
The Miami Dolphins have a lot of options heading into the 2020 NFL Draft. Could the Dolphins surprise people and draft a wide receiver in the first round of the draft?
The Miami Dolphins have a lot of options in round one of the NFL Draft. Trade up, trade back, select a QB at 5 or wait? When to select a tackle? What about Derrick Brown or Isaiah Simmons?
The Dolphins have a lot of questions swirling around the team heading into Thursday’s NFL Draft. One position that gets very little attention from a Dolphins perspective is wide receiver. There is no question that the Dolphins need more help at wide receiver but is it a position that should/could be addressed with one of Miami’s three first-round selections.
Let’s take a look at what the Dolphins currently have at the position stats courtesy of ProFootballReference.com.
Devante Parker: 72 receptions, 1202 yards and 9 TDs.
Preston Williams: 32 receptions, 428 yards and 3 TDs.
Allen Hurns: 32 receptions, 416 yards and 2 TDs.
Albert Wilson: 43 receptions, 351 yards and 1 TD.
Isaiah Ford: 23 receptions, 244 yards and no touchdowns
Jakeem Grant: 19 receptions, 164 yards and no touchdowns.
That’s it! Six wide receivers caught passes for Miami in 2019. Besides Parker, no other wide receiver started more than 7 games. (And should Miami count on Parker staying healthy for two years in a row?)
Williams is coming off a torn ACL which usually takes at least a year to recover from. Neither Grant (foot injury in ’18, ankle in ’19) nor Wilson (hip surgery in 2018) seemed to regain their explosiveness last year. Hurns and Ford can be ‘serviceable’ 3rd/4th wide receivers on a team but not much more.
Now that I’ve painted such a bleak picture of the Dolphins receiving corp, are you ready to hear some good news? This draft has about a dozen potential #1 WRs and a ton that are capable of being the #2 on this team. The question is what position do the Dolphins want to fill? College stats courtesy of Sportsreference.com
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#1 WRs
Jerry Jeudy-While he doesn’t possess the blazing speed that his teammate Henry Ruggs III does, Jeudy is widely considered the best route-runner in the class. Jeudy topped 1000 yards, averaged 17 yards-per-catch (YPC), and double-digit touchdowns his final two seasons at Alabama. He would instantly elevate the entire WR corps and be the 1A option to Parker’s 1B.
CeeDee Lamb-Nobody benefited more from Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley’s ‘high-powered’ offense more than Lamb; who averaged 19 YPC and 10 TDs in 3 years with three different quarterbacks. While he doesn’t possess the route savvy of Jeudy, Lamb would provide two large, big-play wide receivers for whoever is the ‘QB of the future’ in Miami.
Justin Jefferson-Who helped make Joe Burrow the presumptive top pick in this year’s draft? Jefferson did. His 111 catches and 18 TDs show he can be a dependable #1 WR who can be a primary target in the red zone.
Must Read. PhinPhanatic writer's first-round predictions. light
Potential #1 or super #2 WRs
Henry Ruggs III-His numbers don’t scream # WR but his 4.27 40-yard dash (time courtesy of NFL.com) and game tape draw comparisons to Kansas City WR Tyreek Hill. Ruggs’ speed could instantly stop opponents from putting eight-men-in-the-box; thus making the Dolphins run game better. OC Chan Gailey could have a lot of fun scheming ways to get Ruggs open for explosive plays.
While the Dolphins would benefit from drafting at least two wide receivers in this year’s draft, in my opinion, these are the only five that would provide the Dolphins good enough value to justify drafting them in the first round of the draft.
Personally, I expect Jeudy and Lamb will go too high for the Dolphins to trade up. However, I would consider trading up for Ruggs (around pick 12) or taking Jefferson if he’s there at 18.
If you were Dolphins GM Chris Grier would you consider drafting any of these players in the top 18 of the NFL Draft? (Either with the team’s second pick of the first round or in a trade-up/back scenario.)