The Miami Dolphins selecting Noah Igbinoghene in the first-round.
In 2019, the Dolphins signed cornerback Xavien Howard to a record-setting 5-year/$75M contract extension. In March they eclipsed Howard’s contract by signing Byron Jones to a 5-year/$82.5M free-agent contract. That is why it took many by surprise when the Dolphins traded back with the Green Bay Packers and used their third first-round pick in the 2020 draft (30th overall) on Auburn cornerback Noah Igbinoghene.
Why was this a bad move?
Considering the kind of defense that head coach Brian Flores wants to employ, the pick made sense. Also, this isn’t an indictment on Igbinoghene as a player. He could turn out to be a Pro Bowl cornerback 2-3 years from now. Then why did this move end up number two on this list? It’s because of the players/positions the Dolphins passed up to select him.
Players that the Dolphins passed on include:
- LB Patrick Queen (selected 28th overall)
- WR Tee Higgins (33rd overall)
- RB DeAndre Swift (35th overall)
All those players would have filled bigger needs for this Dolphins team and have ‘balled out’ already for the teams that drafted them.