Miami Dolphins draft: Waddle and Smith are not consolation prizes
By Brian Miller
There is a natural ebb and flow to the Miami Dolphins draft lead-up. It starts when the season is over and doesn’t end until after the draft is over. As pro days come and go draft stock rises and falls for players and fans and media make it worse.
If we drop back to February there was no hotter name than DeVonta Smith. The Dolphins owned the third overall pick and the debate was simply how quick Miami would get to the podium to turn in the card. That thought began to slowly shift to Penei Sewell as the can’t miss must take prospect at three.
Like everything, it changed, again. Suddenly, Ja’Marr Chase was the prize and then Miami turned the tables and traded to 12 and then back to six and suddenly, Miami had lost out on their chance for Kyle Pitts, likely killed any hope of Chase, and now, it will be a reach for the Dolphins to take Jaylen Waddle or DeVonta Smith. They have suddenly become consolation prizes in this pre-draft madness.
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Waddle was never really mentioned as a prospect at three overall but many felt Miami would have to trade back into the top 10 from 18 if they were going to draft Sewell at three and a top receiver in round one. Top 10. So when talk begins to surface that Grier may trade back to nine with Denver and take Waddle, suddenly they are making a big mistake.
Chris Grier, in the eyes of many media personalities, has already failed in this draft. Grier had his shot at any non-quarterback player in this draft and he blew it. He could have had the can’t miss Pitts or the top receiver in Chase. Instead, now, he and the Dolphins have to wait and hope that the same player that Miami was likely to draft at three, will be there at six.
What is funny, or sad, or typical, is that Miami very well may walk out of this draft with Chase, Pitts, Sewell, Smith, or Waddle at six and the media will say Grier got lucky and it wasn’t a savvy move to drop down to six. Pure luck that Pitts or Chase make it to six. And if it is not one of the two and Smith is a Dolphins receiver at six, Miami overreached for him and made a mistake because they could have had Pitts or Chase.
Somewhere between January and April, Smith, the Heisman Trophy winner, the can’t miss prospect, has become a consolation prize. A guy that should have been someone else. What can you do?