The isn’t an offer the Miami Dolphins can put together that will stop the Cincinnati Bengals from staying at No. 1 and taking Joe Burrow in Thursday’s draft.
And that includes a pair of top-five picks.
A new report from Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk suggests the Dolphins have asked around about Detroit’s No. 3 pick via trade while not offering up No. 5 so that they can turn around and package both Nos. 3 and 5 together in a trade with the Bengals for No. 1.
Not happening.
First of all, the Dolphins sniffing around the top five again was always going to happen. It also seems like an extreme smokescreen. Odds are they’re probably trying to secure their choice of Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert while encouraging others to not make the jump up.
And even if the Dolphins were trying to get a pair of top-five picks to offer to Cincinnati…the front office there would just hit them with the “no thanks” at this point.
As far back as April 9, reports said the Bengals were shutting down trade offers. That got confirmation Wednesday when more reports said the Bengals had already informed Burrow he’s the pick and that trade offers were essentially getting ignored.
All public chatter from Burrow himself hints that he’s the pick too, with him even mentioning Pittsburgh as somewhere hostile he’ll have to enter and play well.
Yet another report has openly said the Bengals won’t confirm the No. 1 pick until they’re on the clock simply so that Burrow can have his special draft moment.
There is no combination of picks that can sway the Bengals off Burrow. This is the organization that once turned down an entire draft class so it could stand still and take Akili Smith.
One could argue things are even more desperate now. Fan engagement is at a low. There’s a lease squabble with the city coming up. A new era just faceplanted at 2-14.
And here’s Burrow, the Ohio kid coming off the best college season by a passer ever, with a chance to play savior. The Dolphins can maneuver however they want — nothing can balance the scales enough to stop this.
