Everyone wants the Dolphins to acquire a new franchise quarterback. And there’s no shortage of options at the Dolphins’ disposal to do it — which can be a problem in its own right. There’s a lot of options and a lot of opinions. But pretend for a moment that the Dolphins decide that they feel uncomfortable with Tua Tagovailoa’s hip prognosis and that the team likes (but doesn’t love) Oregon QB Justin Herbert.
What should this team do? In an absolutely loaded 2020 NFL Draft class, there’s only one sensible decision for the Dolphins to aspire for.
Trade down from 5.
Because the Dolphins, who are currently on the “buyer” end of the 2020 quarterback market, can suddenly become the next hot ticket for teams that might want to trade up if the Dolphins flip the switch and become sellers. If Miami wants to open their pick for negotiations for whatever motivations, they’re suddenly in the seat the Detroit Lions are currently in — they’re in the driver’s seat of negotiations.
Say a team like the Las Vegas Raiders ultimately does decide to sign Tom Brady, which has been a hot rumor this offseason. Would they probably like to push their chips in and attack a “win now” window? Most likely, yes. The Raiders would greatly benefit from a talent like Derrick Brown of Auburn, Isaiah Simmons of Clemson or Jeff Okudah of Ohio State. And two of the three are likely to be on the board at 5.
The fun thought about the Raiders? They own picks 12 and 19 in this year’s Draft at this point in time. If the Dolphins could coax both out of the Raiders in a trade down, Miami’s pick count would be through the roof. And if Miami executed this deal to move away from Tagovailoa, there’s an outside chance Justin Herbert might still be on the board at 12 with the Dolphins sitting in front of the next slew of quarterback hungry teams in Indianapolis and Tampa Bay — who pick 13th and 14th respectively.
It’s not that crazy. If Detroit keeps Matt Stafford, the Dolphins execute a trade back from 5, the Chargers draft Tagovailoa and the Panthers keep Cam Newton, where is Herbert going to go? Arizona, Cleveland and New York (Jets) don’t need quarterbacks — leaving Jacksonville as the only possible threat barring a trade.
From there, Miami could feasibly draft Herbert or even try to coax up another frenzy of trade negotiations for anyone aspiring to land the Oregon passer for themselves.
This, of course, only comes to reality if the Dolphins are put off by the prognosis of Tua Tagovailoa’s hip and don’t love Justin Herbert. It’s too soon to say whether or not either of those things are factual — but it is a scenario the Dolphins should prep for in the event that they find themselves put off by this group of quarterbacks and looking to defer their investment for another season.
