Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
No. 3 pick could be big-time bargaining chip
Dolphins have plenty of offseason options
The Miami Dolphins have made more trades than any other team during Chris Grier’s five-year run as General Manager, and a hint coach Brian Flores dropped Thursday indicates the franchise is open for business with its No. 3 pick.
When addressing the team’s numerous assets in the draft and the Dolphins’ ability to land one of the premiere players of the 2021 class, Flores didn’t say that Miami would land one of the draft’s top three talents.
Or even a top-five talent. “Anytime you pick third overall there’s a number of players and a number of ways we can go,” Flores said. “We have a pretty good idea of who [the top] players are .... I know who those players are. We’ll have an opportunity to grab one of them at least, let’s say in the top 10.”
Considering teams monitor each other’s pre-free agency and draft news conferences, Flores is seemingly sending word out that the Dolphins are willing — and possibly taking bids — for the No. 3 selection. Miami acquired the pick from the Houston Texans in the trade that sent offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and receiver Kenny Stills to Houston for a plethora of picks and players.
Because five quarterbacks — Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, BYU’s Zach Wilson, Ohio State’s Justin Fields, North Dakota State’s Trey Lance and Alabama’s Mac Jones — are viewed as possible first-round picks the Dolphins are likely to field bids from the quarterback-starved teams looking to move up in the draft to get their preferred passer.
It is also possible that a team might be interested in trading up to select Oregon offensive lineman Penei Sewell, who is viewed as an elite offensive lineman and universally considered a top-five talent in the draft, or LSU receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who is viewed as this draft’s top receiver.
“We have a lot of avenues we could go,” Flores continued. “We’ll explore those, and hopefully we can take advantage.”
The Jacksonville Jaguars will likely select Lawrence with their No. 1 pick, leaving the New York Jets, who are having trade discussions about Sam Darnold, in position to take Wilson or Fields.
The Dolphins, who recommitted to Tua Tagovailoa (the No. 5 pick last year), could give teams like Philadelphia (which owns pick No. 6), Detroit (No. 7), Carolina (No. 8), and Denver (No. 9) an opportunity to get ahead of the Atlanta Falcons (No. 4), who could be looking to find a successor to the 35-year-old Matt Ryan.
Because the No. 3 pick is worth 2,200 trade value points, a team selecting in the top 10 would need to send Miami a package of picks that feature their top 10 selection plus a combination of second- and third-round selections to have a trade even out.
And a bidding war might escalate the price even further, especially if multiple teams have their sights set on the same quarterback.
It is likely that Miami will wait until free agency has slowed down before making any trades, and Miami could hold onto the No. 3 pick until draft day for leverage.
Trading down, but staying in the top 10— and picking up more seconddays elections—would follow the blueprint Flores came to the Dolphins with from New England, which is to use today’s resources to gain resources for the future.
That is how the Dolphins gained four of this draft’s top 50 selections: No. 3, No. 18, No. 36 and No. 50.
By remaining in the top 10, the Dolphins would still be in position to selection a premiere player at a position of need — which will be dictated by Miami’s moves during free agency, which begon on Monday — especially if a couple of quarterbacks are among the first 10 selections.
Last year, the Dolphins made four trades before and during the season, and this week the Dolphins acquired former Georgia offensive tackle Isaiah Wilson, a 2020 first-round pick, who has had a series of off-field incidents, from the Tennessee Titans for a swap of seventh-round picks.
The Wilson trade won’t become official until March 17, when the league’s new year begins.