Kiper: Trading down could keep Dolphins from getting a top receiver; Phillips at 18?
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. can cram a thousand words in a minute, and he answered reporters’ questions for 80 of them Monday regarding next month’s NFL Draft.
Sprinkled throughout an avalanche of content were some interesting points for Dolphins fans.
The most significant? While the draft is loaded with wide receivers — 30 or more could go — Miami would risk landing one of the best by getting too cute.
Many believe GM Chris Grier will entertain trade offers for the No. 3 pick, and could either include it in a package for Deshaun Watson or trade down with a quarterback-needy team.
But there is a pretty hard cutoff point in the first round if the Dolphins are determined to land one of the three best wide receivers: LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase, and DeVonta
Smith and Jaylen Waddle of Alabama.
“That’s one of the teams that could obviously go from 3 down to 8 or 3 down to that 12 spot, so it depends how far you drop really,” Kiper said. “If you drop down to 12, you lose probably Waddle, Smith and Chase, the three wide receivers. If you drop down to that 7, 8 spot you could probably still get Jaylen Waddle but probably lose DeVonta Smith, although some people think Smith could be there.
“I think the DeShaun Watson trade could factor in here at some point in time for somebody,” Kiper added. “But if they do stay at 3, DeVonta Smith, to me [is the pick] because of the Tua [Tagovailoa] connection with Smith, maybe a little bit over Chase, with Chase opting out. So there’s a lot of factors involved in this, but a move down is certainly within the realm of possibility.”
Let’s unpack this a little. Trading down to 8 would mean the Carolina Panthers, who own that pick, are sold on whichever quarterback is left of Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson and Justin Fields. A move down to 12 would be with the San Francisco 49ers, and would assuredly include at least another first-round pick, and perhaps additional compensation.
Kiper seemed to doubt that all three receivers will make it past the Philadelphia Eagles at 6, and if the Dolphins trade back, the Eagles could have their choice of all three.
When asked to compare Smith and Chase, Kiper called it “splitting hairs.”
PHILLIPS TO FINS?
As for the Dolphins’ second first-round pick, Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah leads the pack of players who make sense. Kiper has the Dolphins taking him at 18th in his most recent mock draft. But another name that should be on their radar: the University of Miami’s Jaelan Phillips, who had eight sacks and 15 tackles for loss in his lone season in Coral Gables.
“We’ll have to see,” Kiper added. “if you like another you know there’s so many guys that are in that second-round mix it depends the difference. If they feel it’s close enough between say Phillips and [Joseph] Ossai to wait until the second round, or close enough between Phillips and [Chris] Rumph, to wait until the second round or [Joe] Tryon and hope that he slides down, or an [Azeez] Ojulari from Georgia slides down to you, do you roll the dice there and hope that can happen? I just think a Owusu-Koramoah is one of the best 10 to 12 players in this draft. And if you get him at 18 or the Raiders get him at 17, that’s a great pick at that point. So, just depends how their board sets up but I’m with you on the defense.
“I think you can’t forget about that offensive line, wide receiver and running backs, certainly they need help there but pass rusher and a linebacker are two areas you would want to upgrade a little bit and get some help, and it could come through any one of those players I just mentioned. And I’m not saying it has to be in the first round.”
RUNNING BACK TALK
The Dolphins will almost certainly draft a running back, and Clemson’s Travis Etienne and Alabama’s Najee Harris are pretty clearly the two best in the draft. But after that, there’s some debate.
“I think Javonte Williams of North Carolina has been my third back all along. He’s an outstanding tackle-breaker, a tremendous pure runner. Trey Sermon did a great job at Ohio State after coming over from Oklahoma. I think those two would be next in line and then you have your change of pace guys like Michael Carter, North Carolina; Demetric Felton UCLA, another guy could be a 20-25 carry a game guy. Jermar Jefferson from Oregon State.
“A good home run hitting, change of pace guy would be Kenneth Gainwell from Memphis, and you have Chuba Hubbard from Oklahoma State about a higher grade when the season began and he does right now but he could be an every down back.”
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