The 2019 NFL Draft is just days away, and Miami currently holds the 13th overall pick. However, the Dolphins could be better off trading that pick away to accumulate more draft capital. The Dolphins aren’t ready to compete in 2019, and they’ll need as many picks as possible to build for the future. Of course, it takes two to tango, and several teams could be interested in giving up picks for Miami’s first-round selection.
In order to keep this exercise somewhat realistic, it’s important that both sides receive a fair deal. The NFL draft trade value chart assigns an arbitrary point value to every pick in the draft. According to this metric, the Dolphins draft is currently worth a collective 1,864.6 points, with their top pick worth 1,150. Any trade scenario proposed would involve both teams receiving essentially the same point totals.
Possible Miami Dolphins Trade Down Scenarios
Trade With New York Giants
Dolphins Receive: Pick 17, Pick 37 [Draft Value: 1,480 points]
Giants Receive: Pick 13, Pick 78 [Draft Value: 1,350 points]
If offered, this is a trade the Miami Dolphins should do in a heartbeat. The New York Giants need a quarterback, as the clock is dangerously close to striking midnight on Eli Manning’s career. The Giants aren’t expected to select a passer with their sixth-overall pick, which means they’ll have to use their other first-round pick in some capacity to grab their signal caller of the future.
Yahoo’s Charles Robinson has implied that the Giants consider Duke’s Daniel Jones to be the best quarterback in the draft class. This makes sense to an extent, as Jones trained under the same coach who taught Eli Manning. The Giants could be desperate enough to leapfrog a quarterback-needy team like the Washington Redskins and give up a little more to secure the game’s most important position.
Of course, one could easily argue that the Dolphins should stay put and grab Jones. Miami desperately needs a quarterback, as Ryan Fitzpatrick is nothing more than a short-term solution. However, by this writer’s eye, Jones does not have the making of a franchise quarterback. He looks the part at 6’5”, 221 pounds, but that’s where the positives end. He can develop into a Ryan Tannehill-level bridge quarterback, but he’ll never be a top-10 passer. Miami should let New York overdraft Jones while adding a good amount of draft capital in the process.
Trade With Washington Redskins
Dolphins Receive: Pick 15, Pick 96 [Draft Value: 1,230 points]
Redskins Receive: Pick 13 [Draft Value: 1,150 points]
Similarly, the Redskins could also trade up with Miami to prevent the Giants from grabbing Daniel Jones. It’s hard to imagine Drew Lock making it past Denver or Dwayne Haskins making it past Cincinnati, so let’s assume Jones is the only quarterback left on the board once Miami is on the clock. The Dolphins would have every reason to sell in this scenario, and the Redskins should be buying high.
Nobody in Washington wants to see Colt McCoy or Case Keenum start a full 16-game season. Head coach Jay Gruden and President of Operations Bruce Allen are both on the hot seat and need to send out a winning team if they’re to keep their jobs. Because of this, the Redskins probably won’t worry too much about the long-term future of the club – if they can’t turn this ship around, they won’t be a part of the future anyway.
Just like with the Giants trade, this move would be perfect for the Dolphins. In this scenario, Miami moves back just two spots in the draft and earns an additional top-100 selection for their trouble. The Dolphins should still get the player they want at 15 and could get a solid role player with starting upside late in the third.
Trade With Oakland Raiders
Dolphins Receive: Pick 27, Pick 35 [Pick Value: 1,230 points]
Raiders Receive: Pick 13 [Pick Value: 1,150 points]
It will be hard to sell Dolphins fans on trading this far back, but this would actually be a good value for Miami. The Raiders currently own four of the top 35 picks in the draft and can easily move up while still having the necessary draft capital to bring home a complete class. It would take a lot for Miami to drop 14 spots in the draft, so Oakland hands over their second-round pick in this exchange.
With this pick, the Oakland Raiders can select someone like Florida State’s Brian Burns to bolster their pass rush. The Dolphins, meanwhile, will be able to hand-select two instant-impact starters with their two new picks. With Miami having so many needs, it makes sense to fill as many roster holes as possible. Somebody like Cody Ford at 27 could help protect the franchise quarterback of the future while a guy like Deebo Samuel or Marquise Brown could inject some much-needed life into the passing game.
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