Draft drama is starting to heat up in Miami.
A source has told the Miami Herald that “the Dolphins will make an attempt to trade to No. 1 in the draft,” currently owned by the Bengals.
The speculative move is presumably to secure Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow.
After finishing 5-11 in the basement of the AFC East, the Dolphins have the No. 5 overall pick and have been projected to select either Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert. The report suggests that the team may not be sold on either quarterback, especially with increased concerns about Tagovailoa’s health in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak, which will prevent teams from assessing his status before the draft next month.
The Dolphins have a league-high 14 picks this year, including three first-rounders after dealing away Minkah Fitzpatrick (to the Steelers for the 18th pick), Laremy Tunsil and Kenny Stills (to the Texans for the 26th pick), and an additional second-round pick (via a 2019 draft-day trade with New Orleans for the 56th pick), meaning they have more than sufficient draft capital to make an attractive trade pitch.
If the report is true, the Bengals would be wise to at the very least entertain offers from the Dolphins. While both teams finished with abysmal records in 2019, the Dolphins have made a number of offseason moves to improve their roster and seem closer to being “a quarterback away” from being a good team. Even if the Bengals draft Burrow, they have a number of gaping voids to address before becoming contenders.
In his final year at LSU, Burrow led the NCAA with 5,671 yards and a 76.3 completion percentage and set all-time records for passer rating (202.0) and touchdowns (60).