Are the Miami Dolphins really trading up to No. 1 for Joe Burrow?
The Miami Dolphins have all the ammo to make any move they want in the 2020 NFL Draft but are they actually about to trade up to No. 1 for Joe Burrow?
It’s no secret that the Miami Dolphins hold the keys to the 2020 NFL Draft. After tearing down their roster in order to rebuild, they have five selections in the first 56 picks and three first-round picks among them. They can make any move they need or want to — and apparently that could mean trading up with the Bengals for the No. 1 pick and LSU quarterback Joe Burrow.
Reports began circulating on Wednesday the day before the draft that the Dolphins were looking to trade up to the No. 3 pick with the Lions. As things developed, it seemed they wanted to do so without giving up the No. 5 pick. Many assumed then that was to take a quarterback — namely Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert — and one of the top offensive tackles.
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, though, they could be set to move up to No. 3 and keep No. 5 in order to make a monster offer to the Bengals for the first overall pick and, subsequently, for Burrow.
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The Dolphins’ reported desire to get Burrow isn’t anything new. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Thursday that Miami had been in contact with the Bengals about trying to make a deal but were seemingly unsuccessful. Thus, that could be why they’re trying to get No. 3 and 5 to make Cincy another proposal.
If Miami were to put together a package that included No. 3, No. 5 and a 2021 pick in one of the first two rounds, the Bengals couldn’t refuse that. That’s simply too rich of an offer for any team to refuse, no matter how good Joe Burrow was in his Heisman-winning and title-winning season last year.
However, the simple question that needs to be asked is how likely is this to happen? Is this something with legs or just fodder the day of the draft.
By my estimation, this seems like just one more smokescreen amidst a host of them from general manager Chris Grier and the Dolphins. They’ve protested the notion that they want Tagovailoa in the media, a player who was once their unquestioned guy, to the point that it makes it seems too obvious that they want the 31 other teams to think they no longer want him.
But even if this isn’t another smokescreen, it feels unlikely that the Dolphins could pull off the moves necessary to get a trade up for Burrow done. While the Bengals would accept No. 3, No. 5 and whatever else, getting up to No. 3 might be the issue. Yes, the Lions could do well with the No. 18, 26 and 39 picks — but is that worth the third overall selection? It’s hard to say that would get the deal done.
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On the whole, this just feels like noise on the day of the 2020 NFL Draft. It would be fascinating to see the deal get pulled off and the Miami Dolphins’ perceived tank pay off by landing Burrow. But the chances of it actually happening feel substantially lower than the odds of it transpiring.