2. Both top running backs will go in the first round
In last year’s version of this, there was a whiff on the idea that no running back would go in the first round.
And then the Raiders took Josh Jacobs at the 24.
However, it wasn’t crazy. The second running back off the board was Miles Sanders to the Eagles at the 53, and the next one didn’t come until the 70th pick when the Rams grabbed Darrell Henderson.
It was the first time since 2016 that at least two running backs weren’t taken in the first round, and even then, Zeke Elliott went fourth overall to Dallas, and the second running back selected was Derrick Henry by the Titans midway through the second.
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It’s not that the running backs aren’t talented, but the position has been devalued.
This year, Georgia’s D’Andre Swift and Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor are the stars of the running back show, with Ohio State’s JK Dobbins and LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire followed closely behind. Meanwhile, guys like AJ Dillon of Boston College are going to be fantastic value picks after the top 50.
Enough hemming and hawing … here’s the nutty call.
Miami will do some maneuvering with all of its draft capital over the next two years, but it’ll still have three first rounders on Thursday night – they just might be shifted around a bit. One of those picks will be Taylor.
And if the Dolphins take Swift, someone – like Houston, who doesn’t have a first rounder – will trade up with Kansas City to take Taylor at the 32. Or, the Texans will take Swift if Miami grabs JT23.