The Miami Dolphins have a boatload of NFL Draft picks at their disposal in this month’s NFL Draft. How will they choose to use them? Will they stand firm across the board and make a total of 14 selections? Or will this team bundle some of these picks together to jump up the board. The closer we get to the open of this year’s draft, the more it appears as though the Dolphins may be wise to stack a few picks together and move out of the 18th spot.
Why?
Because the Dolphins are facing something of a value dilemma in the middle of the 1st-round. Miami is currently slated to pick 5th and 18th — but by the time that second 1st-round pick rolls around at 18, many of the Dolphins’ preferred targets appear likely to be off the board. That’s a tough position to be in, especially if the Dolphins are hoping to secure a top offensive tackle prospect to come into the starting lineup and boost Miami’s play in the trenches.
There’s a realistic chance that each of the top four offensive tackles in this year’s draft will be off the board by 18 — a brutal run that may see Miami targeting a high upside but raw player in Josh Jones (Houston) at that spot if they choose to stay put and pick at 18. And the value of other positions isn’t likely to jump off the screen at Miami either — not unless there’s a slide of a player widely expected to be drafted inside the first 12 picks.
Ultimately, this is no time to be feeble. If Miami has convictions on players, they have the ammunition to go up and get them. That includes quarterback, too — but the only quarterback the Dolphins should have trouble sniffing around in this class is Joe Burrow; the rest appear poised to be available come the 5th overall pick. So if the Dolphins are in love with an offensive tackle, they ought to go get him and avoid the current dilemma that draft forecasts are calling for at 18 — where ideal value isn’t there.