Chargers, Panthers loom as biggest threats to Dolphins trade-up bid

If the Miami Dolphins are to successfully trade up for a quarterback, they’ll need to be most careful of the Chargers and Panthers.

Looking at the 2020 NFL Draft order, there’s a few things we know. The Cincinnati Bengals are destined to take Joe Burrow — unless of course Burrow pulls a power play and creates an “Eli Manning” situation. Another thing we know? The Bengals aren’t the only team in the top-10 that’s hungry for a quarterback. Not by a long shot.

But if you’d like a silver lining, the Dolphins are already ahead of their primary competition — and they’ve got negotiating power.

The Dolphins’ two biggest threats to trading up to three appear at this point in time to be the Los Angeles Chargers and the Carolina Panthers. Both teams’ long-time quarterbacks are either confirmed out (Los Angeles with Philip Rivers) or teetering on the brink of divorce (Carolina with Cam Newton).

The Chargers have already bid farewell to Rivers, who is set to hit the open market and free agency this offseason for the first time in his career. With the Chargers’ quarterback spot vacant and the team picking at 6, they’re a team to be leery of, which ESPN’s Jeff Darlington indicated earlier this week on ESPN’s “Get Up!” programming.

The Chargers’ general manager, Tom Telesco, would have you believe otherwise. He recently stated on local sports radio that he liked the team’s “internal options” at quarterback, referring to veteran Tyrod Taylor or 2019 5th-round rookie Easton Stick. You should believe that for about a half a second.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, both Panthers GM Marty Hurney and owner Dave Tepper are playing coy with how long veteran QB Cam Newton will be with the organization. The team has undergone the beginnings of an ambitious rebuild, one that will unlikely see a 31 year old quarterback with two consecutive season ending injuries be a part of. Tepper reiterated that the team is starting from the ground level — and that his prized coaches want to develop talent. That typically indicates hand selecting their own guys.

“With (head coach Matt) Rhule and (offensive coordinator Joe) Brady, we got people who really develop talent, OK? I don’t want to give too much credit to anybody, but you can see what happened with (quarterback Joe) Burrow down there (at LSU),” said Tepper via Panthers.com.

“We have a little bit of a row to hoe. We have to figure out what we’re doing with players and who is healthy or not healthy. We’ll figure all that out. It’s kind of exciting. We have something that makes sense to people. It’s a little different than anybody else has. I think people should be excited about it.”

Does that sound like the messaging of a man who plans to bring Cam Newton back into the fold as the face of the old guard in Carolina? Hardly. Expect the Panthers, who pick 7th, to be active.

But here’s the problem for both teams relative to outbidding the Dolphins. Miami picks 5th, Los Angeles 6th and Carolina 7th. And neither the Chargers or the Panthers own any additional draft selections in any round of the 2020 NFL Draft. The Dolphins? They’re scheduled to own 14 picks. Neither the Chargers or Panthers own extra picks in 2021 yet, either. The Dolphins? The team already possesses two 1st-round picks and two 2nd-round picks.

You can want and need a deal all day long, but until the Chargers or Panthers manufacture some extra draft picks, the ball is in Miami’s court. And they’re running out of time.

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