The Miami Dolphins and their fans have been sniffing all around the NFL Draft order on a weekly basis ever since the team collected their third 1st-round pick of the 2020 Draft courtesy of the trade of DB Minkah Fitzpatrick to Pittsburgh. And for the past several weeks, it has been looking increasingly less promising that the Dolphins would land two high draft selections. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans have generally failed to cooperate with the Dolphins, sending the Dolphins secondary draft picks soaring into the ranks of playoff teams.
As things currently stand right now, Miami would own the 4th selection and then own consecutive picks at 22 and 23 overall. But there’s hope on the horizon in the form of a familiar face — former Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill has the 8-5 Tennessee Titans poised to play spoiler in the AFC.
If Tannehill’s Titans are able to steal two games away from the Houston Texans over the next three weeks, Tennessee will win the division. And from there, Houston faces a difficult pathway to advancing deep into the playoffs. But more importantly, just one win from the Titans against Houston will put the Pittsburgh Steelers in grave danger of missing the playoffs all together.
Tennessee’s final three games include Houston twice and the New Orleans Saints. Even with one win against the Texans, Tennessee could feasibly knock Pittsburgh out of the playoffs.
Why?
Because Pittsburgh’s final three games include Buffalo, the Jets and Baltimore. If Pittsburgh would to lose two of three, the Steelers would lose their current tiebreaker over Tennessee — record in the AFC. And the deciding tiebreaker would fall to “Strength of Victory”, which the Titans currently own a significant advantage in.
Miami’s pathway to a second top-20 draft pick is clear. Tennessee must beat Houston once over the final three games and Pittsburgh must finish the season 1-2 in three games against 9-4 Buffalo, 4-9 New York and 11-2 Baltimore.
If that happens, Miami will see that Steelers pick inside the top-20.
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