If you haven’t been paying attention to the rumor mill ahead of tomorrow’s 1st-round of the 2020 NFL Draft, odds are your blood pressure is notably lower than those Dolphins fans who have been plugged in throughout the day. The whirlwind of rumors regarding the Dolphins’ desired target as their quarterback of the future has been exhausting and has included all three potential candidates in Oregon’s Justin Herbert, Utah State’s Jordan Love and Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa.
But, believe it or not, that isn’t the day’s big headline. That distinction belongs to the latest rumor this afternoon — one that indicates that the Miami Dolphins are investigating a trade up to the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft.
But there’s a catch.
Miami’s hypothetical trade would not include the No. 5 overall selection. That is, at least, according to the latest report from Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The news first came courtesy of NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Sources: The #Dolphins have called the teams in front of them for a possible trade up from No. 5 and are gauging the price to come up to No. 3 to potentially take an offensive tackle. We could see a run on tackles in the Top 10 like never before.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 22, 2020
Rapoport’s initial report indicated Miami was inquiring about a move up from the 5th overall pick, but that report was quickly followed by an avalanche of supplemental reports, culminating with the Herald’s conformation that the Dolphins are probing Detroit but wouldn’t necessarily be offloading the 5th overall pick in a potential deal.
“A source who has been in touch with the Dolphins confirmed to me that Miami is trying to trade for No. 3, but without necessarily giving up No. 5,” wrote Jackson.
“In that scenario, Miami could move ahead of the Giants at No. 4 to take their No. 1 rated offensive tackle among Thomas, Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs, Alabama’s Jedrick Wills Jr. and Louisville’s Mekhi Becton. Besides their admiration for Thomas, Miami also likes Wirfs and he would be very much in play in such a trade; the Dolphins had invited him to team headquarters before the coronavirus pandemic canceled that visit. And Wills and Becton can’t be discounted, obviously, either.”
Should the Dolphins execute this deal, they’d be able to do so while still retaining their top-5 selection that has long been presumed to be a quarterback piece.
Buckle in, Dolphins fans. It’s going to be a bumpy ride and we still have a long way to go.