The Miami Dolphins’ Week 11 didn’t exactly go to plan. Miami entered the weekend as heavy betting favorites over the Denver Broncos, but succumbed to a road trip out west and fell short of expectations, losing to Denver to fall to 6-4 on the season and leaving their 2020 postseason hopes looking questionable. Sprinkle in a Houston Texans’ victory over the New England Patriots to drop Miami’s other picks in the 2021 NFL Draft order further from the top and to say it wasn’t an ideal weekend for the Dolphins would be putting it mildly.
But there’s still time for both shortcomings to correct themselves. If Miami ultimately saw the season end today, where would things stand on the “future assets” front? Miami still owns a boatload of picks courtesy of the Houston Texans; the Dolphins are in possession of the Texans’ 1st- and 2nd-round draft choices next April.
Here’s how Miami’s assets align as things currently stand in the NFL landscape:
- Texans’ 1st-round pick: No. 8 overall
- Dolphins’ 1st-round pick: No. 17 overall
- Texans’ 2nd-round pick: No. 41 overall
- Dolphins’ 2nd-round pick: No. 50 overall
The Dolphins are tied with the Baltimore Ravens as AFC teams sitting at 6-4 and on the outside looking in of the AFC playoff picture, both losing out to the Las Vegas Raiders as things currently stand (also 6-4 after falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 11). In a perfect world, Miami’s own picks tumble further in the order due to a playoff berth. But the Texans? They’re in a murky, muddled mess of 3-7 football teams (6 of them in total) and the Texans must hit the road this week to play the Detroit Lions on a short week on Thanksgiving day. With a loss to fall to 3-8, the Dolphins would momentarily hold the No. 4 pick in each of the 1st- and 2nd-rounds (4th overall & 36th overall) before the rest of the Week 12 action is sorted out on Sunday afternoon.
What a perfect world for the Dolphins, even amid their disappointing loss in Week 11. The team is battling for a playoff berth while also sniffing around a top-5 overall pick in the same season.