The 2021 NFL Draft order has been officially shuffled thanks to the Miami Dolphins.
Miami, prior to this morning, held the No. 3 overall pick that it had acquired in a trade with the Houston Texans.
No more.
Miami Trades with San Francisco, Philadelphia to Land No. 6 Pick, Draft Capital
The Dolphins traded the pick to the San Francisco 49ers for the No. 12 overall pick in this year’s draft and multiple future first round picks. They also acquired a third-round selection this year.
But it didn’t stop there.
Less than one hour later Miami then completed a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles to move up to the No. 6 overall pick in this year’s draft and sent the newly-dealt No. 12 pick and a 2022 first-round pick to complete the deal.
The 2022 first rounder was not the pick the Dolphins got from the 49ers, but their own selection.
Furthermore, the Dolphins and Eagles swapped mid-round picks this season. Miami sent its No. 123 overall for Philadelphia’s No. 156.
Dolphins Wanting Offensive Weapons for QB Tagovailoa
Miami has prioritized adding key offensive weapons around starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Moving back three selections, while also adding additional future picks, confirms both General Manager Chris Grier and head coach Brian Flores’ words on wanting to develop the now-second year QB.
With not wanting to take a QB and likely not building more to its offensive line after doing so last year, the playmaker Miami was eyeing with the No. 3 selection has a high chance of being available at No. 6.
The teams that currently select before the Dolphins include, in order: the Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets, 49ers, Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals.
Of those teams, multiple should be eyeing a top-tier QB or a top-tier OL. It’s also possible three QBs are selected in the top-five.
Chess, Not Checkers
Miami is playing chess while the rest of the NFL is playing checkers.
The draft capital the Dolphins have acquired all started with the Texans and Miami moving left tackle Laremy Tunsil.
That trade, with acquired draft picks, has landed them cornerback Noah Igbinoghene, OL Solomon Kindley, the No.12 it turned into No. 6 this year and the future first and third-round picks. Miami now picks at 12, 18, 36, 50, and 81 in the first three rounds this year, per ESPN’s Miami beat writer Cameron Wolfe.
Over the next three years, as it stands, the Dolphins have five first-round picks:
Dolphins first round picks over the next 3 years:
No.6 overall pick in 2021 (via PHI)
No.18 overall pick in 2021 (own)
SF's 2022 first-round pick
SF's 2023 first-round pick
Own 2023 first-round pick— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) March 26, 2021
Tunsil also fell in the draft to Miami after a picture surfaced of him being involved with questionable substances on draft night. The Dolphins still took the chance on him, eventually resolved the situation, and landed four first-round picks off him along with additional round picks. Quite the steal.
Next Up
While Miami could still move from the No. 6 overall selection this season its focus is currently on the offensive playmaker.
Right now, the No. 6 pick allows them to still likely target an elite player in the class such as Louisiana State University wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, University of Alabama WR DeVonta Smith and University of Florida tight end Kyle Pitts.
The NFL Draft begins Thursday, April 29, at 7 p.m. eastern.
– Kayla Morton is the Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage Miami Dolphins. She also has a new podcast coming soon. Like and follow on Follow @northdakayla74 Follow @FPC_Dolphins and Facebook.
