USA Today Sports
The buzz surrounding the Miami Dolphins isn’t necessarily about who they might take in next week’s NFL Draft, but instead, if they will trade up in the first round. It’s no secret the Dolphins are looking for an offensive tackle to fill the void left by Jake Long, but can they get a tackle of that caliber at No. 12? Most analysts think the answer is no, and thus why they’re a strong candidate to trade up.
So if it doesn’t work out, and they can’t select one of the top-three OT prospects (Luke Joeckel, Eric Fisher, Lane Johnson), what will they do?
They could just go down the line and look at the next best OT prospect, likely D.J. Fluker, or they could go in a different direction all together. Cornerback Xavier Rhodes is a popular name on a lot of mocks, as well as OGs Chance Warmack and Jonathan Cooper.
Some think if they can’t get one of top-three tackles, that the Dolphins will still want to bolster their o-line, so taking a guard is a real possibility. Honestly though, I just don’t see Miami not taking an OT. They have a big investment to protect in Ryan Tannehill, so replacing Long is an absolute must. It’s a good time to do so, because Tannehill is only going into his second year, so pairing him with a young tackle would be a great developmental opportunity for both players.
Miami rightly wants one of the best tackles, and if they do have to give up a late round pick to draft one, I think it’s well worth it. You just can’t overstate the importance of a franchise tackle. Miami knows that, so it will be very surprising to see them draft a position other than OT in round one.
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