Moving on...Down?

The NFL draft is two weeks away. If you're a fan of the NFL as I am then you've heard all kinds of trade talk. Everyone and their brother has put in their two-cents with mock drafts. Most experts have proposed several scenarios that have Miami moving up in the draft to take a Left Tackle. Many have us moving up to the number three spot to take either Luke Joeckel or Eric Fisher, whichever one isn't taken first overall. Several other scenarios have us trading up to the sixth spot to select Lane Johnson, the supremely athletic tackle out of Oklahoma. While both of these scenarios address a gaping hole for the Dolphins, I would like to explore a different route. What if Miami were to instead move DOWN in the first round?

There are a two scenarios that I have seen for Miami moving down. The first option would be a trade with the Minnesota Vikings. In this trade, Miami would receive the twenty-third and twenty-fifth picks in the first round, and the eighty-third pick (a third round selection). In return, Minnesota would get our current first round pick, the twelfth overall, and the fourty-second selection, which is one of our two second round picks. If you go by Mel Kiper's "Big Board" and some common sense, this would end up with Minnesota taking Tavon Austin with the twelfth pick as a replacement for the recently departed Percy Harvin. With Miami's two first round picks, we would end up with Bjoern Werner, the defensive end from Florida State, and D.J. Hayden, a cornerback from the University of Houston. While this doesn't address our need for a LT, it does address two other big needs for the Dolphins, and it also gives us some ammunition to be able to make a trade in the second round to grab a "second-tier" LT such as Terron Armstead, the tackle out of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

The other option that I have seen would be a trade with the Dallas Cowboys. In this trade, Miami would trade away the twelfth pick and their fourth round selection (number seventy-four overall) and in return, we would receive Dallas' number eighteen in the first round as well as their second round pick, which is the forty-seventh overall. This scenario would have Dallas taking the top overall safety Kenny Vaccaro, from the University of Texas. Miami would be left with several options at eighteen according to the "Big Board". Players such as the aforementioned Bjoern Werner, Alabama tackle D.J. Fluker, University of Washington cornerback Desmond Trufant, and California wide receiver Keenan Allen would all be excellent choices for Miami and should all be available when we pick. Given this scenario, I think it would be very likely that Miami would take Desmond Trufant, whom I believe to be the best cornerback available. Then with the pick that they added in the second round, they could either use it to take Terron Armstead, who I seem to be beating the drum for more than anyone, or put a package together to move back into the first round and hopefully pick up someone that I know they're targeting, Tyler Eifert. The tight end out of Notre Dame has been rumored heavily as someone that we would take with the twelfth pick, but I think this is too high for a tight end, even with the recent resurgence of the position thanks to players like Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez and Jimmy Graham.

No matter what Miami decides to do with their selection, there are a plethora of options, and I have no doubt that we will end up with several great players. Our remaining holes will be plugged and it's going to be a great year for my Dolphins. Just wait and see.