When the Los Angeles Rams and Indianapolis Colts switched to Matt Stafford and Carson Wentz, respectively, it was a sign that this season, perhaps more than ever, NFL teams will be more willing to think outside the box when it comes to acquiring defenders.
There are several reasons for this, most of them directly or indirectly related to the Covid crisis and the subsequent covidism it has generated. The league worked and continues to work assiduously to avoid a major collision on the field. Want to see your favorite team’s score on an initial comeback or eighty-yard run? It is getting harder and harder to do with each passing year, as the referees continue to tighten the screws on how they referee these plays, never hesitating to throw the flag if the block is not perfect for all players on the pitch. On the other hand, in almost all passing plays that are not a fast hitter, you can watch the opponent’s pass pitchers being practically knocked down by line attackers, while only the most egregious containment infractions are often called for. If teams want to move the ball, they will probably have to throw it most of the time.
Since the February scout combination was canceled this year, and many college players also chose to stay out last season, or in some states saw the games rescinded by the powers that be, which was already a risky and hit-and-miss venture. draft has become even more tenuous this year, in terms of choosing the right players.
So what does all this mean for the Miami Dolphins? Well, have you ever seen one of those complicated coins that sell in news stores, the ones that have ‘heads’ on both sides? In this year’s draft, choosing third place, all the Dolphins have to do is say ‘dude’, because they are in a lossless situation. No matter what anyone tries to tell you, the first two players chosen will be Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson, even though the Jaguars and Jets are not ultimately the teams chosen at those locations. If, by some miracle, the Jets caught Oregon against Penei Sewell – or traded the pickaxe for Cincinnati, who say they covet Sewell – that would only serve to make the third choice even more valuable. I decided that I want at least one of the following three players: Sewell, Parsons or Pitts; the point is that they can probably get another first-round player in the process and still get one of those guys.
Like many observers, I believe the most likely scenario is for the Dolphins to trade back from third place and stock up on additional choices while still making at least one selection in the upper half of the first round. Although most team fans want to see a reduction in the draft each year, and this rarely happens, you can be sure that Miami will have several offers for choice number three this time around.
The two units that I look for the Dolphins to spend more resources on reinforcing are the linebackers and the receivers; I think the only way to get Sewell is to stay at three, because he won’t last longer than Cincinnati’s pick at number five. Perhaps more than at any time in the past twenty years, it is an exciting time to be a fan of the Dolphins. Finally, despite all the controversy that the media has been trying to arouse regarding the situation of the Miami quarterback, I have a question for you: who do you think is the fourth most popular player in the NFL, of the 1700 or more guys who are in teams’ lists at a given time? Uh, yes, that’s right.
This is the end of today, have a great week, guys.
Tua Tagovailoa would trade popularity, jersey sales for Super Bowl win