By Greg Fuchs
Here are my final thoughts on the 2021 NFL Draft with the draft less than 48 hours away.
In my humble opinion, the Dolphins options for the #6 pick in the draft are TE Kyle Pitts, WR Ja’Marr Chase, trade the pick to Denver and WR Jaylen Waddle – in that order, depending on who is available.
My #1 rule for 1st round draft picks is they must be immediate day 1 starters on all 3 downs. Players who need development or are specialists need not apply. The only exception is for quarterbacks who may need a half or full season to develop and learn their offensive system.
The 1st half of the 1st round will be almost exclusively QBs, receivers, cornerbacks and offensive linemen.
The talent level of the draftees in the 2nd round won’t be that much different than the talent for the players taken in the 2nd half of the 1st round.
The most quarterback desperate team in the draft is the Bears. The GM and head coach jobs are on the line, so there is no way they can go with Andy Dalton as their starting QB. Look for them to offer a bunch of draft picks to Atlanta for the 4th pick in the draft.
The Falcons are going into rebuild mode. QB Matt Ryan is untradeable for 2 years due to the massive amounts of dead cap space on his contract, but that won’t stop them from trading the 4th pick in the draft plus WR Julio Jones to add multiple draft picks in 2021 & 2022.
The Broncos could very well end up trading for a QB; either Teddy Bridgewater or Jimmy Garoppolo.
The 49ers are motivated to trade Garoppolo, but it is easier said than done as he has $26M cap hit, which many teams won’t be able to absorb.
The Patriots are also desperate for a QB, so they will trade up from the 15th spot to the 7th-10th spots to select whichever QB is still on the board.
Other than Trevor Lawrence, I think there is a 50/50 chance the other QBs drafted in the 1st round could be busts or just have average careers. I can’t tell you which one (s) will be average or a bust, but history tells you it’s not very likely all 5 will turn out to be Pro Bowlers.
With the 18th pick in the 1st round the Dolphins will take the best edge rusher or linebacker on the board. I am a fan of Tulsa LB/Edge rusher Zavon Collins as well as the Canes Jaelen Phillips. I think Collins could be the most impactive defensive player in the draft. The Fins will gamble that one of the top 3 RBs will be available when they pick at #36.
That said, if 1 or 2 running backs are drafted in the 1st 31 picks, don’t be surprised if Miami trades up from #36 with the Bucs, whose 1st round pick is #32. The 3 teams ahead of Miami in the 2nd round (Jags, Jets, Falcons) could all be in the market for a running back. Miami MUST get one of the 3 from Najee Harris, Travis Etienne and Jevonte Williams.
There have already been trades involving four 1st round draft picks. Expect more on Thursday night. A couple of teams might move up for a QB while there could be several deals with teams moving up a few spots to get a guy they like.
When the Dolphins pick at #50 and #81, there will still be some particularly good players left to choose from. Some players I wouldn’t mind seeing end up in a Dolphins uniform are DE Ronnie Perkins from Oklahoma, offensive tackle Walker Little from Stanford, WR Dyami Brown from North Carolina, TE Brevin Jordan from the Hurricanes and centers Landon Dickerson from Alabama and Quinn Meinerz from Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Enjoy the draft everyone! The first 3 rounds should be fun for Dolphins fans.
