Dolphins open to trade, but could they go so far as to leave the first round?

Could the Miami Dolphins be active in the trade market tonight at the 2017 NFL Draft kicks off? Knowing the history of Vice President of Football Operations Mike Tannenbaum, as well as the multiple movements the team made last year, it has to be a possibility. Throughout the night, you have to think the Dolphins will be working the phones to see where they can move and what it would take to move up or if anyone is willing to pay to jump into Miami’s 22nd overall pick, while the Dolphins move back.

The Dolphins could use the extra draft picks a move back would potentially bring, adding young talent, especially on the defensive side of the ball, with those additional picks. Currently, the team has a first-round, a second-round, a third-round, three fifth-round, and a seventh-round pick. Adding to that could be a great move for the South Florida franchise.

When asked recently about the idea of make trades, Tannenbaum told the media, “We’ll always make what decision we feel is best. Typically you get calls both ways – maybe three in front of you and three behind you. We have our trade charts and (Director of Analytics) Dennis Lock, who runs our analytics department, gives us great information and then we’ll see what happens. So when a trade becomes available, we’ll measure that opportunity against the board. What our needs are, of course that’s going to be a little bit of a balance. But we’ll see what happens. Sometimes you get a trade offer that’s hard to say no to.”

Multiple reports all across the media spectrum have indicated the Dolphins would be open to making a move back. The question becomes, how far back would the team move?

In 2016, the Dolphins moved back in the first round, dropping from the eighth position to the 13th spot, adding linebacker Kiko Alonso and cornerback Byron Maxwell in the deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, then were able to select Ole Miss offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, who fell unexpectedly on Draft day. The Dolphins would have to project who they think could still be available wherever they land in the trade back, and see if they are willing to take the risk of giving up selecting that player with the 22nd overall versus getting another player later in the round.

Or, in the second round.

Could Miami even consider trading out of the first round? It is possible, but it would likely have to take several key picks to make something like that happen. Miami’s best bet may be to see quarterbacks slide on Thursday, enticing some team to jump up, ahead of someone like the Houston Texans at 25, in order to grab one of the quarterbacks.

Trading out of the first round could be a perfect scenario for the Dolphins, given how many picks they could potentially add. It would make Thursday night anticlimactic, but it would make the entire Draft much more productive for the team.

Obviously, any trade is going to have to take a team other than the Dolphins to agree to terms, and with so many teams being linked to possibly trading back, this could be a rough draft to try to find a trading partner. Or, it could be a perfect draft as teams look to position themselves exactly where they want, with some team trading back then looking to move back up.

How would you react to the Dolphins trading back? Would that reaction change if the Dolphins were to trade out of the first round? What if Miami traded up to an earlier pick?

Whatever happens, this should be a fun night and a great three days.