Swim into the Phink Tank, pt. 1

Mock drafts tickle the fancy because they present different scenarios to consider.

Rest assured, an unforeseen set of circumstances will violently shift the group-think tides of the 2019 NFL Draft — we just don’t know how much yet.

The following players are off the board (in no particular order), and the Miami Dolphins found no feasible trade-up scenarios:

• Kyler Murray
• Dwayne Haskins
• Drew Lock
• Ed Oliver
• Quinnen Williams
• Josh Allen
• Nick Bosa
• Devin White
• Rashan Gary
• Jawaan Taylor
• Montez Sweat
• Deandre Baker

You have two options:

1. Choose the best player on your board
2. Trade down to #20 with the Pittsburgh Steelers for their 2019 4th round draft pick and 2020 2nd round draft pick, who intend to draft Byron Murphy.

Sutton’s Take

A trade with Pittsburgh likely implies a late-teens to early-to-mid 20’s pick in2020 (at least that’s been the median/mean during the Ben Roethlisberger era). The Dolphins have been methodical accumulating picks for 2020. Is the trade worth it? My thought is yes.

It would eliminate the top 6 players off of our board, worst-case scenario (trading down wouldn’t necessarily eliminate our top 6). But let’s take that logical end and use players who I deem would be most devastating to lose in the drafting process, knowing that Byron Murphy is one of them:

• Greedy Williams
• Brian Burns
• Christian Wilkins
• Clelin Ferrell
• Jeffery Simmons
• Byron Murphy

On top of being in another potential trade down spot since neither D.K. Metcalf, T.J. Hockenson nor Noah Fant have been drafted at this point, I think the Dolphins have interesting thoughts at #20, and can feel good about taking the bomb shelter approach and stockpiling for 2020. Here’s 2 solid OL options left on the board:

1. Jonah Williams, Alabama
2. Cody Ford, Oklahoma

You can fool yourself that the Dolphins won’t be tempted to address the front 7 or offensive line, but both players bring instant value. You could even throw Devin Bush into the mix, as he has room to add weight, played in a versatile Michigan defense (Stephen Ross’ alma mater), and would add creativity to the LB group. I’m just afraid he doesn’t fit the size requirements — New England employed beefier LB’s. Ford exhibits physicality while being capable of manning right tackle or either guard position, while Jonah Williams remains the best tackle prospect on the board.

My draft choice: Cody Ford, G/T, Oklahoma

The transition to a more powerful, dominating OL begins with the selection of 346 pound Ford. It’s time to grind people into a pulp in the blaring South Florida sun, with sunlight beams focused directly on our opponents’ misery.

Conclusion

Jump back to the poll: do you draft or trade with Pittsburgh? If you draft at 13, who do you take? And if you trade down, who comes off the board with those 6 picks and then who do you take?