Will the Dolphins trade up for a quarterback not named Tagovailoa?

Speculation is at an all-time high just days before the NFL draft. Starting on Thursday night, the Miami Dolphins will have the opportunity to rebuild the franchise with 14 picks in the 2020 NFL draft. Keep in mind that three of them, at the moment, are in the first round.

Peter King, who writes the Football Morning in America column for NBC Sports, released his 2020 NFL Mock draft and had the Miami Dolphins securing a quarterback early. Not only did he have the Dolphins moving to the third pick, but it was for Oregon’s Justin Herbert, not Tua Tagovailoa.

The Dolphins would send their second-round pick, 39 overall, to Detroit in order to lock up Herbert.

“Whether Miami makes the trade or not, I think Miami and Detroit will make the same picks,” King wrote. “I do think, for the peace of mind and to prevent anyone from leapfrogging them, the Dolphins would be smart to deal the 39th overall pick to Detroit to move up two slots here.”

King later added that the Dolphins picking Herbert is the conservative approach, instead of trying to “hit a triple in the gap” by taking Tagovailoa.

“I don’t know if Herbert’s going to be Miami’s pick,” King added. “The Dolphins have done a good job hiding their intentions, I won’t be shocked either way—if they go the risky way with Tua, or if they repeat 2006 and make the safe call with Herbert. Daunte Culpepper, 2006; Herbert, 2020. And they’ll hope it’s a better result this time.”

It is important to keep in mind that the “safe” pick of Culpepper meant that Drew Brees would head out to New Orleans, where he would win a Super Bowl. A story fans have had to hear for roughly 10 years.

Our Josh Houtz recently released his positional ratings with just days left before the draft. Meanwhile, Miami’s General Manager. Chris Grier, recently gave an inside look to what to look for on draft night.

King has Miami taking A.J. Epenesa, an edge rusher from Iowa at 18 and USC’s Austin Jackson at 26, but the biggest surprise of the mock comes at pick 13.

The Patriots trade with San Francisco to secure Tagovailoa at 13 after he dropped out of the top-10. King mentions that this is a guess, but stranger things have happened.

If the draft unfolds like King’s mock draft suggestions, it is possible that the 2006 decision to take Culpepper over Brees could repeat itself with Tagovailoa continuing the Patriot dynasty for some time, while the Dolphins play it “safe” with Herbert.

Rumors and smokescreens are at an all-time high as teams are looking for any leverage they can find come draft night. While some of these reports may seem a bit out there, anything can happen once a team is on the clock.