Could Miami Dolphins trade into first round of 2023 NFL Draft to nab a running back?

Well, we finally made it!

The 2023 NFL Draft kicks off this Thursday night, however, barring a blockbuster deal, the Miami Dolphins won’t be participating in Thursday’s festivities. The Dolphins don’t own a first round pick this year due to last season’s deal with Denver for pass rusher Bradley Chubb and also due to their ill-advised flirtations with future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady.

Yet, there have been some rumblings that the Dolphins may be interested in making a deal with a team picking in the back half of the first round of the NFL Draft if the price was right for the perfect player. Who may that player be?

In a column released this morning through ProFootballTalk, esteemed sportswriter Peter King released his official mock draft. He didn’t fully predict that Miami would make a trade to get into the first round, but he did have this to say.

“The Dolphins don’t pick till 51st overall, but if there was some way to climb into the twenties to nab explosive back Jahmyr Gibbs, coach Mike McDaniel would love to do it.”

This report from King comes just days after Dolphins general manager Chris Grier spoke at a pre-draft press conference about the possibility of moving into the first round of the upcoming draft.

“We’ve had a couple of teams in the bottom half of the first round reach out about saying they would be interested in coming down possibly if their guys aren’t there, and if we’d be interested in moving,” said Grier.

Grier intimated that those conversations haven’t been serious as of yet, but there does seem to be some smoke in regards to Miami’s interest in moving up in this year’s draft.

The Dolphins re-signed their entire free agent class of running backs, re-upping Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson, Salvon Ahmed and Myles Gaskin. Yet, if Miami were to add a player like Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs, they’d be adding an incredibly productive pass catching back who has been compared to New Orleans Saints’ star back Alvin Kamara on more than a few occasions.

Through three college seasons — two at Georgia Tech and one at Alabama — Gibbs amassed 103 receptions for 1,212 yards and 8 touchdowns as a pass catcher, while also toting the rock for 2,132 yards on 383 attempts (5.6 yards per carry) and 15 rushing scores.

While Gibbs is an explosive player that could immediately give quarterback Tua Tagovailoa an electric option out of the backfield, Miami would surely need to dip into future years’ picks to make a move from 51 all the way into the twenties. Would it cost next year’s first round selection, or could they package a handful of day two picks to get it done?

We won’t know until Thursday when the draft starts if this scenario will play out, but for now, it’s fun to keep an eye on the rumors. That’s just what we’ll continue to do as the week rolls on! Fins up!