Peter King Predicts Dolphins Will Make Huge First-Round Trade to Land QB of the Future
By Scott Rogust
The Miami Dolphins' need for a quarterback of the future is the NFL's worst-kept secret, but the question remains when (not if) the 'Fins take one in the NFL Draft.
NBC Sports' Peter King predicts that the Dolphins will be taking a signal caller, but not with their fifth overall pick. Rather, they would swap picks with the Detroit Lions to select...Oregon's Justin Herbert, who has seemingly been available WITHOUT the need for a trade up throughout the process.
In today’s FMIA column at @NBCSports, you’ll find:
— Peter King (@peter_king) April 20, 2020
• My mock draft. The first. The only. The total guess.
• Team trades up for Herbert. Team trades up for Tua.
• A GM's biggest draft-day challenge: "Dog-barking."
• Undrafted free agent chaoshttps://t.co/Z9nAg5DfzK pic.twitter.com/d8PzCrZzRr
In order to facilitate the trade, King says the Dolphins would have to surrender their second-round selection (No. 39 overall) to move up two spots in the first. But perhaps the most intriguing part of King's prediction is that the Dolphins would take Herbert over the "apple of their eye," Tua Tagovailoa.
Miami's infatuation with Tagovailoa has long been assumed, considering reports last year that Miami planned to tank the 2019 season to secure the southpaw's services, but those plans hit a snag due to Tagovailoa's hip injury and the isolated draft process. The Dolphins wanted to bring in Tua to the team facility this past month for a medical evaluation, but were unable to do so because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the Dolphins (and other prospective suitors) had to resort to taking the word of Tagovailoa's doctors.
On the night before the league halted visits between college prospects and NFL teams, the Dolphins rushed to try to get Tua Tagovailoa to Miami, per a source. Tagovailoa was the first college prospect the Dolphins tried to bring to Miami in March. But March 13, NFL banned visits.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 17, 2020
There has been buzz in recent weeks of Miami pivoting towards the "safer pick" in Herbert, who carries the necessary intangibles to become a starting NFL quarterback, but has lower upside. It's impossible to take these reports as gospel, of course, because teams are just trying to throw their counterparts off their scent. It's an NFL Draft tradition.
No matter if it's Herbert or Tagovailoa, the Dolphins have to take a quarterback in the first round. They can't ignore the position for yet another year.