The Miami Dolphins are currently 5-3 and in the hunt for a playoff spot. They have a soft 3 game schedule coming up, but the Dolphins are far from a perfect team and needed to make a move to improve the team’s chances. On Tuesday, they traded for Denver Broncos pass rusher Bradley Chubb.
The Dolphins have a good defense, but they have struggled this year with injuries in their secondary and a lack of a pass rush. The addition of Chubb improves the pass rush. With Byron Jones still out with injury, the Dolphins haven’t used their exotic blitzes with the inexperience at defensive back. The problem is the Dolphins haven’t generated much of a pass rush in one-on-one matchups. Chubb should help improve that.
The Dolphins gave up a steep price in a first-round pick, but Chubb was the 5th pick in the draft just 5 years ago. He has a lot of talent but has had some injuries in the last couple of years. He has turned things around this year with 5 sacks so far, which is more than any player on the Dolphins. He was considered a blue-chip prospect when the Broncos drafted him, but with the Russell Wilson trade and the Broncos’ season going downhill fast, they had to get some draft assets for the future. The Dolphins were able to make the right deal and are getting a player in the prime of his career at 26 years old, so they are getting a player with plenty of football left in his career barring injury.
This trade was like the Tyreek Hill trade in April, when the Dolphins traded a lot of draft capital for an elite player. The Dolphins are now trying to win now and not collecting draft assets. The Dolphins have been playing well on offense with Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback and his playmakers Hill and Jaylen Waddle making big plays. The defense needed to add another player to help close out games on defense because they have been missing something and not just due to injuries. The Dolphins needed to add another player to upgrade their defense and complement some of our younger players, like Jalen Phillips.
Does this move make the Dolphins a legitimate contender in the AFC right now? I don’t know, but it gives them another quality player to give them a chance. I think the Dolphins will make the playoffs, but how far they can go will depend on a lot of things and a pass rush will help a lot, especially against better offenses like the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs. If the Dolphins can get back Jones at some point to go with Xavien Howard, then the Dolphins can use more of their blitzes, but now this move gives them a pass rusher to win the one-on-one battles. This trade comes with risk given Chubb’s injury history, but it’s a move the team felt they had to make to upgrade the team and improve their chances down the stretch.
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