The “Rebuild” Timeline – Recent Draft Day Trades of the Miami Dolphins
We can start looking at recent draft day trades of the Miami Dolphins in 2019. It’s this year of choice because it was the inaugural season that General Manager Chris Grier entered without oversight. Meaning that his former boss, Mike Tannenbaum, was let go. This made Grier the absolute authority in roster building in all forms. Although heading drafts since 2016, others beyond Tannenbaum had their say in the mix, convoluting Grier’s overall vision. 2019 is a fair starting point for this analysis of Grier’s recent draft pick and Draft-day trade history. Something of note is that picks made from 2016-2018 are all gone, besides Durham Smythe and Jason Sanders. The last remaining were Jerome Baker and Xavien Howard. Both were released from the Dolphins this off-season.
Grier entered 2019 sans Tannebaum, and even with successful hits of picks of Christian Wilkins and Andrew Van Ginkel, each is gone. Additionally, Grier elected to move on from 2020 drafted guard Robert Hunt, defensive tackle Raekwon Davis, and safety Brandon Jones this past offseason. While 2019 was the starting point for a “rebuild,” it now seems that there is a “renovation” going on as opposed to a “redo.”
The “rebuild” officially began with the trading of quarterback Ryan Tannehill in March of 2019, along with a pick with an ironic twist. Miami sent Tannehill to the Tennessee Titans along with a sixth-round pick in that draft, and the Titan’s pick is now Miami linebacker David Long. Miami received a 2019 seventh-rounder, which became full-back Chandler Cox, as well as a 2020 fourth-rounder, which Grier ended up trading to Pittsburgh in part of the infamous Minkah Fitzpatrick trade. Austin Jackson was the primary name Miami netted from the Fitzpatrick deal.
There is a long rabbit hole to dive down when unraveling the Laremy Tunsil trade, so let’s look at draft pick trades within the Draft weekends since 2019.
Trades During The Draft
The worst-kept secret leading into the 2019 Draft was Josh Rosen going to Miami. Yet, Grier made a move before the move. Before acquiring the quarterback from Arizona, Grier called the New Orleans Saints. He traded a second and fourth-round pick in 2019 in exchange for a second and sixth-round pick in that draft. In addition, Grier picked up a 2020 second, which ended up being Raekwon Davis. Davis is now an Indianapolis Colt. Grier used that second-round pick from New Orleans and a fifth in the 2020 draft to select acquire the Rosen pick from the Cardinals.
The following Draft in 2020 saw a bonanza of picks. Thanks to the Tunsil trade with the Houston Texans and the Fitzpatrick deal with the Steelers. Again, the Tunsil rabbit hole includes names like Jevon Holland, Jaylen Waddle, and Bradley Chubb, but let’s stay on track.
In 2020, they made five trades during this draft process. The first trade was from 26th to 30th; we all know the deal was with the Packers. Green Bay selected quarterback Jordan Love, while Miami moved back to select cornerback Noah Igbinoghene. Next, Grier traded a pair of 2020 fourths to Houston to move up to number 111th, which became Solomon Kindley. Next, Grier sent a fifth-round pick to San Franciso in exchange for running back Matt Breida. He then dealt with a fifth- and seventh-round swap to Philadelphia, leading to Miami selecting Curtis Weaver. Weaver never played a down for Miami. The Dolphins also made a seventh-round deal to acquire a pick from Kansas City, which was Malcolm Perry.
2021 was a calmer Draft process in a trade sense. Grier traded the 50th pick and a 2022 third-rounder (81st) to the New York Giants. For better or worse, the pick was Liam Eichenberg at 42nd overall. 2022 and 2023 did not have a draft weekend trade.
Success Rate of Draft Day Trades
So, what have we learned when grading the recent draft day trades of the Miami Dolphins? Well, they haven’t worked out well for Grier and Miami recently. Of the names selected following the Draft-day deals, only Eichenberg remains on the Dolphins roster at the moment. Looking at the picks in the 2024 Draft, Miami has a first-round pick for the first time in two seasons and also has a second-round pick. Those selections are 21st and 55th, yet Miami has a substantial gap until their next selection, at 158th in the fifth round. They close with a pair of sixths and a seventh.
Grier and his war room will have to decide whether to hang tough at either 21 and/or 55 or attempt to acquire more picks. Moving out of 21 and/or 55 could lead to a healthy recoup of Day 2 selections. However, as we have seen here, past Draft-day moves have not materialized well in Grier’s solo tenure since 2019. In a Draft with a rich crop of players at significant positions of need, Grier may be wise to hang tough in the first round. Even with a second-round pick holding solid value, history is not on Grier’s side in the topic of “Draft-day trading success.”
It will be interesting to see how Grier, with Mike McDaniel’s input, approaches this 2024 Draft process.
“To trade, or not to trade?”
That is the question.
