Miami Dolphins should look ahead to Trevor Lawrence in 2021 NFL Draft

Forget the 2020 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins should wait another year to land their franchise quarterback.

We knew that the Miami Dolphins were rebuilding, but Saturday’s trade proves that they are not messing around. The Dolphins sent their most valuable player, left tackle Laremy Tunsil, and veteran wide receiver Kenny Stills to the Houston Texans in a blockbuster trade that will reshape their franchise.

In the deal, the Dolphins sent Tunsil, Stills, a 2020 fourth-round pick and a 2021 sixth-round pick for the Texans’ first-round picks in 2020 and 2021, a 2021 second-round pick, offensive tackle Julie’n Davenport and special teamer Johnson Bademosi. Clearly, the tank is on for the Miami Dolphins.

The Dolphins will likely be horrible in 2019 and could easily hold the first overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Unless Josh Rosen plays out of his mind behind an awful offensive line and with few legitimate offensive weapons to work with, they will be in the quarterback market. However, I think the Dolphins should pass on the quarterbacks in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Both Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert are impressive prospects who could be fantastic pro quarterbacks. However, the Dolphins are extremely unlikely to be ready to support a rookie quarterback next season. If Tua or Herbert step in to take over the Dolphins in 2020, they will likely still be working with scraps on the offensive side of the ball.

Instead, the Miami Dolphins would be smart to use the 2020 NFL Draft to prop up the rest of their roster, specifically on the offensive side of the ball. If they end up landing the first overall pick, it should be available for trade to the highest bidder. Somebody will come up and want to get their franchise quarterback. After that, the Dolphins would have an even more impressive stock of NFL draft assets and could work to legitimately rebuild their roster.

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Replacing Tunsil with a top-tier offensive tackle in next year’s draft could be the route to go. Georgia’s Andrew Thomas and Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs currently stand out as obvious targets for Miami. The 2020 draft is also loaded with premier wide receivers who could help out their future franchise quarterback.

Obviously, if the Dolphins use their 2020 draft assets to build up the rest of their offense, the quarterback position will still be an issue. This is where Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence comes into play. Unless they spend big in free agency, the Miami Dolphins will likely be terrible once again in 2020. They can use the 2020 season to let their young talent grow and have an eye on the number one overall pick again.

Lawrence is on the path to becoming the best quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck. He is an absolute star who has massive upside at the next level. If the Dolphins can just endure another tanking season, they could easily find themselves in a position to land a generational prospect in Lawrence, while still having plenty of draft capital to build up the rest of their offense.

Worst case, the Dolphins win too many games in 2020 and end up missing out on Lawrence. In this scenario, they would still have the makings of a solid offense in place and could support any talented rookie quarterback who could be available. At that time, someone like Justin Fields may look like a fantastic consolation prize.

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Trading Tunsil away signaled that the Miami Dolphins are tearing up this roster from the ground up. They are taking this rebuild seriously and are clearly looking to build through the draft. If they continue to use a slow and patient approach, building up the rest of their offense as they wait for Lawrence is the right path to take.

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