Miami Dolphins are big winners in Greg Little trade with Panthers
The Miami Dolphins are the big winners of the Greg Little trade with the Carolina Panthers, who threw in the towel on a high draft choice.
The Miami Dolphins under general manager Chris Grier and head coach Brian Flores have certainly been active when it comes to making trades over the past couple of years. Their most recent move was a pretty great dart throw as the NFL preseason forges on.
The Dolphins traded a 2022 seventh-round pick for Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Greg Little, a second-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
This was essentially the Panthers trading the former second-rounder for next-to-nothing, and this isn’t the first time the Dolphins have tried to take a shot on a recent high draft choice at the tackle position for some depth.
Remember, it was Miami who traded with the Tennessee Titans to try and get Isaiah Wilson right before they decided — along with the Titans — that he was a lost cause.
The previous regime in Carolina traded up in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft to select Little out of Ole Miss, making him the 37th overall selection in that particular class.
The fact that the 2019 NFL Draft was just two offseasons ago makes the decision for a team that isn’t exactly solidified at offensive tackle all the more curious. The Panthers could open the 2021 season with Cam Erving blocking for Sam Darnold’s blind side.
It’s not altogether surprising to see the team give up on Little after just two years. Anytime a new coaching regime or front office comes in, you can bet on some players being traded for a discount. The Panthers do have Taylor Moton, an underrated tackle, as well as 2021 third-round pick Brady Christensen, someone who should be expected to play sooner rather than later.
Still, giving up on a 2019 second-round pick, no matter who drafted him, is a tough pill to swallow.
For the Miami Dolphins, you’ve got to be looking at a situation like Wyatt Teller in Cleveland, a player the Buffalo Bills gave up on rather early in his development who has now turned into one of the best guards in the league.
The Dolphins should believe in their coaching on the offensive line to turn Little into a potential starter, which is what just about everyone saw him as coming out of Ole Miss just two offseasons ago.
There are some rookies in the NFL this year older than Little, who doesn’t turn 24 until November 4.
He’s played just 14 games, starting six, but if he can stay healthy, he’s now got two years in Miami to try and work things out and become the player he was drafted to be.
The fact that the Dolphins aren’t just taking a one-year shot on Little alone makes this trade look very favorable for Miami, but giving up only a seventh-round pick to try and get Little back on track?
Especially considering the Dolphins had multiple seventh-round picks to work with in the first place, this trade is a huge win for Grier and his staff, and a pretty ugly sell for the Panthers.