Blockbuster! Dolphins agree to send No. 3 pick to San Francisco
The Miami Dolphins made an unpopular decision when they decided to trade offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil to the Houston Texans at the start of the 2019 NFL season. Tunsil was one of the team’s best players — and with Miami shredding their roster down to the core, Miami needed talent. A young talent like Tunsil would be hard to bid farewell to and Miami’s offensive line did indeed struggle in 2019 (and 2020) without the standout tackle in place.
But take into consideration what the Dolphins got in return. Miami got the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft as a part of the deal — and now the Dolphins have parlayed that into yet another monster haul with a second package according to a new report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Filed to ESPN: Dolphins trading No. 3 overall pick to the San Francisco 49ers for the No. 12 pick, a 2021 third-round pick (SF’s comp pick for Robert Saleh hiring) and first-round picks in 2022 and 2023, per sources.
Blockbuster deal with massive ramifications for years to come.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 26, 2021
Miami will receive the No. 12 overall pick, 1st-round selections in both 2022 and 2023 and a 2021 3rd-round selection to move back 9 spots — a calculated maneuver that will help the Dolphins in a number of ways. Miami will free up some cap space for the decision to move back out of the top-3 with their rookie cap commitments. And, more importantly, the Dolphins will have turned Laremy Tunsil into four separate 1st-round picks in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
This Dolphins organization is rooted in building through the draft. that much is as clear as ever after Miami has proactively jumped out of the 3-hole in the 2021 NFL Draft order. San Francisco will presumably draft a quarterback. And with the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos still hungry for a passer, we may see a total of 5 quarterbacks come off the board inside the first 9 selections.
Should that materialize, Miami will still have their choice of any number of high-level talents for their roster. And even more added flexibility to act aggressively into the future as they look to continue building a winner in South Florida.
