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Why Monday is a huge day for the Dolphins’ 2021 draft

Monday marks a week and a half until the start of the 2021 NFL Draft. The Miami Dolphins have as much riding on this year’s draft as any team — the Dolphins committed heavily to a rebuilding efforts two years ago and are beginning to turn the tide of the standard for the Dolphins entering 2021. Miami is coming off just their second 10-win season since 2008 and narrowly missed the postseason in 2020 — the Dolphins will need a big hit in this year’s draft to help push the team to the next level and into contender status.

But Monday isn’t just a huge day for bringing the draft closer. It’s a huge day for the Dolphins because of what is going on in Fargo, North Dakota. And it’s a huge day for reasons that have nothing to do specifically with the Miami Dolphins.

Quarterback Trey Lance is holding his second Pro Day on Monday in Fargo and one of two potential domino teams in front of Miami, the Atlanta Falcons, will be sending a full house to the event to watch Lance throw the ball around the field. Atlanta, who picks 4th in the 2021 NFL Draft order and is the first team in the queue who isn’t assumed to be taking a quarterback, has Matt Ryan under contract but the team could very easily be in play for a signal caller thanks to a new head coach and a new general manager in the building.

If the Falcons like what they see in Fargo and end up drafting Lance at No. 4 overall, the Dolphins will be guaranteed to have one of TE Kyle Pitts and WR Ja’Marr Chase available to them at No. 6 overall. Alternatively, Lance could sell another team to trade the farm to Atlanta to make a deal and draft Lance at No. 4 for themselves. The specifics shouldn’t concern Miami, but the more quarterbacks that get drafted in front of the Dolphins, the better.

And Lance will be the last quarterback to try to sell a team on his services this spring. So while the events of Monday have nothing to do specifically with the Miami Dolphins, they have everything to do with the Miami Dolphins all the same.