NBC's Peter King Offers Wild Trade that Would Land LSU Quarterback Joe Burrow With Miami Dolphins
Mock drafts and trades are a part of the allure of the NFL draft and the 2020 draft, while it will look and feel very different, is no exception to the rule. On Monday, NBC Sports writer and long time Sports Illustrated columnist Peter King threw out one of the wilder potential trades that revolves around LSU quarterback Joe Burrow.
Over the last year, the Miami Dolphins have been stockpiling first round picks as it looks to rebuild its team from the mediocrity abyss. Over the next two years, Miami has secured five first round picks including the No. 5, No. 16 and No. 26 picks in this month's draft.
The latter two picks were made in separate deals that sent offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil to Houston and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to Pittsburgh. In King's proposed deal, Miami would send all three 2019 first round picks and a 2020 first rounder to Cincinnati for the rights to draft Burrow No. 1.
"Miami owner Stephen Ross has made it priority one in the organization to find the next Dan Marino, or at least some reasonable facsimile," King wrote. "At all costs, a franchise quarterback must be procured. Pronto."
That, for a lack of better terms, would be a king's ransom for Miami to pay for Burrow but would give it the franchise quarterback it so desperately covets. Because of the injury concerns surrounding Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the closest player to a "sure thing" quarterback selection is Burrow.
In his Heisman trophy winning 2019 campaign, Burrow threw for 5,671 yards, an NCAA record 60 touchdowns and completed 76.3% of his passes, second all time. His leadership ability and pinpoint accuracy he displayed last season have left him compared by some to Tom Brady, Kurt Warner and Tony Romo.
"Please don't compare me to the best player of all time," Burrow said at the combine reacting to the Brady comparison. "Let me do my own thing. Don't do that to me, please."
The other half of this equation, the Bengals, should only do this deal, King writes, if they think Tagovailoa or Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert is on par with Burrow.
"The only way I say yes to the deal is if Herbert or Tagovailoa is 1b to Burrow’s 1a. They’d have to be very close," King wrote. "If they are, and if the Dolphins make my fictitious offer, the Bengals should do the deal. I’ve heard there are some inside the Bengals who are true believers in Herbert, and if so, such a deal could be intelligent for Cincinnati."
There's no telling if this is a trade either Miami or Cincinnati would even consider but the fact that Burrow's talent warrants this discussion is pretty eye-opening in and of itself.
