Okudah, Tua, the Dolphins, and the 2020 NFL Draft
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The Detroit Lions trade of Jeff Okudah brought back memories of the 2020 NFL draft when he was selected just two spots before the Miami Dolphins took Tua Tagovailoa with the fifth overall pick.
Detroit gave up on the cornerback from Ohio State after three seasons, sending him to the Atlanta Falcons for a 2023 fifth-round pick, which seems like an awfully small return for a third overall pick headed into his fourth NFL season.
But that part has nothing to do with the Dolphins, who won't face either the Lions or Falcons during the 2023 regular season.
Okudah, though, has some relevance to the Dolphins both in terms of what-if scenarios in the 2020 draft and also because the Dolphins also have a 2020 first-round pick at cornerback who has not performed up to expectations so far, Noah Igbinoghene.
LOOKING BACK AT THE 2020 DRAFT AND TUA
The 2020 draft, of course, was the one that featured the three standout quarterback prospects — Tua, Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert.
There was a lot of speculation leading into the draft that the Lions could take a quarterback with that third overall pick, though Burrow never was going to be an option because Cincinnati was taking him first overall all along.
But Tua definitely was in play, at least based on media reporting and speculation, though after the fact then-GM Bob Quinn said the team had other, more pressing needs on the roster besides finding a successor for Matthew Stafford, who ultimately would play a final season in Detroit in 2020 before being shipped to the Los Angeles Rams the next offseason.
Once the Lions took Okudah at number 3 — Quinn said after the draft he didn't get trade offers for that draft slot — the Dolphins had a clear path to taking Tua because the New York Giants already had a young quarterback in 2018 first-round pick Daniel Jones and they selected tackle Andrew Thomas.
In retrospect, and seeing as how Okudah flopped, it's safe to say the Lions made the wrong choice and would have been better served by taking a quarterback at number 3, whether that quarterback would have been Tua or Justin Herbert (depending on personal preference).
Had the Lions taken Tua at number 3, then logic suggests the Dolphins would have selected Herbert with the fifth overall pick.
But that's obviously a what-if in a scenario that never played out, and it's clear by now the Dolphins made out better than the Lions did at the top of the 2020 draft after Tagovailoa's impressive performance for most of the 2022 season.
OKUDAH AND IGBINOGHENE
What did play out was the Dolphins selecting a cornerback of their own in that 2020 first round, which they did after trading down from pick 26 to 30 with the Green Bay Packers to give them the opportunity, ironically, to select another quarterback, Jordan Love.
The Dolphins used that 30th pick on Igbinoghene, who's heading into his fourth season in the NFL still having yet to justify his draft position.
While Igbinoghene never was considered anywhere the prospect Okudah was, there was some expectation he'd become a quality NFL cornerback at some point.
It's pretty much now (as in, the 2023 season) or never for Igbinoghene when it comes to the Dolphins, who won't be picking up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract by the May 2 deadline — barring a shocking development — and who likely won't bring him back in 2024 unless he shows dramatic improvement.
After Okudah was traded, social media commentary included praise to the Lions for recognizing their mistake with Okudah with accompanying criticism of the Dolphins for not moving on from Igbinoghene, but the circumstances are different.
Again, Okudah was considered a sure-fire prospect heading into that 2020 draft, so it makes sense that there were teams willing to trade for him to see if they could unlock his potential.
Because Igbinoghene wasn't considered that kind of prospect, teams understandably will be more reluctant to give up a draft pick to get him and his $2.1 million salary for 2023, $1.6 million of which is guaranteed.
That salary guarantee plus the remaining $1.4 million of his rookie signing bonus has Igbinoghene's cap number for 2023 at $3 million, which will become dead cap money if the Dolphins decide to cut before or after June 1.
So it only makes sense, barring a trade offer, to give him another look this spring and summer to see if new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and his scheme can bring out the best in what Igbinoghene can do.
The Dolphins, though, do have a lot of cornerbacks on the roster who appear ahead of him in the pecking order, including Jalen Ramsey, Xavien Howard, Kader Kohou, Nik Needham, Trill Williams and Justin Bethel.
If the Dolphins decide to give Igbinoghene a shot at safety, there will be a lot of competition there as well with, Jevon Holland, DeShon Elliott, Brandon Jones and Verone McKinley III, not to mention Keion Crossen and Elijah Campbell, both listed as simply defensive backs on the roster.
So, yeah, Igbinoghene might have a hard time keeping his spot on the 53-man roster in 2023 and the best-case scenario for him and the team would be for him to show marked improvement in practice. If not, he'll go the way of Okudah in terms of his tenure with the team that drafted him.
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