The Dolphins History of Trading Down in Round 1

Miami has traded down in the first round eight times, including each of the last two drafts they had a No. 1 pick

After two years of having the worst draft capital in the NFL, the Miami Dolphins are in slightly better shape heading into the 2024 draft — but not by much.

The Dolphins currently are scheduled to have six picks in this draft after having only four each of the past two years, though it needs to be mentioned that four of the picks will come in the fifth round or later.

This is why the idea of the Dolphins moving down and trading the 21st overall selection to accumulate another pick or two, like maybe a third-rounder, absolutely should be a consideration for GM Chris Grier on the night of April 25 (or earlier).

And it’s not like they haven’t done it before.

In fact, the Dolphins did it the last two times they did have a first-round pick in 2020 and 2021.

Here’s a rundown of the Dolphins’ all-time draft trade-downs in the first round.

2021 — 3 to 12 with San Francisco

The trade details: This was the famous Trey Lance trade that also was accompanied by the Dolphins moving back up to 6 by giving up one of the two extra first-round picks they got from the 49ers to move down nine spots.

The verdict: The trade-down was fabulous from this vintage point because getting two future first-round picks while staying with a top 12 pick was insane value. We could debate the second half of the move at another time, though the reaction from here was way less enthusiastic then and now, even with Jaylen Waddle having a great start to his NFL career.

2020 — 26 to 30 with Green Bay

The trade details: This was the third Dolphins first-round pick that year, the one that came from the Houston Texans as part of the Laremy Tunsil trade, and they sent it to the Packers to pick up an extra fourth-round selection.

The verdict: If the Dolphins had their eye on Noah Igbinoghene all along, it made sense to pick up the free fourth-round pick because there was no risk involved that somebody would take him at 27, 28 or 29. The problem here is with the selection itself because Igbinoghene’s NFL career so far has been a disappointment. On the flip side, the Packers made it out great with this trade because it landed them Jordan Love, who looked like a franchise quarterback by the end of the last season, his first as a starter.

2016 — 8 to 13 with Philadelphia

The trade details: To move down only five spots in the first round, the Dolphins gladly took LB Kiko Alonso and CB Byron Maxwell off the Eagles’ hands and then they were able to get Laremy Tunsil with the 13th pick after his draft-night fall related to the ill-timed (for him) release of the bong video on social media.

The verdict: Not sure how much better this could have worked out for the Dolphins. Tunsil was an absolutely steal at 13, and on top of that Alonso and Maxwell were major contributors for the 2016 Dolphins as they made the playoffs in Adam Gase’s first year as head coach.

2010 — 12 to 28 with San Diego

The trade details: This was a very interesting and complex deal, with the Dolphins sending picks in the fourth and sixth rounds along with the No. 12 selection to the Chargers for pick number 28, picks in the second and fourth rounds, and linebacker Tim Dobbins.

The verdict: The Dolphins ended up taking Jared Odrick and Koa Misi with the top two picks from the Chargers and they became decent starters for the defense, while Dobbins didn’t make much of an impact. San Diego took running back Ryan Mathews. The Dolphins got good value in the trade, but they did lose out on the chance to draft a player who could have made a bigger impact than Odrick and Misi combined, whether that would have been Brandon Graham, Earl Thomas, Mike Iupati, Maurkice Pouncey, Demaryius Thomas, Dez Bryant or Devin McCourty.

1999 — 24 to 27 with San Francisco, 27 to 39 with Detroit

The trade details: Trader J.J. getting busy. In his final draft with the Dolphins, Jimmy Johnson made four draft-day trades, starting with trading down in the first round twice. The first time he got a fifth-round pick to move down three spots, the second time, he got picks in the second, third and fifth rounds for surrendering the 27th overall selection.

The verdict: Let’s start by pointing out the 1999 draft was not a very good one and what ended up happening is the Dolphins got a lot of players in the end but few who really made an impact. These were the players the Dolphins missed out on after the two trades that were selected between 27 and 39 when Miami took running back J.J. Johnson: Aaron Gibson, Andy Katzenmoyer, Dimitrius Underwood, Patrick Kerney, Al Wilson, Kevin Johnson, Charles Fisher, Chris Terry, Barry Gardner, Mike Peterson, Jon Jansen, Mike Rucker.

1998 — 19 to 29 with Green Bay

The trade details: To move down 10 spots in the first round, the Dolphins picked up a late-second-round pick (the 60th overall).

The verdict: This was the Randy Moss draft and the trade cost the Dolphins the chance to take him as he ended up lasting until the 21st overall selection. Even if we give Johnson a pass for not knowing that ahead of time, this trade proved a bust for the Dolphins, who ended with John Avery at number 29 and three players (after moving down from the 60 spot) who didn’t make the 53-man roster as rookies, while missing out on not only Moss but also Hall of Fame guard Alan Faneca.

1994 — 16 to 20 with Green Bay

The details: To move down only four spots, the Dolphins got a third-round pick by the Packers.

The verdict: This one worked out great not only because Miami still got Tim Bowens at number 20, they used the third-round pick to get an extra second-round they used on longtime starting center Tim Ruddy.

1987 — 14 to 16 with Minnesota

The details: This wasn’t a dramatic deal, with Miami getting a mere fifth-round pick to move down two spots.

The verdict: The Dolphins did better in turning the fifth-round pick into the selection of two offensive linemen who made the roster, Mark Dennis and Chris Conlin. The drop in the first round didn’t matter because 16th overall pick John Bosa didn’t pan out (mostly because of injuries) but neither did the 14th and 15th picks, D.J. Dozier and John Clay.