Evaluating National Media's Dolphins Trade Ideas

The Miami Dolphins are 0-3, so it’s not overly surprising that national analysts and insiders already have started speculating about the team offloading talented players.

The Dolphins aren’t short on players who can help contending teams, either. This week, we saw a flurry of trade speculation around several Dolphins’ players, so we’re going to evaluate each potential deal to see if it makes sense for Miami or not.

Evaluating Potential Dolphins’ Trades

Teams Want Jaelan Phillips

Phillips’ name was brought up in a story by ESPN insiders Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano. The latter called Phillips of the Dolphins’ “more popular potential trade options.”

The idea of a Phillips trade isn’t new, and there is some reason to believe it could be coming if the Dolphins keep losing. For starters, Phillips is playing well this season, regardless of what the numbers indicate.

Additionally, Phillips is playing this year on his fifth-year option. This gives the Dolphins an out if they don’t want to extend a player with an extensive injury history and still get something for him.

This is also an advantage for the acquiring team. They can sign Phillips to an extension up front if they believe in him, or wait things out, and at worst have a productive pass rusher for the stretch run and possibly receive a compensatory pick when he signs a new deal in the offseason.

Fowler and Graziano don’t name any specific teams, but one like the Detroit Lions makes sense. They’ve gotten tremendous depth play from Al-Quadin Muhammad, but Marcus Davenport is on injured reserve, and they could use another body.

If the Dolphins are out of the playoff race by the trade deadline and don’t plan on extending Phillips, they should move him.

Tyreek Hill to the Steelers

In Fowler’s answer about Phillips, he asked Graziano about the Steelers potentially trading for Tyreek Hill, noting he thinks the Steelers would at least have a conversation about it.

However, Graziano pushed back, saying he thinks the Steelers have pivoted away from the receiver market for now.

The Chiefs are another team that makes sense for Hill. They need to create more big plays in the passing game, and Hill was with the Chiefs from 2016 to 2022. Kansas City understands how to fit Hill into the locker room and the offense.

Like Phillips, Hill has been the subject of trade rumors for a while. He asked to be traded following the team’s final game last season, before going back on that request later in the offseason.

Hill largely falls into the same boat as Phillips from a team-building perspective, too. Hill’s contract isn’t up at the end of this season, but the Dolphins have an out this coming offseason.

If Hill isn’t traded, it would be shocking if he’s on the Dolphins in 2026. In that case, they would be better off trying to offload him and get something back in return.

Again, assuming the Dolphins continue to lose, the bigger issue is probably finding a team to absorb Hill’s contract for this season and send something valuable enough in return.

That’s likely the reason he wasn’t traded in the offseason, and nothing has changed on that front since then.

Jaylen Wright to the Chiefs

In the same article, the two insiders speculate about the Dolphins trading running back Jaylen Wright to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Wright just returned to the field after a late preseason injury forced him to miss the first two weeks of the season. That said, Wright did not play a single snap against the Bills and got outperformed by Ollie Gordon II during the summer.

Barring a change, it seems like Gordon has a lock on the RB2 spot, which leaves Wright without much of a chance to get on the field.

The Chiefs absolutely could use some speed in their running back room. They’ve struggled to run the ball a ton this season, especially when it comes to generating explosive plays.

So, this match makes sense, right? Well, it depends on how you look at it. The Dolphins likely would receive a seventh-rounder or a late-round pick swap for Wright, a player they traded an extra third-round pick for the chance to draft just two seasons ago.

That means punting on a player you spent a decent amount of draft capital on after one season. If there’s no plan for him to be part of the team, then getting something is better than nothing.

However, at that point, the Dolphins might be better off trying to find ways for him to impact the game.

De’Von Achane Blockbuster?

The last player who was floated as a trade target this week is De’Von Achane. Former NFL running back Maurice Jones-Drew highlighted Achane, among other running backs who could be traded, in an article this week.

It should be noted that Jones-Drew is not an insider like Fowler and Graziano. He’s an analyst for NFL Media, but this article clearly is just him speculating, not something based on what sources have told him.

With that caveat out of the way, trading Achane doesn’t make much sense for the Dolphins, regardless of their record at the trade deadline.

Even if Miami cuts ties with Mike McDaniel and Chris Grier to start a full rebuild, it’ll need cheap, cost-controlled starters to take snaps and provide some respectable output on offense.

Achane’s ability to rip off big plays in the running game and make plays in the passing game makes him the perfect candidate to keep around through a rebuild. He’s versatile, explosive, and cheap — exactly what any rebuilding team should be looking for.

In the case that McDaniel stays or Miami turns things around, Achane is the perfect scheme fit for the offense.

The only scenario in which trading Achane makes sense is if the Dolphins don’t want to give him a big second contract. However, he still has one more year on his rookie deal, so that’s not a consideration right now like it is with Phillips.

This conversation is worth revisiting at the trade deadline next year, but right now, there’s not much merit.

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