Some of the latest 2020 NFL Draft buzz would be good news for the 49ers and Raiders.
Well, assuming it comes to fruition.
The Miami Dolphins want to move up to the No. 3 overall pick in the first round Thursday with the intention of taking an offensive tackle, NBC Sports Washington’s Julie Donaldson reported Tuesday.
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NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport backed up Donaldson’s reporting Wednesday, noting that there could be “a run on tackles” within the top 10 picks.
Let’s play out the scenario.
LSU quarterback Joe Burrow is a lock for the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 1, and -- assuming no teams trade up -- Ohio State edge rusher Chase Young likely would be Washington’s pick at No. 2. The Dolphins reportedly would take a tackle at No. 3, and the New York Giants very well could take another lineman at No. 4, since, you know, Dave Gettleman is their general manager.
San Francisco 49ers
If, as Donaldson speculated, the Detroit Lions select Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah at No. 5 and the Los Angeles Chargers draft Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa at No. 6, the 49ers and Raiders would be in an ideal position.
Such a scenario could push the draft’s top receivers -- Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs, as well as Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb -- to the Raiders and 49ers’ range at the No. 12 and No. 13 overall picks, respectively. That’s especially true if one of the teams ahead of them wants to draft one of the quarterbacks “sliding” as a result of a run on tackles, or if another behind them trades for one of the Nos. 7 through 11 picks.
That would be close to an ideal scenario. That doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.
After all, it’s lying season, Dan-o.
The Dolphins entered the 2019 season as the leaders in the “Tank for Tua” clubhouse, but they surprised Miami, the state of Florida and the rest of the NFL by going 5-11 in Brian Flores’ first season. Tagovailoa’s season-ending hip injury, coupled with Burrow’s record-setting season, ensured the Alabama QB would be available in Miami’s range.
A logical win-win, right?
The Dolphins have dropped more than enough smokescreens to cast doubt on their intentions in the lead-up to the draft, with Miami legend Dan Marino telling Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer that nobody in the organization has talked to him about Tagovailoa. Donaldson’s report has only added more, but that just might be deliberate.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Safid Deen noted in a column Tuesday that the Dolphins “needed to create or foster this much haziness” because they’ve been linked to Tagovailoa for the better part of two years. Mission accomplished in that regard.
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The 49ers and Raiders surely are rooting for the Dolphins to not pick a QB at No. 5.
But there isn’t always fire where there’s smoke during the NFL draft.