How the Dolphins' move down and up in first round of 2021 NFL Draft looks now

The Dolphins moved down from the 3rd pick in the last NFL Draft and still ended up with Jaylen Waddle and a future first-round pick.

That's the positive way to look at it.

After all, Waddle broke an NFL record for receptions by a rookie.

And it's possible Miami may need that second first-round pick in 2023 if there is a need to replace Tua Tagovailoa with a highly-drafted quarterback.

Again, the positive way to look at it.

But there are other ways to look at this that aren't quite so flattering.

This is especially the case when considering what the 49ers have done.

The Dolphins picked up two first-round picks by moving from 3 to 12 in a deal with the 49ers last season. That was pretty well applauded as a strong move.

But in order to move back up to 6, the Dolphins yielded a first-rounder to Philadelphia. And instead of dealing the 49ers pick in 2022, they shipped their own.

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In November, general manager Chris Grier declined to say if they wanted the Eagles to take the 49ers pick instead of their own. After all, if Miami had finished with a better record than San Francisco, keeping their pick would have been an error.

Grier said in November, when Miami was off to a terrible start, that they thought it was a best decision at the time.

"At the time when we made the decision, we felt good about it and doing it," Grier said. "I’m not going to sit here and – it’s easy to go hindsight and second-guess right now. But we made the decision at the time, felt good about it, and Jaylen (Waddle) has been a good player for us."

But now the 49ers are one of the four teams left standing. Which means that Miami won't have the 15th pick in the draft, as they've shipped their own to Philadelphia.

Instead, they'll have a first round pick in the next draft somewhere between 29-32, depending on how San Francisco's season ends.

As good as Waddle was, it must also be considered that by dealing away the third pick, Miami passed up a chance to draft LSU receiver Ja'Marr Chase, who is a Pro Bowler for the Bengals as a rookie.

One way to look at this from a net perspective is that Miami traded away Ja'Marr Chase (or Kyle Pitts) and the 15th pick for Jaylen Waddle, perhaps the 29th pick and a future first-rounder, which is San Francisco's in 2023, so let's estimate it as the 15th pick.

There were a few later-round picks involved as well.

If you think Waddle is comparable to Chase, the trade isn't terrible. Will the long-term difference between Chase and Waddle prove worth less than a 29th overall pick?

Waddle had 104 catches for 1,015 yards, which is 9.8 yards per receptions, and six touchdown catches.

Chase had 81 catches for 1,455 yards, which is 18.0 yards per receptions, and 13 touchdowns.

Waddle's presence definitely helped Tua, his college teammate. Chase's presence definitely helped Joe Burrow, his college teammate.

It's hard to say what kind of a season Chase would have had in Miami. Some will say his yards per catch would have been much lower because of the Dolphins' offensive line struggles and Miami's conservative offensive strategy.

If Tagovailoa does not end up as Miami's long-term starter at quarterback, one may end up saying passing on Chase was an ever greater mistake.

Miami really wanted a play-maker on offense and couldn't be certain DeVonta Smith would have been available at 12. The Eagles ended up moving up two spots to 10 for Smith.

It turns out either the Dolphins or Eagles could have stayed at 12 and landed Micah Parsons, the fantastic Cowboys linebacker/pass rusher.

If Miami had made the deal down from 3 and 12 and stayed pat, they could have ended up with Smith or Parsons or tackle Rashawn Slater, and still had their own first-round pick in 2022, 15th overall, and the additional first-round pick in 2023.

They're happy with the player they landed in Waddle. But the 49ers success dropping Miami's 2022 first-round pick to the bottom of the round and the production of Chase (and Pitts) make it easier to second-guess.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: How Dolphins' draft maneuvers look now Jaylen Waddle Ja'Marr Chase