Hyde5: Dolphins trade up again in Kiper’s mock draft (huh?); Panthers add in trades
As if the Miami Dolphins haven’t shaken up the NFL draft enough with trades, would they do so again?
They move from No. 6 to No. 4 in the draft, according to the latest mock draft by Mel Kiper Jr. Why? To get Florida tight end Kyle Pitts.
Kiper says he doesn’t think the trade with Atlanta would cost the Dolphins a first-round pick in 2022 — “but it’s tough to predict.” He has the trade being made at a cost of a second- and third-round pick next year.
All this is ... well, a little baffling. It suggests the Dolphins would have made a lot of headlines but effectively dropped one spot from their original No. 3 position in the draft for ... well, not much. And they’ll take a player they could have sat still and drafted.
In the back-to-back trades with San Francisco and Philadelphia, the Dolphins dropped from No. 3 to No. 6. They also sent out their fourth-round pick this year and received a fifth-rounder in return, a third-rounder in 2022 and San Francisco’s first-round pick in 2023.
So if they have to pay a second- and third-round pick, the trade is effectively a wash depending on how you value time. If you say a draft pick’s value diminishes with each year, then that second-round pick in 2022 is proportionate to the first-round pick in 2023.
The Dolphins would have done all this for a ... fifth-round pick? And a swap of first-round picks next year with San Francisco? OK.
“Why would the Dolphins move up two spots?” Kiper says. “To ensure that they get their guy, and to ensure that another team doesn’t trade into that spot to take that guy. Cincinnati at No. 5 could also take the prospect the Dolphins want.”
All that would have been thought out before the Dolphins made the original trades. Bottom-line: This mock trade doesn’t add up — if that’s the cost.
2. The Marlins’ Garrett Cooper looked to be an unfortunate loser of the National League’s refusal to use the designated hitter this year. The Marlins got Adam Duval to play right field with the idea Cooper would be the designated hitter. Instead, he’s mixing time to get at-bats. He played first base on Tuesday in Atlanta and came up with the big hits — a two-run double to tie the game in the eighth inning and the single to win it in the 10th. Cooper has six RBI in his eight games played.
3. The Panthers went out and got possible help in trades before the deadline. The final one, for Calgary’s Sam Bennett, added depth on the forward lines. The interesting part of that is their trade of a second-round pick in 2022 and second-round choice Eric Heineman and was more than Boston paid Buffalo for one-time star Taylor Hall. The Panthers also picked up Buffalo defenseman Brandon Montour to help cover the loss of Aaron Ekblad. These trades are all about a change of scenery possibly helping a player. Bennett had four goals for Calgary this year.
4. The Victor Oladipo trade looks like it couldn’t have worked out more unfortunate for him and the Heat, could it? We’re waiting to hear how badly his knee is injured. The fact we’re waiting isn’t good news for this season.
5. Dumb conversation of the day: Is retired New England Patriot receiver Julian Edelman a Hall of Famer. He’s not. But who cares? He had a stellar career — and the fact the Hall of Fame is even a subject tells how much he achieved. The Dolphins, for one, suffered for years from him.
