NFL personnel men: Dolphins could get Joe Burrow without having the No. 1 pick | Opinion

What if I told you the Miami Dolphins could select Joe Burrow with their first pick in next April’s NFL draft? And what if I told you they wouldn’t have to somehow climb to that draft’s first overall selection to make it happen?

It’s not only possible, but indeed, plausible according to multiple current and former NFL personnel people who spoke with the Miami Herald this week.

The scenario these personnel people see involves the Cincinnati Bengals, New York Giants and Dolphins — the teams currently sitting 1-2-3, respectively, in the projected 2020 draft order.

Many pundits and fans have conceded if the Bengals hold on to the first overall pick they will pick Burrow, the LSU quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate, with that first overall selection.

“I must have missed something,” one current NFC personnel man who has watched multiple Burrow games in person said. “Is he the best prospect in the land? Look, he’s good, there’s a lot to like. He’s going in the top three or four picks. But it would be impossible to grade anyone, including any quarterback coming out this year, above Chase Young.

“There is zero question Chase Young is the top prospect in the next draft. And being in a position to pick him and passing on him for a lesser talent would a tough thing to do.”

Young is the Ohio State defensive end who holds the school record for most sacks in a game (four) and now holds the record for most sacks in a season (16.5). OSU coach Ryan Day has called Young, “the most dominant player in all of college football,” and that opinion is echoed by multiple NFL personnel people.

“It’s not even a question,” a former NFL general manager said this week.

Despite this, the speculation has been that if the Bengals have the first overall pick they will bypass Young and pick Burrow because that team seems to have an exigent need at quarterback. And landing an elite quarterback, everyone knows, is more important than getting an elite defensive end.

Current Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, 32, is seemingly nearing the end of his time in Cincinnati. Playing with an injury-riddled offensive line and wide receiver corps, Dalton has a career-low 79.2 passer rating and his 60.4 completion percentage is the third lowest of his career. He was benched the month of November as the Bengals kicked tires on rookie Ryan Finley.

Finley, dealing with similar terrible circumstances, could not even complete 50 percent of his passes in three starts, and now Dalton has regained the job, starting this weekend against the New York Jets.

With Dalton signed for only one more season and the salary cap situation allowing the Bengals to save $17 million by cutting him, logic dictates the team will be quarterback shopping in the coming draft.

That has led many to speculate Burrow will be the Bengals’ guy.

Except ...

Burrow is a very good draft prospect. But not amazing.

Not Chase Young amazing, anyway.

“I wouldn’t stack him ahead of Young on our board,” an AFC assistant coach said. “Maybe I’m biased because I love our [quarterback], but if the Bengals are picking Burrow I’m sleeping better at night than if they’re picking the defensive end.”

One NFL personnel man acknowledges it would be difficult for any team needing a quarterback to bypass Burrow but that rule has one significant exception — the Bengals, under owner and general manager Mike Brown.

“If my owner wants the best player and is willing to have patience on getting the quarterback, then Young would be my pick,” he said. “In Cincinnati, the general manager is the owner. He’s not going to fire himself. He can be patient. So he can easily pick the far superior talent and address the quarterback afterward.”

So how might the Bengals address the quarterback situation? They could pick one later in the draft, as they did with Dalton. They could keep Dalton another season. Or they could try to sign one, such as Teddy Bridgewater, in free agency.

And they would still have Chase Young.

If that scenario were to play out, the derby for Burrow would begin with the second overall selection. The New York Giants, assuming they’re picking No. 2 as currently projected, do not need a quarterback after picking Daniel Jones in the first round this year.

The beauty of that scenario for the Dolphins is they have the No. 3 selection in the current first-round projection. They could insulate themselves from anyone trading ahead of them by moving up one spot.

The Dolphins have multiple first-round picks with which to make that short hop. Jacksonville and Oakland, the only other teams with multiple first-round picks in 2020, would require the Giants to drop more than just one spot in the first round.

And if those teams offer a first-round pick in 2021, the Dolphins have multiple first-rounders in the 2021 draft also. And, again, the Giants would be dropping only one spot in the 2020 first round for the benefit of picking up an extra first-round pick or picks.

So the Dolphins, picking third, could easily move to second and get Burrow.

This obviously does not suggest Burrow is a failed prospect because two teams — drafting No. 1 and No. 2 — would be willing to pass on him. It does make the point that Young is so far and above everyone else, including Burrow, that one team needing a quarterback might select the defensive end ahead of that quarterback answer.

That, amazingly, would leave the best quarterback prospect in the draft to the Dolphins.