Finsmob Unleashed

Time is ticking down, and all of the storylines are coming to a head. Arguments supporting trading up, staying put, and trading back are at full throttle all over the NFL landscape, especially here in Miami. I can get on board with either as long as we come away with at least 2 players that will play a lot of the ’24 season and make a positive impact. My feeling is OL and EDGE are the 2 places with the strongest needs, followed closely by 3-4 DE. If you’re looking to trade back, the age old phrasing of the talent from 21-55 was pretty even so we wanted get another player or two in that area to help our team. In the unlikely scenario where we trade up, it will be this is a player we really felt would impact our team right now and in the future. As far as staying put, the dialogue will be we felt like staying put would net us the player we wanted, that someone valuable was going to fall to us. In any of these scenarios, it’s not how or why we got there, it’s who the player is, and ultimately how the player fares and impacts the team this season. Make no mistake, we’re not taking a player that will be sitting on the bench and learning in ’24, we simply have way too many holes to fill.

If it’s going to be an edge rusher, which I think is very likely, the names that pop up are FSU’s Jared Verse, UCLA’s Laiatu Latu and Penn State’s Chop Robinson. If we’re looking at O-line, the scope widens some, from a plug-n-play OC/G like Jackson Powers-Johnson, to possibly an OT that could play inside or sub for Terron Armstead/Austin Jackson if necessary, such as Washington’s Troy Fautanu, who would have to fall some, or Georgia’s Amarius Mims, or Oklahoma’s Tyler Guyton. There are a few OG’s that we could take either with a trade back or our 2nd pick, such as Kansas St’s Cooper Beebe, Connecticut’s Christian Haynes, or Michigan’s Zak Zinter. The reason I believe we go defense first is because the dropoff is pretty significant at both EDGE and/or DT/DE, while the O-line has some players that should be available in RD 2 or later that could step in and play immediately.

As of this moment, the Dolphins have still not come to an agreement with QB Tua Tagovailoa on an extension, although we keep hearing a deal is imminent. I would think both sides want to protect themselves, it’s a tough spot for both sides. Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert have been paid. Daniel Jones has also been paid. I believe Tua falls somewhere in between those 4. The other aspect on this situation is that I believe Tua is in an ideal place to for his skillset. Not to say he couldn’t have success elsewhere, but the HC who is a staunch believer in him, and has handcrafted the offense around his strengths is a huge boon for Tua. The Climate is also conducive to his success, you don’t want Tua in Green Bay, or Buffalo for that matter. I feel like that does give the Dolphins some leverage due to those things, but only so much that Tua and more so his representation wants to see the money. Is it possible that Tua plays the season without an extension? I’d think the odds are low, but if that were to happen, the Dolphins could tag Tua next season and let the market decide what he’s worth.

Tonight, here on FMU, we will be conducting our annual Mock Draft at 7PM, led by none other than our own M13. Please try and make it if you can, the more participation we have, the more fun it will be. We’ll all be voting for each and every pick for every team, all 32. For those on the West Coast, my apologies on the early start, hop in later if you can’t make the start. Hope to see a bunch of you here at 7PM tonight!

FMU Mock Draft – Tonight 7PM EST

GO DOLPHINS!!!