This week on the Any Given Friday podcast Corey Ashburn, Eric Wiedeke, and I dive into the PFN mock draft simulator and go through our very own full first-round simulated draft. While all simulators can provide surprises, our fully simulated first-round draft provided some stone-cold stunner that left Corey, Eric, and I on the edge of our seats.
New England Patriots trade up for their future QB
In one of the most stunning moves in our draft, the Miami Dolphins passed on Tua Tagovailoa at pick number five and drafted a defensive tackle instead. This left Tua on the board all the way to pick number 13 where the New England Patriots made a trade with the San Francisco 49ers and drafted Tua with the same number overall as his jersey. It was a Bill Belichick move and one that left us stunned. The Patriots gave away a 2021 first-round pick and moved from 23 with the 49ers. It was a great move and the exact reason why the simulation provides its greatness and challenges to its visitors. Just like the NFL, anything is possible.
Miami Dolphins pass on a QB three times
As stated above the Dolphins passed on Tua at pick number five and elected to also pass on Justin Herbert at pick 18 and lost him when the New Orleans Saints picked him at 24. It was a bold choice by the Dolphins to decide to not draft a QB in the first round. No trades either with the only trade being the Patriots and 49ers. This insinuates that the team is either all in (in this simulation) on Josh Rosen at QB or they are potentially looking at a guy like Jalen Hurts in the later rounds. It’s also possible that it could (again, in this simulation) mean that the team is all in on acquiring Cam Newton in free agency.