MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Nobody loves draft-weekend trades more than Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier.
But if “Trader Chris,” as colleagues have called him, actually moves out of the first round for the third time in as many years, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel might not survive it.
“He has been out of his mind, because now he’s recommending everybody to me,” Grier said at his pre-draft news conference Tuesday. “But it’s been fun. He and I have been watching a lot of players, talking, great communication. So it’s been fun. I think he’s very excited to add a good player, as we all are.”
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With Grier, you can never speak in certainties when it comes to Round 1. He has had full autonomy over the Dolphins’ draft since 2019, and in every year but one, he’s made a trade involving a first-round pick.
Tyreek Hill, Bradley Chubb, Jaylen Waddle, and Austin Jackson are all on the team because of first-round moves made by Grier.
But those deals, plus the punishment handed down by the NFL from its tampering investigation, have come at a cost. The Dolphins haven’t had a first-round pick since 2021 — before McDaniel even took over as head coach.
So while he can’t rule out the Dolphins making a modest move up or down in Round 1, the odds are very high that Miami picks either at 21 — or close to it — next week.
“I think we’re open to everything, but also you don’t want to pass on a good player,” Grier said. “If there is someone there that we all feel very strongly about that can really impact our roster, it’s like how far can you drop down and still possibly get him?
“You always weigh those factors of ‘Yeah, it’s great to pick up an extra third,’ but if that second-round player is someone we believe in like a Jevon Holland or Jarvis Landry in the second round, then you’ll take the player.”
Grier told reporters that he has already had discussions with other teams about moving up or back, but suggests those talks at this point weren’t super serious.
There are factors working against the Dolphins swinging a Round 1 trade. Moving up would take draft capital that they simply don’t have. Miami this year has just two picks in the top 150, and Grier almost certainly doesn’t want to part with his second-round selection (55).
They could add to that arsenal of picks by moving back in Round 1. But doing so would put the Dolphins at risk of missing out on a first-round caliber player. He told reporters Tuesday that Miami doesn’t have first-round grades on 21 players.
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“I think we definitely feel there will be one or two players that we really like there is where we are right now,” Grier said.
“We feel that we can get an impact player there that will help our team and roster, and we’d be very excited to add. We’ve gone through it a few times. We’ll keep going through it here. We feel good about who would be there at No. 21 if we were to pick there.”