The Day J.J. Made Four Draft Trades and How It Relates to the 2022 Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins made four trades on April 17, 1999 and ended up picking up two additional picks that year

As it stood on Easter Day, the Miami Dolphins were scheduled to have four picks in the 2022 NFL draft, and that would represent the lowest total in franchise history.

But that number very well might change because recent history suggests the Dolphins will be involved in one or more trades during the three days of the draft, April 28-30.

Why that prediction? Because they have done so every single year since 2008 except for 2018.

There were two such trades last year, the one that saw the Dolphins move up in the second round to select Liam Eichenberg and giving the New York Giants their 2022 third-round pick in the process, and the one where the Dolphins sent a 2021 fifth-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a fourth-round selection this year.

But that action was nothing compared to what the Dolphins did on this day 23 years ago — April 17, 1999 — during the first day of that draft.

Johnson's busy 1999 Dolphins draft

It was Jimmy Johnson's final draft as Dolphins head coach, and even though the final results weren't particularly memorable, how we got to that point certainly was.

On that April 17, Johnson pulled off four trades, including two with the Detroit Lions and one each with the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, moved up in the draft once, moved down three times and picked up two additional 1999 picks in the process.

Here was the quick rundown:

1. The Dolphins trade a first-round pick (24th overall) to the 49ers for a first-round pick (27th overall) and a fifth-round pick (134th overall).

2. The Dolphins trade that 27th overall selection to the Lions for picks in the second (39th), third (70th) and fifth rounds (142nd).

3. The Dolphins trade their second-round pick (54th) overall, along with picks in the third (84th) and 6th rounds (188th) for the 43rd overall selection in the second round.

4. The Dolphins get a seventh-round pick (232nd overall) from the Lions to move down from 70th to 72nd in the third round.

After all the moves, the Dolphins' draft class consisted of RB J.J. Johnson and Rob Konrad as second-round picks; C Grey Ruegamer as a third-round pick; RB Cecil Collins and LB Bryan Jones as fifth-round picks; P Brent Bartholomew in the sixth round; and DT Jermaine Haley and T Joe Wong in the seventh round.

For those wondering whether the Dolphins missed out on great prospects with the trade-downs, the answer is no because this was an utterly forgettable draft class.

In fact, the biggest miss came in the third round when the Dolphins took Ruegamer at 72 right before the Steelers took linebacker (and former Dolphins Pro Bowl selection) Joey Porter at 73.

The four trades in one day represented a franchise high until that was matched in 2020 when the Dolphins made four trades on the final day of that draft, the most significant being the acquisition of running back Matt Breida for a fifth-round pick.

So as the Dolphins prepare for the 2022 draft, it's important to remember that four picks now certainly doesn't mean four picks in the draft class.