Could Dolphins Make a Run at Taylor?
The Miami Dolphins are not afraid to make blockbuster trades, evidenced by their deals for Tyreek Hill, Bradley Chubb and Jalen Ramsey over the past 16 months. They also apparently wouldn't mind adding a stud running back, evidenced by their well-publicized flirtation with Dalvin Cook.
So ... does that mean we should expect the Dolphins to at the very least inquire about the possibility of making a trade for Jonathan Taylor, who is in the middle of a public spat with the Indianapolis Colts and owner Jim Irsay?
Well, there's at least one national writer who at the very least thinks they should. In fact, Eric Edholm from NFL.com put the Dolphins first among the teams that represent the best fit to land Taylor.
"Any team interested in Dalvin Cook probably would be interested in trading for Taylor, so the Dolphins certainly fit in that regard," Edholm wrote. "Miami’s backfield might be in decent enough shape ... but the Cook interest suggests they might want some more juice out of the position.
"Does Taylor fit in a Mike McDaniel offense? Well, sure. Speed is the name of the game in Miami, and Taylor has plenty of it, turning in the fastest run from any ball-carrier during the 2021 season. And even if Taylor might not be a perfect fit from a third-down standpoint, the Dolphins would appear to have enough other options to fill that role if needed."
Edholm aptly points out the reasons the Dolphins wouldn't make that kind of move, namely their salary-cap situation for 2024 in light of Taylor's impending UFA status and the fact that maybe they're tired of surrendering draft capital to acquire veterans.
THE TAKE ON THE JONATHAN TAYLOR IDEA
The Dolphins, as Edholm pointed out, have a lot of depth at running back after re-signing Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr., Salvon Ahmed and Myles Gaskin in the offseason and then adding De'Von Achane in the third round of the 2023 NFL draft, but Taylor simply is on another level in the same way that Cook is.
Taylor actually is even better than Cook, plus he's played in the NFL only three years as opposed to six for Cook, so he's got less wear and tear on body.
And, unlike Cook, there aren't many folks who actually believe the Colts would ever think of simply releasing their disgruntled running back, so a trade is how the Dolphins can get.
So what could a trade for Taylor look like? Fan Duel proposed this hypothetical deal involving the Dolphins: Taylor for Jeff Wilson Jr., a 2024 second-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick.
First off, if that's all it takes to get Taylor, that kind of trade compensation wouldn't be the reason not to make a move because this is a very small price — especially considering that Wilson would become obsolete if the Dolphins got Taylor.
But is that a realistic trade scenario?
As a point of reference, to get Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers, the San Francisco 49ers had to send them second-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a fifth-round selection in 2024. And let's just say that Taylor and McCaffrey are comparable talents.
Much more significant than the trade compensation question are the salary-cap ramifications.
The Dolphins already are more than $32 million over the projected 2024 salary cap, per overthecap.com, with six players with a cap number exceeding $20 million. And then there are the players on the current roster in line for new (read: bigger) contracts, such as Christian Wilkins, Robert Hunt, Connor Williams, Zach Sieler and potentially Tua Tagovailoa, whose cap number jumps to at least $23 million on his fifth-year option.
THE DOLPHINS, COOK AND PAYING BIG MONEY FOR A RUNNING BACK
With Cook, it's very clear the Dolphins would welcome him to the team, but only at the right price, considering they have made an offer, reportedly well below Cook's asking price of $6-8 million.
Truth is, the Dolphins haven't spent big money on a running back in a while. They did sign Chase Edmonds to a two-year, $12 million contract in the 2021 offseason, but that included a modest $6.1 million in guarantees.
As with Cook, though, the question is whether adding Taylor to the offense could be the final move to push the Dolphins into the mix of Super Bowl favorites.
Of course, we could point out that the Dolphins could have had Taylor at a rookie contract and with no trade compensation cost had they simply selected him with the 30th overall pick of the 2020 draft instead of taking cornerback Noah Igbinoghene after trading down with the Green Bay Packers.
But that's in the past.
In the present, Taylor's status is a big story around the NFL, and while the idea of the Dolphins making a move for him makes sense on a certain level, it still would have to be considered a surprise if any materialized.
