NFL Trade Rumors: Miami Dolphins Went After Cincinnati Bengals' No.1 Pick, Joe Burrow

Amid rumors that the Miami Dolphins have attempted to trade up from the No.5 pick, a new report indicates that the team tried to acquire the top selection in the 2020 NFL Draft. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Miami inquired with the Cincinnati Bengals multiple times about the availability of the first overall draft pick.

The Bengals reportedly made it clear to the Dolphins that they were unwilling to trade the No.1 pick. Cincinnati is expected to draft LSU quarterback Joe Burrow.

Over the last couple of weeks, the Dolphins called the Bengals on more than one occasion to see if Cincinatti would be willing to trade the No. 1 overall pick. The Dolphins were told, in no uncertain terms, no. Cincinnati would not trade the pick and would stay put at No. 1.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 23, 2020

Miami has the No.5, No.18 and No.26 picks in Thursday’s first round. The Dolphins are likely to take a quarterback at some point on Day 1 of the draft. Miami could target Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa or Oregon’s Justin Herbert with their top selection.

The Dolphins have reportedly had trade discussions with the Detroit Lions about the No.3 overall pick. According to multiple reports, Miami might potentially use that selection on an offensive tackle, not a quarterback.

Reports of the Dolphins’ lack of interest in drafting Tagovailoa could be a smokescreen. According to ProFootballTalk, the purpose of Miami trying to land the No.3 pick was part of a plan to trade for Cincinnati’s No.1 overall selection.

Sources: The #Dolphins have called the teams in front of them for a possible trade up from No. 5 and are gauging the price to come up to No. 3 to potentially take an offensive tackle. We could see a run on tackles in the Top 10 like never before.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 22, 2020

Miami's effort to get both No. 3 and No. 5 is part of a broader plan to make the Bengals a Godfather offer for No. 1 https://t.co/Eto1N85p7b
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) April 23, 2020

Burrow led LSU to an undefeated season in 2019, winning the Heisman Trophy award with 5,671 passing yards, 60 touchdown passes and six interceptions. He set a new college football record with a 202.0 passing efficiency rating.

The record had previously been set by Tagovailoa when he recorded a 199.4 rating in 2018. Tagovailoa was the Heisman Trophy runner-up that season with 3,966 passing yards, 43 touchdown passes and six interceptions.

Tagovailoa had a 206.9 rating in 2019 before his season was cut short by a hip injury that required surgery. The quarterback completed 71.4% of his passes for 2,840 yards, 33 touchdowns and three interceptions as a junior.