The modern NFL is widely regarded as a copycat league. Could other teams in the NFL begin stealing the same idea the Miami Dolphins have? The current plan for the Dolphins has widely been known and accepted, a plan that hasn’t completely removed fans from embracing their hometown team, despite their 0-4 start to the year. Even after a bye week and an extra week of rest and planning for their next opponent, the winless 0-5 Washington Redskins, the Dolphins are still not favored to win. The Redskins just fired their head coach Jay Gruden, brother of fan-favorite and Super Bowl winning coach, Jon Gruden, earlier this month. This will be the first game without their former leader and the game is on the road for the Redskins, yet the Dolphins have been so bad they are still 3 ½ point favorites to win. However, the Dolphins have a major plan and they are sticking to their plan no matter what happens to them. Fans of the Miami franchise will start to see the results as early as April next year when the 2020 NFL Draft happens. However, that’s a long stretch away from now.
Are the Dolphins That Bad?
While this 2019 NFL season is a wash, the Miami Dolphins idea to “tank”, though no one in the front office or coaching staff openly uses that term, is about to be widely used. The Cincinnati Bengals are 0-5 as well and the New York Jets remains winless. Rumors are swirling about Cincinnati trading away their assets in former 4th overall pick and seven-time Pro Bowl player, wide-receiver A.J. Green to gain a high-pick in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft, among other players. Green, 31, is in the last year of his contract and is not expected to be re-signed despite being the best player on the Bengals this decade. The Bengals, like the Redskins, have older players that have value that could serve both franchises well to trade for maximum value for future picks.
How the Miami Tank Process Is Different
The Dolphins have traded young, somewhat unproven, yet highly-touted players to receive far greater rewards than those players would have given them. Should other franchises start to wise up and join the “tanking” process, the Dolphins might not have their ultimate plan come to fruition. Time will tell if this plan will work out, but the Dolphins will certainly have 5 draft picks inside the top 40 picks in next year’s draft with no other team coming close to that value, for now. If the Bengals, Redskins, or hapless Jets begin to trust the process of tanking, the Dolphins will have to deal with other teams stealing away some of the choices available due to extended flexibility of picks. Time will tell, but this Dolphins fan hopes to see at least one win this season, hopefully over the Jets or in the least, a win at home against future Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson and the winless Washington Redskins. Want to stay in touch with the Dolphins plans and more news around the NFL? Follow us here at FloridaInsider.com
Mike has more than 30 years of experience in marketing and public relations. He once owned his own agency and has worked with some of the largest brands in the world.
