Great question
@SF Dolphin Fan , and one I've been wondering ever since Ja'Marr Chase was selected #6 by the Bengals.
In hindsight it is easy to say no. Either we should have stayed up at #3 and secured Chase, or we should have stayed down at #12 with those two extra 1st rounders from Philly, because either you get a top elite talent or you get value from Tier 2. But, I thought that at #6 we were in the right spot to get the back end of Tier 1, and I advocated for the trade down. I liked being at #6 rather than #3 or #12. I was wrong, but that's hindsight talking. I think at the time it was good thinking to move down from #3 to #6 and pick up a 1st. The wisdom at the time was fairly strong that we could get Chase or Pitts at #6. While the QB theories held up ... the faith in Devonta Smith did not. The Pitts hype train took off and he skyrocketed after our trade from a mid to late 1st rounder to the 1st non-QB in the draft, so that option was gone. The love for the #2 best overall prospect in this draft, Penei Sewell evaporated, and even the most OL starved team in the draft, the Bengals, didn't take him. The market for Watson shriveled up so Houston was no longer trading him for a draft pick in the top 5. In sum, the landscape changed dramatically. We ended up playing a musical chairs with 5 seats and we had pick #6.
When Pitts was drafted we should have known our contingency plan had a very realistic possibility of needing to be invoked. Despite masterful draft run-up ... we were going to need to release that parachute. We needed that finger on the rip cord of that contingency plan. When Chase was selected, we needed to pull that rip cord. But, we didn't. In fact, we sent up our pick with over 3:00 minutes left on the clock. Clearly, the Dolphins valued Waddle. While I may have seen him as a drop down to Tier 2 in talent, and while many people may have clearly preferred Smith to Waddle, apparently, the Dolphins valued Waddle right where he was at. They got a guy they were comfortable getting, and if they weren't comfortable, they would have been working the phones for much more of those last 3:00+ minutes we were on the clock. I would have had that contingency plan ready to go, and I would have traded down if possible ... and it likely was possible.
Maybe they knew they couldn't recover the 1st they had lost to trade back up from 12 and didn't want to look desperate because their jobs are ultimately on the line. Maybe they had so thoroughly explored the options that they knew they couldn't get value because nobody coveted the #6 spot at that time. Maybe they had offers and just loved Waddle that much. Regardless, it didn't happen. I'll factor this into my evaluation of Grier, and if Waddle pans out we'll obviously let this slide into the ether without marking Grier down for it. But, obviously, everyone will be watching the careers of Chase and Pitts and if they fulfill their potential, Grier will be graded harshly. And if someone between #7 and #12 turns out to be an elite star, again, Grier will be judged harshly. But at the end of the day, I would have traded back from #3 to #6 and made those two trades ... so I can't be too harsh on Grier no matter what. he could have picked Smith ... but I have my reservations about his weight too, so I get why he didn't. We can't judge people on what might have been. We can only judge them on what our decision would have been and what they actually did. We know that Tunsil is a good player ... but we traded him for what became several players, including Jalen Waddle .. and ultimately that's the only fair comparison we should make.
