Last year you had the Tua vs. Herbert rumors as well as the trading up for Burrow rumors. I'm not sure what if anything was put out there by the Dolphins. I understand they did do their due diligence on both Tua and Herbert and they did talk to Cincy about trading up to #1, but IMO this was just more due diligence. I believe they were pretty sure who they wanted early on. There was so much noise on the message boards anytime anything happened with Herbert from those who wanted Herbert, but IMO it was pretty obvious they were taking Tua.
I thought they also knew they were getting one of the top 5 OTs. The rumor was they liked Wirfs and Becton. I understand they even tried to trade up for Wirfs. That failed but they did get one of the top 5 OTs.
I didn't hear any rumors on Noah. I did hear they were interested in Ruiz (C) and Aiyuk (WR). Those guys were taken in the two picks before ours. I think that's why they took the opportunity to trade down.
In general, I don't think the Dolphins engage in much mis-information. I think they do their due diligence any the rumor mill takes over from there. I also think many fans get so wrapped up in whom they want that they confuse that with what they think Miami will do. But in the end Miami seems to do the most obvious thing with their early picks.
So, IMO the most obvious thing in this draft is that they want one of the four pass catchers. They might even prefer one of the two Alabama guys. I think they want one of the top three RBs, but that may just be my preference. And I think they want one of the top three Cs. I also expect they a secondary player. My guess is S, but it may be a CB or maybe a guy with position flexibility back there. I expect that that's where we'll see 3 of our top 4 picks go.
I do not think that the team has edge rusher or OT high on their need list. I think that's a fan/media narrative. However, there are a couple of edge players which seem like great fits that they might take as BPAs for them in Paye, and Collins (maybe even Parsons if he fell). I like Phillips but I haven't heard anything from the team that suggests he's likely. I do think they may take a pass rusher later like they tried with Weaver last year. I don't think they'll target an OT, but I do think they would take an OT with position flexibility with a later pick.
