The Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders may consider a trade in the first round at the NFL draft at the end of this month, as reports have the Fins looking at Amari Cooper, Kevin White, DeVante Parker, Todd Gurley and Dante Fowler as potential targets and a move could be helpful to both teams, as the 2015 class is deep with talent over the early rounds.
The Dolphins come into the draft with the number 14 pick in the first round, while the Raiders once again have a top five overall pick. According to CBS Sports, the Dolphins are considering trading into the top 10 and if they do that, the likely targets are Kevin White or Amari Cooper. Most draft experts see the Dolphins picking a wide receiver and it comes after the team traded away Mike Wallace this offseason.
White comes in as a bigger player than Cooper, but most scouts see Cooper as the best wideout in the draft. White put up a fast 40-yard dash time and he is 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, which is ideal for what the Dolphins run on offense. White had 10 touchdowns on 109 catches last season, while Cooper added 124 catches for 16 touchdowns and had over 1700 receiving yards for Alabama. White is taller than both Jarvis Landry and Kenny Stills and that could be big for the Dolphins as they try and give Ryan Tannehill more weapons.
The team traded Wallace and also released Brian Hartline and Brandon Gibson, leaving Jarvis Landry as the new number one. Stills was acquired in a trade and the team already has Rishard Matthews, but they likely want to add more depth at the position. Michael Crabtree visited the team, but he signed with the Raiders and the Dolphins also had Wes Welker in for a visit.
According to James Walker at ESPN.com, the team has met with wideout DeVante Parker and running back Todd Gurley ahead of the draft. The team has also reportedly been interested in Breshad Perriman, while running back Melvin Gordon has scheduled a pre-draft visit as well. Cooper, White and Parker are considered to be the top wideouts in the draft and for the Dolphins to get one of them, they may have to trade up.
The Dolphins have been one of the most active teams in the league this offseason and while they do not have that many draft picks to use in a trade, they may feel moving up is worth it. This is a deep draft, but after signing Ndamukong Suh and bringing in Kenny Stills, the team may feel that making the playoffs is the main priority, spending be damned. The team has been close over the past couple years and now the pressure will be on after spending so much money on players.
The Dolphins have other needs at linebacker and on the offensive line, but the team looks like it will try and add at least one significant skill position player early in the draft. Names like Jaelen Strong, Breshad Perriman, Dorial Green-Beckham and Justin hardy could be options if the team misses out on the top receivers.