The NFL draft is a week away and the Miami Dolphins may look at a trade up into the top 10 to target players like Amari Cooper, Kevin White, DeVante Parker or Todd Gurley and the Oakland Raiders or Washington Redskins could be potential partners if the team wants to trade into the top part of the draft in 2015.
The Dolphins have pressure to make the playoffs this year and while they only have six draft picks, the team could look at foregoing depth for talent. According to Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com and CBSSports.com, the Dolphins have been calling around to teams to see what it would take to move up into the top five or the top 10. The Dolphins have the number 14 pick overall in the first round and that means they likely will be too far away to get players like Cooper, Parker or White.
CBS Sports reports that the team could continue their "aggressive approach" this offseason after adding Ndamukong Suh, trading Mike Wallace and adding Kenny Stills. After those moves, Joe Philbin likely will be fired if the team doesn't make the playoffs and with just six picks in this draft, the team could use that lack of selections to push up and get the best player on their board. The team won't be able to add selections unless they trade back and while that could be a smart move, right now it might not be the best move for the franchise.
The team has Ryan Tannehill coming back after his best season as a pro and they want to keep him developing in the right direction. White and Cooper are considered to be the best wide receivers in this draft and that is an area of need for the Dolphins. The team wants more weapons for Tannehill and trading up would allow them to target one of those players. The Dolphins may look at the Raiders, Redskins, Jets and Bears as the best options, as it would take too much to get up into the top three.
The Buccaneers appear to be ready to take Jameis Winston number one and all reports have the Titans looking to trade the number two pick. While the Dolphins could look at that, it doesn't make sense since they do not need Marcus Mariota. The Cleveland Browns, Chargers, Bears and Jets all have reported interest in that pick to get Mariota. The Jaguars likely are staying at number three and that leaves the Raiders and Redskins in the top five.
The Raiders reportedly are targeting White or Cooper in the draft, but if they trade back, they can get some draft picks and a top player at that selection. Reggie McKenzie has done this before and he ended up picking DJ Hayden, the player he said he wanted the whole time. The Dolphins traded Mike Wallace and released both Brandon Gibson and Brian Hartline and they need more depth at wide receiver.
Cooper is coming in after a very productive season in which he put up 124 catches for 1727 yards and 16 touchdowns. White has some better measurables, but Cooper is considered the more finished NFL product. White has speed and he ended up with over 100 catches and 10 touchdowns last season while playing for West Virginia.