With the Dolphins holding the Texans pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, and with the Texans being 3-7 and picking high, many mock draft’s have the Dolphins taking Star WR out of LSU, Ja’Marr Chase.
Overview
Ja’Marr Chase was the best receiver in college football last year, and with nothing left to prove, he forgoer his Junior year, to train for the draft. Chase had 84 receptions for 1,780 yards and 20 touchdowns last year at LSU. He averaged 21.2 yards per catch. In the College Football Playoff Final, he put up 221 yards and 2 touchdowns. Chase actually won the Fred Biletnikoff Award which goes to college football’s most outstanding receiver.
Should the Dolphins take him?
Chase looks like the best all around receiver in the draft, and he could be the top picked receiver. Young QB Tua Tagovailoa needs another weapon, and Ja’Marr Chase could be just that. This leads us to the question, should they draft Chase? Although Chase might be the best receiver in the draft, the Dolphins could opt to go for a different star WR, Alabama’s Jaylen Waddle. Waddle and Tagovailoa were teammates in college, and had a connection. In his 4 games this year, he had over 100 yards in all of them. He had 557 yards and 4 touchdowns, before injuring his ankle, putting him on the sidelines for the remainder of the year.
He’s a familiar target for Tagovailoa, and provides a terrific option to stretch the field. He is a bit like the top selected receiver from this year’s draft, Henry Ruggs III who is also from Alabama, and played with Waddle. Waddle would give Tagovailoa a deep shot down the field, as he is more of a deep threat than Chase. Parker and Waddle or Parker and Chase could be a dynamic WR duo for years to come. Another direction the Dolphins could go, is draft Star LB Micah Parsons from Penn St. or EDGE rusher Gregory Rousseau from Miami. If they did that, they could go after speedster WR Rondale Moore from Purdue with their other 1st round pick. In his only full season at college in 2018, he had 1,258 yards and 12 touchdowns. Another option could be Rashod Bateman from Minnesota. Bateman had 1,219 yards and 11 touchdowns last year, and has 472 yards and 2 touchdowns through 5 games this year.
Dolphins Future
Whatever does happen though, the Dolphins have a bright future with many building blocks. Tua looks to be a future star, and if they can get him the right weapons the Dolphins could be competing for a while. This offseason they will look to get him a weapon that can compliment Devante Parker, and Mike Gesicki. With that in mind many things remain up in the air, as the season still has 7 weeks to go. It is rare for a WR to be drafted with a top 5 pick, but it may happen if the Texans finish with a bottom 5 record.