The value of the Miami Dolphins’ first-round pick from the San Francisco 49ers just keeps diminishing.
With a second consecutive playoff upset victory pulled off by the 49ers, the pick they’re sending to the Dolphins will now be one of the final four selections of the upcoming NFL draft’s first round.
San Francisco defeated the top-seeded Green Bay Packers, 13-10, in the NFC’s divisional round on Saturday night, and for the Dolphins, that means the best the pick can be is No. 29 as the 49ers advance to the NFC Championship Game against either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Los Angeles Rams.
The remaining scenarios: 49ers lose and Cincinnati Bengals win in AFC Championship Game, the pick is 29; 49ers lose and Bengals lose, 30; 49ers lose in Super Bowl, 31; 49ers win in Super Bowl, 32.
Had San Francisco lost on Saturday night at Lambeau Field, the pick would’ve been settled at No. 25.
It’s the third consecutive week that the selection has been negatively impacted. Had the Los Angeles Rams held on to a late lead in the regular season finale against the 49ers, San Francisco would’ve been eliminated with the pick being No. 17. The 49ers’ upset win over the Cowboys in the wild-card round then pushed the selection further back from No. 22.
The Dolphins own the 49ers’ selection while the Philadelphia Eagles have Miami’s pick due to the two trades the Dolphins pulled off with the NFC teams last offseason ahead of the 2021 NFL draft. Miami traded back to No. 12 with San Francisco, sending the No. 3 pick, which previously belonged to the Houston Texans, to the 49ers. A move up from 12 to 6, where wide receiver Jaylen Waddle was selected, followed and sent the Dolphins’ 2022 first-rounder to Philadelphia.
The Dolphins are selecting around 15 spots lower than they would be had they traded the 49ers’ pick to the Eagles instead of their own. The Miami selection going to Philadelphia in the upcoming draft is No. 15. The Dolphins also got a 2023 first-round pick from the 49ers in the deal.
With Miami’s reported affirmation early in the offseason that it will stick with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the Dolphins seem unlikely to send this first-round pick to another team in a trade.
There are a number of offensive tackles and wide receivers that could go around where the Dolphins will be picking, as general manager Chris Grier and Miami’s new incoming coach will look to address team needs.
The NFL draft is ordered by first having the 18 non-playoff teams pick in reverse order of record, with lower strength of schedule serving as a tiebreaker. Picks 19-24 are then reserved for the wild-card round losers in reverse order of regular-season record. Picks 25-28 go to divisional round losers and so on until the Super Bowl champion picks 32nd.