Miami Dolphins Must Trade Up to Land Robert Griffin III

Back in December a report surfaced claiming that the Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins both had eyes for Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III. As things stand right now, the Dolphins will almost certainly need to trade up to have a shot at snagging Griffin.

The Dolphins will have either the No. 8 or No. 9 selection in the 2012 NFL draft, depending on whether or not they win a coin flip against the Carolina Panthers. It won't matter, as either spot should be too low to select Griffin.

As it stands now, Griffin is likely to land at No. 4 with the Cleveland Browns or at No. 6 with the Washington Redskins. That means Miami will need to figure out if Griffin is worthy of spending extra picks to trade up and grab him.

In my most recent mock draft, I have the Dolphins taking Iowa offensive tackle Riley Reiff when they are on the clock. While he would fill a need, Griffin would be a player the Dolphins could build their franchise around under new head coach Joe Philbin.

Philbin did a great job with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, so you have to think he wants a young quarterback to develop his team around.

After Stanford's Andrew Luck, Griffin is the top quarterback available in the 2012 draft. That means that the Dolphins may have to decide how much they are willing to part with in order to get him. It would probably take their first-round pick, next year's top selection and a second-rounder either this year or next year to get a deal done to move into the top three and ensure that Griffin would be available. 

That's a steep price to pay, so Miami will have to decide soon if Griffin truly is the best option for the franchise in the long run. A trade to move into the top three would mean that the Dolphins wouldn't be able to fill other needs in the draft, so they would have to add pieces in free agency.

It's a delicate balance, but if planned out well, Miami could come away with a new franchise quarterback and some quality pieces around him.