Bills have been taking hit after hit on their talent pool!
The Miami Dolphins lost quite a few talented free agents this offseason, and on paper, they don’t appear to have as much talent as they did last year. Thankfully, the team they have been chasing in the AFC East also lost a lot of talent this offseason! The Buffalo Bills’ bloodletting continued with a real head-scratcher of a trade by sending Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans. It was an ugly lopsided trade of Diggs a 2024 6th-round pick, and a 2025 fifth-round pick for the Houston Texans’ 2025 2nd-round pick. In addition, the Bills will take a whopping dead cap hit of $30 million on Diggs!
Not a good day for the Bills mafia.
Bills are letting go of players left and right
Something went wrong up in Buffalo because Diggs has been their best and most effective wide receiver since they acquired him in a trade from Minnesota in 2020. Diggs was by far Josh Allen’s favorite and most sought-after target in the passing game leading the Bills last year in targets (160), receptions (107), receiving yards 1,183, YAC (399), first downs (58), and receiving touchdowns (8). In addition, the Bills also lost wide receiver Gabe Davis in free agency and he was second on the team in receiving yards (746), first downs (34), and receiving touchdowns (7).
That’s a lot of production lost in the receiving game!
This is a sizable benefit to Miami because whenever your division rival loses one of their best weapons on offense that vulnerability can give their division opponents a strong leg up. To make it sweeter for Phins fans, Diggs had a history of torching the Dolphins, so not having to face him two times a year against a key division rival is a win. The oddsmakers at various pay-per-head sites see Buffalo as a weaker team because they were the original favorite to win the Division before this trade, but now they are the co-favorites with the Dolphins at +160 to win the AFC East.
Can the Miami Dolphins finally dethrone the Buffalo Bills and win the AFC East? Well, this is a good step in the right direction. Miami must at least beat Buffalo one time next year. Buffalo will most likely draft a wide receiver in a deep wide receiver class, so there is a good chance they plug in a new stud receiver for next year. Still, there are no guarantees that they draft the right guy or if they do he gets on track sooner rather than later.
Dolphins’ time is now to take the AFCE Throne!
There has been some talk of the Dolphins selecting the best player available in the upcoming draft this month, and one of those names floating around is Brian Thomas Jr, the wide receiver from LSU. Wide receiver is not the Dolphins’ #1 need for next season, but they do need a more dependable 3rd wide receiver and even though they kicked the tires on Odell Beckham Jr, he appears out of their price range. Also, a receiver pick would take one option off the table for the Bills to choose from increasing their chances of missing on the pick.
So, if Miami does use the best player available philosophy, would they scoop up Thomas if he is available to not only help out their offense but also so he doesn’t land with the Buffalo Bills a few picks after them? Move and counter-move create another intriguing AFCE subplot in the 2024 NFL Draft. Let’s hope the Phins come out on top by adding talent and robbing the Bills with one selection.
What are the rest of the Miami Dolphins news fans’ thoughts on how this trade affects our Dolphins?