Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel adds fuel to Jonathan Taylor trade rumors with unorthodox take on NFL running backs

When it comes to Jonathan Taylor trade rumors, no team has been more talked about as a possible landing spot than the Miami Dolphins, and head coach Mike McDaniel might have just added more fuel to that speculation. 

Although the running back position has been devalued in the modern NFL, McDaniel is definitely one of the few coaches who still sees it as a “valuable position.” When it comes to running backs, the Dolphins coach explained his philosophy about the position on Thursday, and it seems to be a philosophy that would welcome Taylor with open arms. 

“Let’s say on an average season with 17 games now, you have 1,200 plays on each side of the ball,” McDaniel said, via PFT. “And how many of those plays are the running backs touching it? It’s a valuable position that you have to have depth at. It’s a big portion of your touches and you understand that in that process, that you have to have a good solid group for the team and for your offense for the whole year. … And I got my feet wet, really, in NFL game planning in the run game. So it’s near and dear to my heart.”

The Dolphins have been busy adding running backs this offseason, and this thought process likely explains why. Despite already having Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson on the roster, the Dolphins still added a running back (Devon Achane) in the 2023 NFL Draft, and even with that addition, they’ve still been looking to add more. 

Not only was the team linked to Dalvin Cook before he signed with the Jets, but they also apparently called the Raiders about possibly acquiring Josh Jacobs before the latest round of rumors involving Taylor. 

Although McDaniel clearly has an infatuation with running backs, one thing he doesn’t seem to like is answering questions about rumors involving his team. The Dolphins coach has spent a good chunk of his offseason answering questions about possible trade rumors, and it seems that he might now be tired of that.  

During his press conference, he did answer the question about his love for running backs, but he refused to answer any specific questions about the reports that his team is interested in Taylor. 

“Here’s the thing with ‘reports,'” McDaniel told the media, via Pro Football Network. “First of all, I think my 2.5 year-old daughter just tweeted a report.”

His daughter’s report? 

“Every player in the National Football League is coming to the Dolphins.”

We can probably all agree that his daughter might have a future as an NFL reporter.

As much as McDaniel hates answering questions about rumors involving his team, he’s not doing anything to slow down the rumor mill when it comes to Taylor. For instance, he could have denied that the Dolphins were interested in the Colts star, but instead, he admitted that he values running backs more than almost every other NFL coach. 

Of course, even if McDaniel wants Taylor, he doesn’t get to make the trades. That responsibility falls on Dolphins general manager Chris Grier. 

“I’ve said this before: I’m not going to speak about other players,” McDaniel said of Taylor. “How many times do I have to explain, Chris Grier’s job is to work. He works at it a lot and keeps me abreast when they’re real. Generally, when things are real, I don’t have questions about them. There’s been kind of a consistent pattern where we’ve talked about all sorts of players. So reports, whatever, that’s kind of, it seems like the noise that is around the business.” 

The Colts currently have a sky-high asking price for Taylor — they’re reportedly looking for something along the lines of a first-round pick, according to ESPN — and although the Dolphins might not be willing to pay that, they’re likely goigng to be willing to pay more than most teams based on how much McDaniel values the position compared to other coaches. 

With the Colts imposing an Aug. 29 deadline for a Taylor trade, the market for the running back will likely be heating up over the next few days and the Dolphins will definitely be one team you need to keep an eye on.