National Football League

Why the Bradley Chubb trade makes perfect sense for Dolphins

Updated Nov. 1, 2022 4:22 p.m. ET

The Miami Dolphins are not a bad pass-rushing football team. But that's where they went for broke at the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, with the blockbuster acquisition of edge rusher Bradley Chubb, a Dolphins source told FOX Sports.

The move doesn't just have sound logic to it. It makes perfect sense.

The Dolphins are sending the San Francisco 49ers' 2023 first-round pick, Miami's 2024 fourth-round pick and running back Chase Edmonds to the Broncos for Chubb and a 2025 fifth-round pick, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Chubb will join a group of edge rushers that includes Jaelan Phillips and Melvin Ingram. Those two Dolphins have been fairly productive. Phillips has three sacks and 23 hurries, per PFF. Ingram has added two sacks and 13 hurries. Miami is 16th in total pressures in the NFL, per PFF. They're 10th in hurries and 21st in pressure percentage.

The Dolphins just aren't quite getting home, with the 10th-fewest sacks in the league.

Chubb has 5.5 sacks and 26 total pressures this season, per PFF. He's not just a pass-rusher, however. He's a reliable option as a run defender, which is how he earned 74% of the team's defensive snaps in Denver this season. The move makes sense in that respect. The Dolphins get a player who has proven he can help with their sack problems — and Miami's less substantial pressure issues.

But it's also somewhat surprising. If anything, the Dolphins seemed to need help in the back end of the defense, where their secondary is struggling to properly cover their opponents' pass-catchers. Miami has allowed the fourth-most passing yards per game at 2,097. The Dolphins should get cornerback Byron Jones back to pair with Xavien Howard at cornerback.

General manager Chris Grier must feel like the additions of Jones and Chubb should shore up Miami's defense.

The final reason why the Dolphins have to be happy with this deal: they intend to sign Chubb to a long-term extension, per reports. That's a win because they're not just adding Chubb as a rental. In theory, the Dolphins are giving up a late first-round pick in order to circumvent free agency. While free agency is a fun hot-stove time of year, the truth is that most Tier 1 talents don't make it to market, because teams tend to re-sign their elite players to long-term extensions. So teams are left signing Tier 2 talents to Tier 1 contracts. That's what Grier seems to be avoiding with Chubb — just like the GM avoided with Tyreek Hill.

By acquiring an elite talent in a blockbuster, Grier has targeted a player he truly covets, rather than waiting to see what becomes available in the offseason. It's a bold move — and one that I think will pay major dividends in the coming years.

Prior to joining FOX Sports as the AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @McKennAnalysis.