The Cincinnati Bengals invested two of their top four draft picks in linebackers last year. Alas, that position remains their most glaring roster need.
So, in the aftermath of the Miami Dolphins trading away star wideout Jaylen Waddle to the Denver Broncos, why wouldn't Cincinnati call new Fins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan about linebackers Tyrel Dodson and Jordyn Brooks?
Well, because for one, vets like Bobby Wagner can still be had in free agency. No draft pick compensation required. And the Bengals could've easily traded for Minkah Fitzpatrick, only to watch Miami trade him to its AFC East rival, the Jets, for a seventh-round pick.
Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley has to save some face in his first year at the helm. Shipping off the prospective heart of his defense in Brooks, a reigning first-team All-Pro, wouldn't be wise.
Speculation has persisted that Miami could trade stud running back De'Von Achane. The Bengals happen to be equipped with the perfect circumstances to facilitate such a blockbuster deal.
If Bengals pull off trade with Dolphins, it should be for De'Von Achane
This is no knock or shade whatsoever toward incumbent Cincinnati running back Chase Brown. Love the guy. It's more a reflection of how this front office does business.
If there's any logic to the Bengals' roster-building strategy whatsoever, you could argue that picking Texas Tech RB Tahj Brooks in the sixth round of the 2025 draft was something of a Brown contingency plan. Or at the very least, Brooks would be counted on as the RB2 of the future.
Brown overcame a rocky start to last season behind a still-jelling offensive line to have his best year to date. However, he's entering a contract year, and will command a new deal near the top of the running back market.
Talk about serendipity. De'Von Achane is, too, heading into the last season of his rookie deal.
Tell me, Who Dey Heads, would you rather spend big to keep Brown, or trade him for Achane in some kind of pick swap, and pay the more explosive guy instead?
Again, not that Brown isn't explosive or is some slouch. It's just the mere fact that weapons such as Achane don't come along every day.
Having the likes of Brooks and Samaje Perine would allow the Bengals to spell Achane and not pile up so many carries on his more diminutive frame. Achane is a threat to score any time the ball is in his hands as a ball-carrier or pass-catcher. Solid of a starter as he is, I can't say the same about Chase Brown.
Achane has 35 total TDs since entering the NFL to Brown's 23. He averages 1.3 more yards per carry and would be an absolutely lethal receiving threat with Joe Burrow as his quarterback and Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins complementing him.
Here's the trade package that has a 96% chance of approval, per the PFF mock draft simulator:
- Bengals receive: RB De'Von Achane, 2026 11th overall pick, 2027 4th-round pick
- Dolphins receive: RB Chase Brown, 2026 10th overall pick, 2027 3rd-round pick
Some slightly more consequential draft pick swaps, but hey, there's nothing stopping the Bengals from moving up from No. 11 to higher into the top 10 if this trade came to pass before draft night.
Well, except themselves. The Bengals can stop themselves. They often do.
Bottom-line consequences of a De'Von Achane-Chase Brown trade for Bengals & Dolphins
Miami buys flexibility by scoring Brown as Achane's replacement. The new regime could extend him straight away, or let him walk in free agency next offseason in exchange for a compensatory draft pick.
Letting Brown go after one year at the expense of moving up in the draft fits with the Dolphins' multi-year rebuilding plan. Clinging to Achane and hoping to sell him on the future through multiple bad seasons is not a viable strategy. Fins fans would also be livid if Achane was allowed to walk for nothing in exchange as a 2027 free agent, too. Not as much re: Brown.
As for the Bengals' end of this deal, yes, Achane will command a higher price tag than Brown, but it shouldn't be costly enough to matter. If this is all it'd take to acquire him, you'd have to pull the trigger. And yes, extend him immediately.
This is a hypothetical for Brown, an admittedly beloved Bengals player who's on the ascent. However, if he were to play out his rookie contract and have some degree of success amid adverse circumstances in Miami, he could cash in big as a free agent with any team he chooses.
Just like the more "realistic" possibility of trading for Jordyn Brooks or Tyrel Dodson, the Bengals will never do this De'Von Achane trade. Nevertheless, it's fun to imagine this scenario — albeit an outside-the-box proposition Cincinnati's brass could never even conceive of.