Wed, Mar 9, 2016 at 5:33pm

DOLPHINS KEEP ADDING 'D,' ACQUIRING ALONSO & MAXWELL

The Miami Dolphins acquired linebacker Kiko Alonso, cornerback Byron Maxwell, and a 1st-round draft pick in 2016 (No. 13 overall) from the Philadelphia Eagles for a 1st-round draft pick in 2016 (No. 8 overall).

What does it give the Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins look committed to revamping their defense this off-season, and they're off to a great start. Potential starters Alonso and Maxwell join fellow newcomer Mario Williams to give the team three stellar stoppers, which should help offset the loss of star end Olivier Vernon (gone to the Giants). Miami also clearly expects to be able to draft the player it wants at No. 13 (since this is a move down in Round 1), so if everything works out this could be a coup for the Dolphins. That said, a lot depends on the health of Alonso's knee.

What does it give the Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles achieve two objectives with this deal: first, they drop a lot of salary by shedding the contracts of Alonso and Maxwell; and second, they move up in the draft. Clearly Philly covets a particular player they feel will be gone in the top 10, so we'll need to revisit this deal post-Draft. The Eagles have already made a splash in free agency (signing corner Ron Brooks and linebacker Nigel Bradham to replacing the departing Alonso and Maxwell), so this is a nice series of moves all-round by the Eagles.

Fantasy impact
There's little fantasy impact to this deal, since Alonso is a major question mark due to knee issues and both he and Maxwell are only fringe options fantasy-wise in leagues featuring Indvidual Defensive Players (that is, better in reality than in fantasy). No fantasy contributors on either team are likely to see big swings in value as a result.