The Miami Dolphins are right where they want to be, even after winning 5 games this season in a year that was supposed to be conducted with the purpose of positioning the team to land a franchise quarterback. Well, here we are. The Cincinnati Bengals are scheduled to pick first. The next quarterback hungry team in the queue? The Miami Dolphins, picking 5th.
And the Dolphins have five 1st-round picks over the next two seasons, so if the team catches wind of any potential trade action (perhaps with the Detroit Lions at 3?), they’ll have ample opportunity to come in over the top and make a deal to draft their desired passer if they so desire.
No matter the scenario, here’s what the Miami Dolphins shouldn’t do: avoid drafting a quarterback.
This isn’t to say that Miami has to draft a quarterback with the 5th overall pick, or even in the 1st-round if they don’t like their options. But this team has for so long completely avoided addressing the quarterback position via the draft. How bad have things gotten for Miami? They’ve drafted just two quarterbacks in the last decade — Ryan Tannehill with the 8th overall pick in 2012 and Brandon Doughty in the 7th round back in 2016. That’s it. That’s the list.
One could, theoretically, rope in QB Josh Rosen, given that he was acquired on a draft day trade for a late 2nd-round pick. The jury is still out on Rosen as a player — but it’s looking like his ceiling is a backup here in South Florida. He’ll be learning yet another offensive system and has had more offensive coordinators than you can count on one hand over his three years of college football and two professional seasons.
There are some that would advocate drafting a quarterback every single year until you find one that has it. One that front, the Dolphins should be commended for finding a low risk opportunity to swing the bat and try to find a quarterback in 2019. Now they need to swing again. Because as good as Ryan Fitzpatrick was in 2019, the Dolphins are still facing an uncertain future at quarterback — unless anyone has a time machine?
With the title of franchise quarterback unsettled, Miami will need to invest once more. And given the unpredictable nature of the NFL Draft, Miami ought to do their due diligence on the 2020 quarterback class, identify individuals they like at quarterback and when one is available that they like, draft him. Even the financials in today’s NFL make moving on from a missed 1st-round quarterback an easy pill to swallow — Arizona traded Josh Rosen one season after he was the 10th overall pick and ate less than $8.5M in dead cap space. For context, Miami paid more than double that for the cap hit they took on trading QB Ryan Tannehill.
So if you’re going to commit to a quarterback, commit to a young one. They’re easier to invest in and easier to move on from — until you find one that’s worth keeping. And with the vast array of assets at Miami’s disposal via the NFL Draft, this is a team that can afford to be aggressive at quarterback.
Not wasteful, but aggressive. So find your guy and then make sure you get him at a reasonable price. That could be a top-5 overall pick, a top-20 overall pick, a top-50 pick or something else. But at least keep swinging the bat.
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