Making the pick
As insurance, Miami needs to maneuver itself into a high pick
Omar Kelly: Time for Dolphins to choose, groom young QB.
MOBILE, Ala. — The last quarterback Miami Dolphins executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum drafted early was Mark Sanchez back in his days of running the New York Jets.
Who wouldn’t want a do over on that? Every head coach who is a quarterback whisperer deserves the opportunity to personally choose the quarterback who will dictate his fate as an NFL coach.
So exactly what is Dolphins coach Adam Gase waiting for?
The Dolphins and their fans have waited six seasons for quarterback Ryan Tannehill to live up to his potential.
It’s time!
Time for the Dolphins to select a young quarterback early in this year NFL draft and begin grooming him for the future.
That’s the one thing the Dolphins haven’t done properly during and after the Dan Marino era.
This roster isn’t close to representing the AFC in the Super Bowl, and if the Dolphins don’t reach that level within the next three seasons we’ll be looking at yet another wasted decade. But something good could come from the next two or three seasons if Tannenbaum, general manager Chris Grier and Gase use that time to develop a young arm with upside.
The New England Patriots had the luxury of doing that with Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Briskett, and flipped both of Tom Brady’s backups for early draft picks this
past season.
Brady’s presence, and elite play, never stopped New England from taking quarterbacks early in the draft, picking four in the first three rounds since 2008.
The Dolphins are always too worried about making their starting quarterback uncomfortable.
The Kansas City Chiefs had a quality starter in Alex Smith and still used two late first-round selections to trade up and select Patrick Mahomes with the 10th overall pick in the 2017 draft. He’ll likely sit and learn behind Smith for another season, unless Smith’s game regresses, or he suffers an injury.
But the Chiefs have a contingency plan in place.
The Dolphins don’t, and this past season was a perfect example of what happens when you don’t.
Miami wasted $10 million of this year’s cap space talking Jay Cutler out of retirement, and the team produced a 6-10 record as Tannehill miss the entire season after reinjuring his knee in training camp. Gase went with Cutler becuase he didn’t have confidence in backup Matt Moore, who has a 82.3 passer rating in his seven seasons with the Dolphins.
Season-ending injuries to quarterbacks happen, but the fact Miami wasn’t prepared for it was a mistake, and one that shouldn’t be repeated this year.
That’s why it’s time the Dolphins use an early draft pick — one in the top three rounds — on the most important position in football.
This viewpoint isn’t about Tannehill’s decent body of work, his lofty $17.5 million salary in 2018, or his shortcomings.
We still haven’t seen the best of Tannehill, who entered the league as a project in 2012 because he played most of his college career as a receiver, and remains one five years in despite 77 starts, which have produced a 37-40 record.
Last season was supposed to be about gauging the jump Tannehill, who has a 86.5 career passer rating, would make in his second year in Gase’s offense.
That evaluation never happen because he wasn’t on the field due to his knee injury, so we’ll have a do-over in 2018. And no matter where the Dolphins select a quarterback, Tannehill, who turns 30 in July, will start every game next season if he’s heathy.
But what if he isn’t? And what if his level of play keeps him as a middle-of-the-pack NFL starter?
What if he’s more Andy Dalton than Aaron Rodgers until his contract expires in 2020, then what? What’s Plan B? For two decades the Dolphins have settled for good enough at this critical position instead of pushing for greatness.
Players like Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, and Wyoming’s Josh Allen, who are each participating in this week’s Senior Bowl practices, could change the trajectory of the franchises that draft them. Miami will have to do some work to put themselves in position to select one of the 2018 draft’s better quarterbacks, but it might be worth it.
The odds that a franchise quarterback is in Mobile are pretty high considering quarterbacks like Joe Flacco, Russell Wilson, Derek Carr, Garoppolo, Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott have graced the Ladd-Peebles Stadium field the past decade.
Unfortunately for the Dolphins, the last two quarterbacks who participated in the Senior Bowl that Miami selected — Chad Henne and Pat White — turned out to be duds. But just because you swung and missed twice doesn't mean you shouldn't go up to bat the next time it’s your turn.
And there’s no better time than now for the Dolphins.