Last weekend the Miami Dolphins signed 36-year-old Ryan Fitzpatrick signed a 2 year, $11-million-dollar contract, in a deal that gives the team their apparent starting quarterback for the foreseeable future. Based on the moves Chris Grier has made so far this offseason, some would say it is relatively clear that the front office is loading up on draft picks and creating cap space with their eyes set on 2020 and beyond. The Fitzpatrick signing, however, seems to me like an attempt at trying to be somewhat competitive in 2019, while also giving plenty of young players the opportunity to learn and grow.
But with all of that being said, there is still a lot of speculation that the Dolphins might take a quarterback in the first round of the 2019 draft. I would be shocked if Kyler Murray fell anywhere close to where the Dolphins are drafting (13th), and at this stage of the “rebuild,” does it make much sense to trade up for Murray, Dwayne Haskins, or Drew Lock?
The only reason I say this is because ahead of the Dolphins are the Raiders, Giants, Broncos, and Bengals who are all picking ahead of the Dolphins and are reasonably considered contenders to draft a quarterback in the first round, which means moving up would most likely cost the Dolphins a heap of picks.
On top of this, the Redskins are sitting at the 15th spot and are not counting on Case Keenum to be their franchise quarterback. He is nothing more than an average replacement while Alex Smith misses 2019 recovering from a broken leg.
Another interesting team is the Carolina Panthers, who are picking 16th and are also looking like they might be without their starting quarterback for at least a portion of 2019. At this point nobody has any idea as to when Newton may come back, but with this being his second shoulder surgery in less than two years, it is possible the Panthers are considering moving up to have some kind of insurance plan in place if Newton ends up missing all of 2019 or if he simply is not the same passer he once was.
If the Raiders and Giants both pass on Haskins, it is possible for either Washington or Carolina to trade with a team like Detroit or Buffalo and move up to the 8th or 9th pick to draft him or possibly even Drew Lock.
I think Lock is someone who has more potential to fall to 13th just because of his inconsistent play at times. If he falls to the Dolphins though, whether they are sold on him or not, that is the best-case scenario solely because of the flexibility that it gives them to trade down and get more picks if someone behind them wants him.
All of this guessing and draft day trade matchmaking is fun, but at the end of the day it comes down to who Chris Grier and the rest of the front office see as the guy who is best fit to lead this team for years. If the Dolphins are completely sold on Murray or Haskins and they want to move up to get them, do it. If they are completely sold on Drew Lock and have to move up a few spots to go get him, then I would have no issue with them doing that either.
The idea of accumulating picks for the 2020 draft is an attractive one because the quarterback talent there seems to be very rich, but the reality of the situation is that two of the top three quarterbacks from that class (Tua Tagovailoa and Jake Fromm) will only be Juniors and could very well decide to go back to school for their senior seasons. So if the Dolphins have an opportunity to trade up and get a quarterback in the 2019 class that they love, then they should use whatever draft capital necessary to go get their guy.
Fitzpatrick is a short timer to help mentor the next young QB that comes to camp for the Dolphins. Who will that QB be? 1st, 2nd or 3rd top QB in the 2019 draft? Nope.
You can put the majority of NFL QBs in a well put together offence and that QB will probably do well, College as well. The top pick QBs are coming from realy good offences.
I like for the Dolphins to put to gether a great defence. A great defence can get the ball back to the offence and the defense can score Points.
I still like to think that Miami is looking to pick Ryan Finely in the later rounds (look at his film) and work on building that great defence in the first rounds.