How a chaotic veteran QB market could disrupt Dolphins’ draft approach

One of the absolute certainties of the 2021 NFL offseason is that we need to expect the unexpected, especially as it pertains to the quarterback position. Across the league, we’re seeing a continued changing of the guard — old faces springing up in new places or otherwise riding off into the sunset. Philip Rivers? Retired. Drew Brees? Destined for a similar fate. Matt Ryan? Potentially on the trade block. Matthew Stafford? Officially on the trade block. Aaron Rodgers? He teased last night after the Packers’ loss to Tampa Bay that his future in Green Bay is uncertain this offseason despite being under contract for 2021. Plus teams like New Orleans, New England, San Francisco, Carolina, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and others needing long-term solutions at the most important position in sports.

And all of this doesn’t even touch on the Sam Darnolds of the world, who is clearly physically talented but has yet to live up to his expectations in New York. Or Deshaun Watson, the top-5 quarterback who is pondering whether or not to formally request a trade from the Texans franchise. Needless to say, it is simultaneously a good and bad year to need a quarterback. The chaos will be plentiful.

And even teams who don’t need a quarterback, such as the Miami Dolphins, will be caught up in the crossfire. How? No, not by tending to rumors of Deshaun Watson in Miami — although if the possibility materialized the Dolphins would be doing themselves an injustice to at least not explore the possibility.

But rather by how changing quarterbacks can influence the demand of Miami’s No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. As things currently stand, the Dolphins have a highly coveted selection — the Jaguars and Jets are expected to draft quarterbacks with the first two selections, which gives Miami the “last call” of a top flight quarterback prospect (unless you’re a subscriber of Trey Lance of North Dakota State). But what happens if Deshaun Watson lands in Carolina and San Francisco acquires Matthew Stafford?

That would leave Detroit comfortably in striking distance at No. 7 to secure a quarterback, even if it is QB4 and the Falcons strike for QB3 at No. 4 overall. Perhaps Denver could save the day for Miami’s hopes of a potential big payout at No. 3 — but the larger overall hurdle is that these moving pieces will threaten the Dolphins’ market value of the No. 3 overall pick. So when the league year opens in March, Miami will need to know if they’re intent on moving down in the draft order or not. Their ability to maximize a return on investment may depend on it.

Comments are closed.