The Miami Dolphins haven't trotted out a superstar quarterback since the days of Dan Marino, and they're coming off a season that saw the incumbent starter, Ryan Tannehill, undergo ACL surgery, which led to them luring Jay Cutler out of retirement and using a combination of Cutler, Matt Moore, and even David Fales to get through the season. In short, it wouldn't be entirely shocking to see the Dolphins use the 11th overall pick in this year's draft on a quarterback.
At the NFL combine on Wednesday, Dolphins coach Adam Gase -- a supposed quarterback guru -- addressed the team's quarterback situation. On the one hand, Gase threw his entire support behind Tannehill, saying his recovery is coming along nicely and that he'll be the starter in 2018.
Adam Gase said Ryan Tannehill is a “physical freak” who is on or ahead of schedule on rehab from August ACL injury.
— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) February 28, 2018
Gase: “Ryan [Tannehill] is going to be our starting quarterback and I don’t see that changing any time soon.”
— Adam Stites (@AdamStites_) February 28, 2018
On the other hand, Gase admitted that he'd love to draft a quarterback this year and every year.
"I'd love to draft a quarterback every year, but it doesn't always pan out that way," Dolphins coach Adam Gase said. "We'll see how this year goes. It's hard to predict."
— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) February 28, 2018
OK, so let's start with Gase's decision to back Tannehill. Nobody should be surprised about the way Gase feels about Tannehill. During their first and only season together in 2016, Tannehill achieved career-highs in completion percentage, touchdown percentage, yards per attempt, and passer rating while leading the Dolphins to their first playoff appearance since 2008. So, the two immediately experienced success together, and it's not entirely unreasonable to think they could reignite the spark in 2018 after a year-long hiatus.
And then there's Gase's loyalty. What's striking about the way Gase handled the 2017 season is how loyal he was to Cutler after he convinced him to come out of retirement. Even when Cutler and the rest of the offense struggled, Gase always had his back when it would've been easy to blame the quarterback for the offense's diminishing results.
But none of that means the Dolphins can't pull the trigger on a quarterback in the draft. If, say, Baker Mayfield somehow dropped to No. 11, the Dolphins could draft Mayfield and let him sit behind Tannehill for a season similar to how the Chiefs proceeded with Alex Smith after drafting Patrick Mahomes last season. Tannehill's dead cap number in 2019 is set at just $2.3 million, which makes him very cuttable if he struggles in his return to the field.
That being said, it seems more likely that the Dolphins won't use the 11th pick on a quarterback when they have so many other holes on their roster. If Gase truly feels like Tannehill is a franchise-caliber quarterback, he'll probably want to supply him with a more-talented roster that can help him succeed.
Just don't rule out the Dolphins taking a developmental quarterback later in the draft. It's a make-or-break season coming up for Tannehill. If he doesn't build off his 2016 season, the Dolphins might be ready to move on.
