Dolphins QB Draft Preview: Looking Beyond Round 1
The idea of the Miami Dolphins taking a quarterback with their first pick in the 2021 NFL draft was brought up again Friday in a post from Pro Football Talk.
While we have learned never to say never, it really doesn't compute that the Dolphins would have taken the chance to lose out on the one they might have been interested in by moving down from 3 to 6 (via 12), even if it did net them a future first-round pick.
No, the feeling remains that the Dolphins are going to give Tua Tagovailoa every opportunity to succeed in 2021 and more importantly to show that he deserves to be the quarterback of the future.
RELATED: Dolphins Quarterback Draft History
But what about the idea of taking a quarterback beyond Round 1?
The Dolphins currently have three quarterbacks on their roster, with veteran Jacoby Brissett and first-year player Reid Sinnett joining Tagovailoa.
But Brissett signed this offseason only a one-year contract and Sinnett entered the NFL as a rookie free agent, so if Tua isn't going to become the long-term starter, that guy simply is not on the roster.
So, again, would it make sense for the Dolphins to take a quarterback at some point, somebody who might not be ready to start yet but has enough attributes that he could develop down the road?
Somebody like, say, Kellen Mond from Texas A&M or maybe even Davis Mills from Stanford.
Now, both of those players likely will be gone before the end of the second night of the draft, meaning the Dolphins would have to spend one of their five picks in the first three rounds to land either.
Shoot, it might even take a second-round pick to get either Mills or Mond, and pushing things even further it's not even out of the question that either could sneak into the end of the first round.
Spending a second-round pick on a quarterback certainly wouldn't help the Dolphins very much in 2021, but it could be a worthwhile move for the future if there's hesitation within the organization about Tagovailoa's long-term potential — and, again, what the Dolphins say publicly about Tua is what they need to say, not necessarily their true feelings.
Look, if PFT can thrown out the notion of taking a quarterback at 6, it clearly suggests that not everybody in the media world or the NFL is convinced the Dolphins are 100 percent, full go with Tua from a long-term perspective.
The Dolphins, remember, have the 36th overall pick in the second round. Do you know who was the 36th overall selection in 2014? Derek Carr. Yeah, the Raiders starter. The guy who had a passer rating over 100 the past two seasons.
For those quick to reject the idea because of the possibility that Tua will take the next step and become the long-term answer, a quality quarterback is an asset no matter what. Just look at the New England Patriots with Jimmy Garoppolo and the aforementioned Brissett.
So the notion that it would be a wasted pick clearly is off.
Now, this isn't something the Dolphins have done in the past and their track record with second-round quarterbacks (Pat White, Chad Henne, Guy Benjamin) isn't very good.
But there absolutely is merit in the idea.
As for the exact quarterback to pick if the Dolphins decide to go that route, we would go with Monds, followed by Mills and then Florida's Kyle Trask.
"I think Kellen Mond is the guy that stands out to me," said Ric Serritella, who's not only the publisher of NFL Draft Bible for Sports Illustrated but also an advance scout for the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. "Some people like Kyle Trask from Florida, but you saw that Texas A&M-Florida game. I thought Kellen Mond looks to be the better pro prospect in my opinion. A lot of scouts actually within the scouting community are looking at (Texas A&M head coach) Jimbo Fisher a little bit sideways in terms of how he limited Kellen Mond and did not build an offense that was really conducive or played to Kellen Mond's strengths. But if you saw the improvement in his pocket awareness, his ability with his presence, and to feel the pressure. In previous years, he would take the sack, make a poor throw, cause a turnover. This year he did a much better job of being able to kind of extend the pocket. Throw the ball away rather than taking a sack or committing an interception.
"So to me, Kellen Mond is the guy that stands out."
