Pushing Back Against the Idea of Drafting a Quarterback

New Miami Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan sure sounds serious about his idea of drafting a quarterback every year and it is, to be sure, a nice-sounding idea.

But is drafting a quarterback for the sake of drafting a quarterback really a route the Dolphins want to travel this year when they have so many needs on an underwhelming roster that needs a lot of help?

The Dolphins currently are scheduled to have eight selections in the 2026 draft, including three in the third round, and Sullivan was pretty decisive in telling season ticket members at an event Thursday night that he definitely was going to be looking at quarterbacks in the draft.

“Of course, we’ll be looking at other quarterbacks in this draft,” Sullivan said. "And every draft hereafter."

This matched what he said during his introductory press conference at the Baptist Health Training Complex on January 22.

“I've learned if you can help it, don't wait till you don't have a quarterback to find one, you know what I mean?" Sullivan said. "It starts there. If you think about what we did with Aaron (Rodgers). I watched Ted Thompson. I referred to him earlier, talking about him always doing what is best for the team, even when it's not popular. You’ve got to remember, Brett (Favre) was still in place and playing at a very high level, and there were a lot of people in that building that didn't think drafting a quarterback who was going to sit for an extended amount of time with a first-round pick made a lot of sense with where we were as a team. He did in that moment what he knew was best for the Green Bay Packers and the history speaks for itself, and then we turned around and did it again with Jordan (Love) when we had Aaron, so it starts there, right.

"The quarterback position again is the most important position in sports in my opinion, certainly the most important position in football. We're going to invest in that position every year if we can. Now depending on where we are as a football team, it'll be at different values, but we will draft quarterbacks every year, if not every other year because I think you have to. If you hit on a guy, great. And if not – if you hit on two, you have trade value. ... I can't say enough about the importance of it and we'll be very active in acquiring quarterbacks to make sure that that room is deep, as deep as we can make it.”

DOLPHINS ALREADY HAVE ENOUGH YOUNG QBs

Notice that Sullivan gave himself an out by saying "if not every other year" and, quite frankly, it's smart because no teams takes a quarterback every draft.

Not even the Packers.

While, yes, Green Bay is the model franchise in terms of building up a supply of quarterbacks and drafting them even when not needed, they don't take one every year.

They didn't draft a quarterback in 2025, for example. They also didn't draft one in either 2021 or 2022. In fact, the Packers have selected a quarterback in only five of the past 17 drafts.

So the notion of "drafting a quarterback every year" isn't quite reality.

And this is a year when the Dolphins shouldn't bother drafting a quarterback, particularly if it's for the sake of drafting a quarterback.

Unless the Dolphins think they can snag a starter in the draft, they should punt until next season.

The reason is simple: The Dolphins already have two young developmental quarterbacks who deserve a second look, both of them ironically picks in the draft last year.

Those two QBs, of course, are Quinn Ewers, taken in the seventh round by the Dolphins, and Cam Miller, taken in the sixth round by the Las Vegas Raiders and then signed by Miami off their practice squad.

Maybe the Dolphins can just count those two as having filled the quota for 2025 and 2026.

The thing is there's no point in drafting another developmental quarterback with Ewers and Miller already on the roster.

Now, if the Dolphins feel they can land a probably future starter at some point in the draft, that's a different story.

But there's not really that kind of quarterback prospect in this draft except for Fernando Mendoza and Ty Simpson. And Mendoza will be the first overall pick and Simpson does not have universal approval in draft circles.

If the Dolphins have a conviction on Simpson becoming a long-time, high-end NFL starter, then they absolutely should draft him if they can because taking care of the quarterback position should be the highest priority in terms of setting up the franchise for long-term success.

Short of that, though, the Dolphins might as well focus on other positions in the draft.

In the end, it doesn't REALLY have to be a quarterback drafted every year. Just when it makes sense. And it says here this isn't the year.

DOLPHINS ALREADY HAVE ENOUGH YOUNG QBs

More Miami Dolphins Coverage: