Why Latest NFL Draft News Will Make Dolphins QB Pursuit Tougher

The Miami Dolphins likely will be in the market for a new quarterback this offseason, and some recent NFL draft news will make the team’s search even tougher.

Oregon QB Dante Moore announced he’ll be returning to school for the 2026 season despite widely being regarded as a top-three pick and franchise QB prospect by the draft community at large.

There was next-to-zero chance Moore was going to land in Miami, so why should the Dolphins care about his draft decision? Well, it has some pretty significant ramifications for the QB market this offseason.

Why Moore’s Draft Decision Makes Miami’s QB Pursuit Tougher

The NFL always has more demand for quarterbacks than supply, but this offseason might be worse than normal.

Moore was expected to go second overall to the New York Jets, a team that desperately needs a franchise QB. In fact, they probably need one more than the Dolphins. With Moore off the board, the Jets likely won’t select a quarterback at No. 2.

That means they’ll likely be bidding on the same free agents the Dolphins will be interested in and scouting the same “sleeper” QBs the Dolphins will be.

The issue isn’t so much that the Jets specifically are entering the market; it’s that another team is in general. Here’s a list of teams that could be significant players in the QB market this offseason:

- Miami Dolphins

- New York Jets

- Indianapolis Colts

- Minnesota Vikings

- Arizona Cardinals

- Las Vegas Raiders

- Atlanta Falcons

- Cleveland Browns

- Pittsburgh Steelers

- Los Angeles Rams (Stafford rides off into the sunset?)

- Kansas City Chiefs (need a veteran to play before Mahomes returns)

Of course, some of those teams will roll with in-house options, but there’s also usually a surprise or two every offseason. Now, here’s a list of free agents and NFL draft QBs who fit the mold of a potential franchise QB:

- Fernando Mendoza, Indiana

- Malik Willis, Packers Unrestricted Free Agent

Do you see the problem? Really, this list should just include Willis because Mendoza will almost certainly be the top overall pick in the draft, via the Raiders and owner Tom Brady.

There are stopgap options, and we covered a bunch of those when Tua Tagovailoa was benched during the season. Trading for backups with some upside like Davis Mills (Texans), Mac Jones (49ers) and Tanner McKee (Eagles) is certainly looking more appealing by the day.

That said, if those teams do make those players available, there is likely to be significant competition. Are those players worth getting into a bidding war over? Probably not.

There is a QB carousel every offseason, but the lack of high-end options will likely leave most teams without a meaningful upgrade. The Dolphins could end up being one of those teams.

The Dolphins Should Just Wait for 2027, Right?

In theory, the 2027 class should be better. Here’s the thing, though. We say that almost every year, and it’s usually a coin flip as to whether it’s true.

NIL and the transfer portal have drastically changed things, especially at quarterback. You can no longer count on players coming out, even if they’re projected as first-round picks. A lot can change in a year, on the field, too.

Drew Allar (Penn State), Cade Klunik (Clemson) and Garret Nussmeier (LSU) all were projected first-round picks at some point last CFB season and this offseason. There’s a chance none of them are selected inside the top 100 this year because they regressed and/or got injured.

Setting the caveats aside, there are a lot of big names who could be in the 2027 NFL draft:

- Arch Manning, Texas

- Dante Moore, Oregon

- LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina

- Darian Mensah, Duke

- Julian Sayin, Ohio State

- Brendan Sorsby, Texas Tech

- Josh Hoover, Indiana

- Jayden Maiava, USC

- Sam Leavitt, LSU

There are more names, but that’s a promising start for sure. Again, we would caution anyone from putting too much stock in a class this far out.

For the Dolphins, though, they might have to get creative in 2026 and then re-evaluate with what’s hopefully a better market next offseason.

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