As the NFL season marches towards its conclusion, it’s time again for another look towards April’s NFL Draft with a Miami Dolphins mock draft.
The NFL regular season begins its final month on Friday. With the calendar turning to December, many fans and teams alike are turning their attentions towards spring’s NFL Draft. A lot has changed for the Miami Dolphins since our last mock draft. The team has traded their starting running back Jay Ajayi. They are in the midst of a 5-game losing streak with no end in sight. They’ve entered the top 10 in the draft order. To say it’s been a tumultuous month would be an understatement.
With the team sitting at 4-7 and looking disappointment squarely in the eyes, fans have become unsettled, to say the least. Some fans have taken to calling for head coach Adam Gase’s job. Other fans have, with the Dolphins movement up the draft board, started calling for the team to take a shot at one of the top quarterbacks likely available in the draft.
I’m here to tell you right now that neither scenario is going to happen. Adam Gase is going to be the head coach of this team for at least one more season. The team may decide to draft a quarterback in April’s draft, but it’s not going to be in the first round. Ryan Tannehill is going to be the team’s starting quarterback heading into next season, if his knee has recovered. Like it or not, this is just the reality of the situation. The team has invested too much time and money in Tannehill to replace him. Adam Gase was brought in specifically to work with Tannehill, and his playoff appearance last season should have bought him at least one poor season’s worth of good-will with the front office and fanbase alike.
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If quarterback isn’t the answer for the Dolphins first-round selection, then what is their draft strategy? The team has a lot of holes, specifically on the offensive line. There are a lot of good offensive linemen available. The question is if the front office will finally swallow their pride and invest in the line. Particularly on the inside. If they don’t, they have plenty of other options, as this draft class is loaded with talent.
Before we get into how this particular mock draft played out, there is one important note. The “On the Clock” app that was used to put this mock together has the Miami Dolphins with the 10th selection in the draft. According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, the Dolphins currently have the 8th selection in the draft.