NFL Draft 2012: Why Miami Dolphins Need to Make Play for Robert Griffin III

The Miami Dolphins have spent the 2011 season trying to see if Matt Moore is their quarterback over the long term.

He started five games in both 2009 and 2010, and that jumped to 12 starts in 2011 as he replaced Chad Henne, during which time Moore threw for 2,497 yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

In the end, that meant a 6-10 record and an eighth (or ninth) pick in the draft.

Is it time to go in another direction? It would seem so, and a player who could revitalize a team that has finished under .500 the last three seasons would be Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Robert Griffin III of Baylor.

Griffin won’t be the first quarterback taken in the draft; that will be Andrew Luck of Stanford. But based on Griffin’s time at Baylor, he won’t last long and he could well project as a franchise quarterback.

That’s not to say that Griffin would immediately supplant Moore, but there’s a good chance he will be starting by his second season, such is his talent.

With Griffin at the helm, the Baylor Bears tied the school record with 10 wins, including their final six in a row, capped by a memorable shootout in a 67-56 win over Washington in the Alamo Bowl.

Griffin completed 800 of 1,192 passes (67 percent) for 10,366 yards with 78 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. More than that, Griffin’s 2,254 yards and 33 TDs rushing are Baylor records.

It’s not to say that he’s another Cam Newton, but Griffin has star potential.

And in the quarterback-centric world of the NFL, you never pass up star potential.