2012 NFL Draft Order: Trading Up Would Destroy Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins have bigger holes to fill going into the 2012 season than the quarterback position. They will be tempted to, but they cannot destroy their team by trading multiple players to move up in the draft to grab a quarterback.
It's true they have been riddled with quarterback problems since Dan Marino retired and have searched for the answer with free agent after free agent and multiple late-round draft picks. But, they still cannot afford to prioritize this one position over an entire team in need of repair.
With the start of the Dolphins 2011 season at 0-7, it looked like they could avoid this issue altogether as they were on track to finish with the top pick in the draft. But in the second half of the season, when Matt Moore had a chance to get this Dolphins offense in sync, he was able to lead Miami to five wins in their final eight games. In those eight games, Moore was one of the better quarterbacks in the AFC with 12 touchdowns to five interceptions and 1,547 yards.
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In fact, Moore was able to spark this offense to three wins where they scored 30 or more points. He was also able to mend a great quarterback-wide receiver relationship with Brandon Marshall. In Marshall’s final eight games, he caught 35 passes for 478 yards and four touchdowns.
Therefore, if the Dolphins feel the need to draft a quarterback in the 2012 draft, they should wait until the second or third round to select one. Both Arizona’s Nick Foles and Texas A&M’s Ryan Tannehill will be available, and both of those quarterbacks are just as good as Baylor’s Robert Griffin III or Oklahoma’s Landry Jones, which are more likely to go in the first seven picks.
Both Foles and Tannehill led their passing offenses to a Top 20 finish.
With Foles, they would get a quarterback who is 6'5" and 240 lbs. He threw for over 4,000 yards with 28 touchdowns. Tannehill, meanwhile, had just as good of stats with 3,744 passing yards and 29 touchdowns. Either quarterback can come into camp as the backup to Moore while being groomed to take over in the future, unless they impress in training camp and the preseason.
Instead, the Dolphins should use their No. 9 (or No. 8, depending on a coin flip) pick on the best safety in the draft: Alabama’s Mark Barron.
Miami was 25th in the NFL in passing defense and gave up 250 passing yards per game to opposing quarterbacks. They also ranked near the bottom in interceptions in the AFC, only picking off 13 passes. Miami’s leader in interceptions this year was corner back Vontae Davis, with just four. If they would select Barron, they would be getting an impact player who can cover the field with his 4.47 40-yard dash speed.
If the Barron pick comes to fruition, then the Dolphins could move current strong safety Yeremiah Bell over to free safety. This move would allow the 33-year-old to continue to help the Dolphins secondary be productive while mentoring Barron.
Miami can have a very impactful draft this year. They just have to stick to their guns at No. 9 and not blow up a good, young nucleus of players that has the Dolphins heading towards the playoffs.
2012 NFL Draft First-Round Picks 1-20
Pick | Team |
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1 | ||
2 | ||
3 | ||
4 | ||
5 | ||
6 | ||
7 | ||
8 | Pick subject to coin flip | |
9 | ||
10 |
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11 | Pick subject to coin flip | |
12 | ||
13 | ||
14 | ||
15 | ||
16 |
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17 | ||
18 | ||
19 | ||
20 | ||
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