NFL Draft 2012: Miami Dolphins Draft Strategy If Tim Tebow Comes to Town

Peyton Manning is going to drastically affect the Miami Dolphins draft despite choosing to play two time-zones away.

Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen are reporting that Manning is heading to the Denver Broncos and that means Tim Tebow is on his way out the door. Schefter believes the Broncos are ready to start taking offers for the Mile High Messiah:

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More filed to ESPN: And now that Peyton Manning has directed his agent to get deal done with Denver, Broncos will try to trade Tim Tebow.

—Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 19, 2012"

The Dolphins better be calling the Broncos front office immediately. The former Florida star would infuse some serious life into a stale franchise, which just so happens to be in dire need of a new quarterback. At pick No. 8, they are stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to drafting a QB.

They are going to miss out on Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III and are too high to select Ryan Tannehill. Free agent Matt Flynn picked the Seattle Seahawks; Alex Smith isn’t likely to pick the Dolphins, and former starter Chad Henne signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Miami needs to go all-in for Tebow, which means their plans in the draft would need to be altered. No more QB talk, it’s all about landing pieces around him to ensure his unique skills are able to be utilized.

That means the main priority is beefing up the offensive talent around him, particularly at wide receiver. With the trade of Brandon Marshall, the ‘Fins have possibly the worst receiving unit in the entire league.

With Justin Blackmon likely to be off the board, next up in line is Michael Floyd. He has sky-rocketed up the draft board to the point where landing him at pick No. 8 is not a stretch. He can be a major contributor from day one.

With two sound running backs in Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas, the other potential pick would be an offensive lineman. That means guys like Riley Reiff, David DeCastro and Jonathan Martin.

All three of them would help shore up issues upfront. A Tebow-led offense relies on a strong running game and strong pass protection, something the Dolphins O-Line struggled with in 2011.

Landing Tebow should now be the No. 1 priority for the Dolphins, and they need to draft accordingly. 

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