2012 NFL Draft: Why the Miami Dolphins Must Avoid Ryan Tannehill

With the 2012 NFL Draft coming up, a lot of Miami Dolphins fans are ready for quarterback Ryan Tannehill to become their new franchise quarterback. If the Dolphins use their No. 8 draft pick on Tannehill, they will be making a huge mistake. Drafting Tannehill will just delay the Dolphins rebuilding process.

Tannehill is an unproven quarterback. He has only had 19 starts in college football. The guy was a wide receiver at Texas A&M his freshman and sophomore season.

Now all of a sudden he is a top-10 draft pick? Not a chance. Taking Tannehill with the No. 8 draft pick would be a sign of desperation.

When I think of Tannehill, I immediately think of quarterbacks Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder. These are examples of two quarterbacks who were taken way too high. They had great combines and everyone was excited about their upside.

How did those two turn out?

Numerous scouts are still undecided about Tannehill. According to former NFL General Manager Charlie Casserly, many teams don’t have Tannehill going until late first round or early second round. That right there should scare them away from him. He is a bust waiting to happen.

The only reason why Tannehill is being mention in the first round is because quarterbacks like Matt Barkley and Landry Jones decided to stay in college for at least one more year.

When it comes to finding a franchise quarterback, the Dolphins need to be patient.

I know they struck out on Peyton Manning and Matt Flynn this offseason, but there is no need to press the panic button. The Dolphins started the year 0-7, but they showed some promise in the second half of the season. They finished the rest of the year going 6-3. They have a solid defense and they found a legit offensive weapon in running back Reggie Bush.

They need to let Matt Moore or David Garrard have a chance to the run the offense for another year. These guys are experienced veterans. Now I know they are not the best options at quarterback, but it is the best option for the Dolphins. I would much rather have Garrard, who has playoff experience, starting at quarterback than drafting an unproven quarterback who only started 19 games at the college level.

Let me ask you, would you rather let Garrard or Moore start for one year, draft an offensive lineman or wide receiver and hope you can land Barkley next year? Or would you rather draft an unproven quarterback who had a good combine?

The Dolphins need to focus on upgrading other positions including offensive line and wide receiver. With the No. 8 draft pick they could get a great offensive lineman prospect in Riley Reiff from Iowa. Having Reiff team up with Mike Pouncey and Jake Long would give the Dolphins a solid offensive line core for the next 10 years. Bush showed last year that he can be an every down back. If you give him another top offensive lineman prospect, it will only make him better.

The Dolphins could also look to upgrade the wide receiver position. The Dolphins traded away their only good wide receiver, Brandon Marshall, this offseason. Why not draft Notre Dame’s Michael Floyd with the eighth pick? He would give them a great wide receiver for the future.

The Dolphins also hold the No. 42 draft pick . If they really want to draft a quarterback, I would wait until this pick to take Brandon Weeden. He is already 29, but he could learn behind Moore or Garrard for a year and potentially take over for them if he is ready.

Worst-case scenario, the Dolphins keep him as a backup quarterback and sign or draft another quarterback the next year.

Taking Tannehill would be a huge mistake for the Dolphins. A lot of scouts get caught up in a prospect’s upside. The Dolphins need to be smart and patient in this upcoming draft. They need to take a top offensive lineman or wide receiver prospect with the eighth draft pick and wait till they can find an adequate quarterback for the future.