2012 NFL Draft: Why Miami Dolphins Won't Trade Up for Ryan Tannehill

The buzz surrounding Ryan Tannehill must be deafening for the young quarterback.

Behind the din are a good pro day and too much time on analysts' hands. There is no doubt Tannehill is a talented quarterback, but is he worthy of the top-five consideration he is suddenly getting?

Miami is one of the most likely landing spots for Tannehill, but is he worth a draft day climb? Let me enumerate the ways why that will not happen.

Stubborn Dance Partner

While St. Louis was perfectly content to move down a few spots, Minnesota may be less inclined to do so, though Rick Spielmen has recently opened the door to the possibility. 

The Vikings are a lock to land Matt Kalil, a franchise left tackle that is a slam dunk in this draft. Trading all the way down to the eighth draft slot would likely mean losing out on Kalil and the other top-tier talent that will be available to them with the third pick.

Even if a team expresses genuine interest in moving up to No. 3, the Vikings might place too much value on the pick. Which leads me to my next point...

An Arm and Two Legs

The Washington Redskins moved up from the sixth spot in a trade with the St. Louis Rams to second to take Robert Griffin III. While the move was certainly worthwhile, they paid a dear price—an additional 2012 second-rounder and two future first round picks.

Miami would need to move up to the No. 3 draft slot, presumably to ensure the Browns do not steal Tannehill out from under them with the next pick. While that pick is not worth as much as No. 2, it will come close, and the cost would likely be close to what Washington paid.

In order to implement a "draft and develop" philosophy, the team must be wise with their draft picks. That includes avoiding trading away valuable picks.

Month of Misinformation

Here are the facts regarding the Cleveland Browns and Ryan Tannehill:

1. Tom Heckert, Cleveland's general manager, has publicly supported Colt McCoy several times.
2. The Browns attended Tannehill's pro day, but Heckert and Head Coach Pat Shurmer were 550 miles away watching Trent Richardson perform at his.
3. Tannehill has a private workout scheduled with the Browns.

One of those things is not like the others.

NFL Draft Lead Writer Sigmund Bloom puts Cleveland's chances of drafting Tannehill at two percent. He attributes such a low likelihood to Heckert's and Mike Holmgren's style, but beyond that, they will likely have several available players above Tannehill on their board.

Beware the Ides of March

Tannehill is a good quarterback prospect. He does a lot of things well, and he is worthy of a first round pick. His current draft stock, however, is a bubble.

Consider that Charlie Casserly has said every team he queried back in December had Tannehill graded out as a second round pick, and that those grades tend to be more accurate than ones in March or beyond. 

Despite mocking him to the Dolphins at No. 8, Mel Kiper believes Tannehill is overhyped. Our very own Matt Miller gives Texas A&M product a second round grade, putting Kirk Cousins ahead of the former Aggie on his big board.

The bottom line here is this: while Miami is desperate for a franchise quarterback, mortgaging their future for a seemingly overrated prospect is dangerous on many levels. They must realize this, otherwise why would they even wait until draft day to make a trade? Draft picks are a valuable commodity not to be wielded lightly.

If they really like Tannehill, he is worth picking at No. 8. Anything more would be a potential disaster for a front office that needs to be heading the other direction.