Miami Dolphins Likely Lose 2012 NFL Draft Andrew Luck Lottery

The 2012 NFL Draft for Miami Dolphins fans may mean missing Andrew Luck if the Indianapolis Colts continue to play as poorly as they are without quarterback Peyton Manning.

If the Dolphins are relegated to the second pick of the 2012 NFL Draft, what would be their best course of action?

Trade for Number One

Do the Dolphins have any players the Colts want?  Or, are the Dolphins willing to pay enough money or trade away enough draft picks to persuade the Colts into giving them what they want?

It’s abundantly clear Matt Moore and JP Losman can’t get the job done at quarterback for the Dolphins.  Would Miami be satisfied with less than Luck?  If so, who would they take?

Landry Jones

Besides a hiccup against Texas Tech, Landry Jones has the Oklahoma Sooners looking championship caliber.  Before their loss to the Red Raiders, Jones was staring at a chance to be in the BCS National Championship.

Sam Bradford has done good things for the St. Louis Rams when he hasn’t been scrambling for his life.  Then, again, there’s Jason White who did nothing after playing at Oklahoma. 

Would Jones be a good fit for the Dolphins?

Matt Barkley

This USC Trojan has really hit his stride in the second half of the season, reminding America what the Trojans looked like under Pete Carroll’s stewardship.  He brings a strong arm and knowledge of a pro-style formation to any NFL suitor.

USC players are hit-or-miss, however, as some of them seem more concerned with glitz and glamour than playing serious football.  Then, again, USC does pretty well at producing successful quarterbacks, like Carson Palmer, Matt Cassell and Mark Sanchez.

Could Barkley officially make USC Quarterback University as the starter at Miami?

Trent Richardson

A more than capable backup to Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson has really shined for the Alabama Crimson Tide, this season, who are making a run at the BCS National Championship on the shoulders of their star tailback.  Could Miami surprise everyone and take a halfback with the second pick?

Reggie Bush and Steve Slaton are hardly feature backs.  They’re scat backs who aren’t as durable as traditionally stockier SEC backs.  Richardson brings the kind of toughness and speed Miami could use in its backfield.

Will Miami focus on its ground game and take its chances with other quarterbacks like Case Keenum in later rounds?

Concluding Thoughts

While the Dolphins don’t have premiere running backs around which one could build a program, it’s likely they’ll certainly go after a quarterback if they don’t trade up for Andrew Luck.  With a signal caller who can grasp the offense, Bush and Slaton can catch passes out of the backfield or be successful with the draw, if necessary. 

It’ll be interesting to see what happens if the Dolphins lose the Andrew Luck sweepstakes.  What do you think they should do?