As Thursday’s first round of the 2020 NFL draft moves closer and closer, it’s time to revisit the possibilities.
For one thing, the Dolphins could use their No.5 pick to draft Oregon’s Justin Herbert over Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa.
Miami could consider Herbert to be a “safer” quarterback option in terms of health going into the future. Tagovailoa’s recovering hip dislocation and posterior wall fracture could continue to affect his playing ability throughout his career.
“When you purely are evaluating these two guys, right now the only reason to me you’re only having this debate between Justin and Tua is strictly a function of injury and durability,” ESPN’s Louis Riddick said this past week.
“I don’t think these two, when you watch their tape game after game after game … they are not on the same level at all as far as playing quarterback. They’re just not. It’s Tua and Joe [Burrow] and then, there’s a drop,” he continues.“Justin and Tua are not on the same level.”
Another possibility: The Dolphins could pass on a quarterback at No. 5 to instead draft an offensive tackle or the best player available at that time, and then select Utah State’s Jordan Love with the No. 18 or 26 picks.
Watch GM Chris Grier's full pre-draft press conference. https://t.co/8i8mJo4Rwf
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) April 18, 2020
That’s what NFL Network’s Peter Schrager thinks could happen.
“Maybe the Dolphins pass altogether on quarterback at 5 and sit pretty at 18 and maybe Jordan Love is the guy at 18 or 26 because other teams have passed up on quarterbacks,” Schrager says. “It could be one of the most interesting NFL drafts yet.”
Such a move could be risky for the Dolphins, however, as a quarterback may not be available with a later pick.
The Chargers at No. 6 are waiting for the quarterback Miami does not pick to join their ranks.
Meanwhile, the Panthers at No. 7 could draft their next starter despite signing Teddy Bridgewater to a three-year, $63 million deal during this offseason. The Raiders and No. 16 Falcons could also make a move for a quarterback.
Dolphins general manager Chris Grier’s message to fans this past week about the pending quarterback decision was: “We hope they have some trust in what we’re doing, and they believe in what we are doing.”
Grier says he has around eight to nine players he sees worthy of the No. 5 pick, adding even more to the possibilities.
He adds, “We’ll get a good player and we’ll be very happy to have him, and I think the fans will be happy as well.”
We’ll see what happens when the draft begins virtually on Thursday.