I know you are all probably sick and tired of talking about the quarterbacks available in the NFL Draft. For the past several months, all of us have argued in some way for or against the various quarterbacks that could be available for the Miami Dolphins to select at some point during the first two days of the draft.
So what I'm not here to do today is to carry on with that tired debate of whether or not the Dolphins should draft a quarterback in the first round. I'm not here to try to convince you that the Dolphins should draft one particular quarterback with the 15th overall pick. Nor am I here to tell you argue that the Dolphins should trade down if they want a particular quarterback because the 15th pick might be too high for him.
So if you're looking to debate the on-field talent of Ryan Mallett versus his perceived character concerns, this isn't the post for you. If you're here to make a case that the Dolphins should draft Christian Ponder over Colin Kaepernick because Ponder comes from a pro-style offense, you should probably look elsewhere on this site.
What I do want to proclaim today is quite simple, though many of you probably will not agree. That's because, like me, many of you have been sucked into the idea of "drafting for value." And I do believe in that most basic draft principle. That's the reason I don't think the Dolphins should draft Mark Ingram with their 15th overall pick.
But you can throw the "drafting for value" principle right out of the window when you are discussing quarterbacks.
Simply put, if the Dolphins feel that one particular quarterback could be the solution to the quarterback problems that have plagued this franchise for over ten years, they must take him with the 15th overall pick.
Seems like an obvious statement, right? Well not if you have been reading what I have for months. Not if you have seen even the so-called "draft experts" claim that the middle of the first round might be "too high" for a team to select Ryan Mallett, Christian Ponder, Colin Kaepernick, or any other quarterback not named Newton or Gabbert. Many, including these analysts, believe that the Dolphins should trade back into the late first round if it's one of these players the that they are targeting because they "don't present good value" in the middle of round one.
But is that really a game the Dolphins want to play at this point? Is that really a wise decision - to pass on the quarterback that they have deemed as "the guy" and hope that he makes it down to where the Dolphins have traded down to?
I'm tired of seeing this franchise pass on potential franchise quarterbacks. They passed on Drew Brees in 2001. They passed on Aaron Rodgers in 2005. They selected a franchise left tackle over a franchise quarterback in 2008. And it's widely believed that the Dolphins were very high on Joe Flacco in '08 but lost out on him because the Dolphins weren't willing to trade up to select him while the Ravens, who had traded down from pick 8 to pick 26, moved back up to 18 to get him.
That's why I firmly believe that if Jeff Ireland and Tony Sparano are sold on a particular quarterback - if they believe he can be "the guy" - the Dolphins should not get cute and play any games. They should simply hand in their card and celebrate their selection as Commissioner Roger Goodell announces the pick at the podium.