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Oregon QB Justin Herbert plays football tonight and all Dolphins fans should be watching

Duck, Duck, GOOSE!

Oregon v Arizona State Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

You might be surprised to hear this but for the last twenty years the Dolphins have been searching for a franchise-altering quarterback. And despite countless failed attempts, they are still very much in the market for a QB. Thankfully, Miami has 14 draft picks in 2020 and several more—including an additional first-round pick in 2021.

Lots will change between now and April’s draft. And several important decisions from some of college’s top prospects will significantly impact next year’s pool of talent. But for now, all we can do is look ahead at the class and which players will absolutely be available. One of those players, is Oregon QB Justin Herbert. Herbert, was highly regarded as one of the top QBs last year before deciding to return to school to play alongside his brother.

Now, after a stagnant senior season, no one is quite sure where Herbert stands among his peers. But one thing is for certain, tonight’s matchup vs Utah will be arguably his toughest match-up of the season. And if he wants to solidify himself as a top-10 prospect, he will have to look more like the player scouts loved prior to his up-and-down 2019 campaign.

This season, Herbert has completed 258/382 passes for 3,140 yards, 31 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. However, as impressive as those numbers may or may not be, he really has not played a quality opponent. However, all of that will change tonight, when he takes on the third-ranked defense in the country, in tonight’s Pac-12 championship live at 8PM EST on ABC.

Truth is, whether you like Herbert or not a good game tonight will significantly impact April’s NFL draft. Maybe, the Dolphins like him. Maybe, they don’t. But if Herbert performs well and checks all the boxes throughout the draft process, a team could decide to pay a premier price to move up. Or maybe, the Dolphins finally get a QB that they covet?

I plan on doing a thread throughout the game on the 2020 QB prospect, so if you’d like to follow along on Twitter — @Houtz. Otherwise, grab a beer, a pen and paper, and sit back, relax and enjoy the game. Because whether you believe one game defines a player or not, scouts want to see Herbert perform against arguably the toughest defense he will face this season.

In Chris Grier We Trust?