2019 NFL Draft plan for Miami Dolphins becomes clearer

The Miami Dolphins added a key asset for the upcoming 2019 NFL season, as the NFL draft approaches in just over a month. While Dolphins fans were left wondering who will be the starting quarterback in 2019 after Teddy Bridgewater last Thursday decided to stay in New Orleans on a one-year deal worth $7.25M, the Dolphins front office made another move, adding journeyman quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick on a two-year deal. The deal is worth $11 million with incentives that could boost it between $17 to $20 million, per Adam Schefter. Some fans are left wondering why the Dolphins would make sure a move, especially with the Dolphins in rebuilding mode. In all honesty, adding a veteran quarterback doesn’t hurt Miami’s chances of landing a top QB in 2020.

First, Dolphins fans need to ask themselves, “Do I want to go into a season with either Luke Falk or Jake Rudock as the starter for 2019?” Rudock was drafted in 2016 by the Detroit Lions in the sixth round. He was born in Weston, Florida in 1993 and attended Saint. Thomas Aquinas high school in Fort Lauderdale. He then attended the University of Iowa from 2011-2014 before transferring to the University of Michigan for one season. In Rudock’s tenure with the Lions, he threw 5 passes completing three of them for 24 yards against the Baltimore Ravens. On March 2014, 2018 he signed a one-year extension with Lions, but was released on September 1st and added to the practice squad the next day. On January 11, 2019, Rudock signed a reserve, future contract with the Dolphins.

Falk was claimed off waivers by the Dolphins on September 2nd, but didn’t see much action because of a wrist injury that landed him on injured reserve.

The Dolphins parted ways with Ryan Tannehill, who has been on the Dolphins roster since he was drafted in the 2012 NFL draft. He was traded, along with a 2019 sixth round draft choice, to the Tennessee Titans on March 15th for a seventh-round pick in 2019 and fourth pick in 2020. The Dolphins also decided to pay $5 million of Tannehill’s $7 million fully guaranteed money in form of a signing bonus. The Titans gave Tannehill a one-year deal worth $7 million fully guaranteed contract that goes to $12 million plus with playtime and other incentives.

The signing of Fitzpatrick indicates that the new regime wants to compete, it obviously doesn’t mean a division or playoff run. It means that the Dolphins have a plan for the upcoming 2019 NFL draft, it will most likely not involve drafting a quarterback. The new regime has their eyes set on the 2020 NFL draft class, a quarterback group that includes Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, Oregon’s Justin Herbert, and Georgia’s Jake Fromm. The Dolphins’ 2019 starting quarterback will most likely be Fitzpatrick and I wouldn’t expect the team to draft a quarterback in 2019. All eyes on the 2020 NFL draft.

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