Miami Dolphins land coveted QB in latest mock draft simulator

The Dolphins are not mathematically eliminated from the postseason, but their loss to the Vikings should really start to turn heads to their future.

Following the Miami Miracle, there still remained hope that the Miami Dolphins could reach the postseason in 2018. That hope was lost, however, with the lopsided loss to the Vikings on the road this past weekend. Mathematically, the Dolphins could still reach the playoffs by winning their two remaining games, and getting some help from around the league.

The odds for a postseason berth are not good though, and even if they did manage to grab the 6th and final playoff spot in the AFC, in all likelihood they would get blown out in the opening round. This past weekend’s game against Minnesota was evidence to that. While Miami has been a very good team at home, they’ve mightily struggled on the road, particularly against superior teams.

If the Dolphins did make the playoffs, they would likely have to go on the road to New England or Houston. They already had road matchups against both teams this season, and it wasn’t pretty. The same result would likely occur in either scenario.

The truth is, Miami has overachieved in many ways with a 7-7 record. Yes, they’ve had to amass a ton of injuries on both sides of the ball, but even relatively healthy, they’re nothing more than a mediocre football team. One could argue that if they had avoided letdowns against Cincinnati and Indianapolis on the road then they would be in the driver’s seat for a playoff berth. While that is true, in contrast, if Chicago, Buffalo, and New England, had capitalized on their opportunities and avoided letdowns of their own against Miami then we would still be in the same position.

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Miami has overcome a ton of adversity this season, but the loss to the Vikings essentially will put a close to their season following their final two regular season games. Many have already had their sights set on the 2019 NFL Draft, and it’s time for others to join them as we anticipate the Dolphins future.

Free agency will of course have a major impact in the off-season, but it’s the draft that helps impact a team’s future. For a Dolphins organization that hasn’t won a playoff game in nearly two decades, it is crucial that they hit home runs on their picks next April. Particularly, they need to hit home runs with their early round selections.

Two weeks ago, I wrote about how Miami missed with their early picks in 2017, and the void that has been left over as a result. So far for the 2018 selections, Miami’s picks look good with both Minkah Fitzpatrick and Jerome Baker becoming serious contributors on the Dolphins defense. The second round selection of Mike Gesicki hasn’t worked out yet, but we’ll see how he fares in his sophomore year.

Looking forward to 2019, a plethora of mock drafts will be posted with various positions on what the Dolphins will be looking for with their early selections. Using the Fanspeak mock draft simulator, fans can get in on the action of what positions and players they believe their respective teams should target. The simulator should not be taken seriously as a tool for how the draft will actually go. For starters, there are no trades, and other factors are not taken into place with a computer generated system.

It’s simply a fun way to play general manager for a minute, and make your own selections for your team based on how the chips fall in front of you. Following Miami’s loss on Sunday, I elected to do a 3-round mock draft to replicate Day 1 & 2. In this simulation, the Dolphins were selecting from the 17th pick, although we can expect that to change following these final two regular season games. For settings, I used the Fanspeak Big Board with NFL Mock team needs.

Round 1 (17th overall) – QB Dwayne Haskins (Ohio State)

As I mentioned, take these simulators with a grain of salt. Although the Dolphins very well could take Dwayne Haskins should they covet him as the quarterback that they really want, it’s highly likely that they’ll need to move much farther up in the draft in order to land him. Some quarterbacks may not have the top 10 grades at this point, but you can believe that will change for the top tiers once the NFL Combine gets under way.

At this time, Haskins hasn’t even declared himself to enter the NFL Draft, and recently he hinted on an Instagram comment that he would be staying one more year at Ohio State. When fellow Buckeye teammate, Mike Weber, declared himself for the draft, Haskins commented “One more year Mikey” with a sad face emoji.

Personally, I’m not buying it as I think that Haskins will declare himself shortly after Ohio State’s Rose Bowl matchup with Washington. Only Oregon’s Justin Herbert and the Heisman winner Kyler Murray from Oklahoma would be considered in the same tier as Haskins for 2019. That’s assuming Murray would even continue with his football career since he is also an outstanding baseball player, and has already been drafted by the Oakland Athletics with their first round selection.

There are plenty more quarterbacks set to enter the draft in 2020, and therefore, would appear to be a better option for Haskins to declare now instead. The Dolphins have to be in the market for a quarterback this year no matter what it takes to grab one. Owner Stephen Ross was already pushing for the Dolphins to take one last year, and he’s not going to accept this team continuing to put all of their eggs in the Ryan Tannehill basket. Haskins checks all the boxes of what an NFL quarterback looks like, and Dolphins fans should become ecstatic if they could land him.

Round 2 (49th overall) – EDGE Montez Sweat (Mississippi State)

The Dolphins get another player projected to go in the first round in this simulation with their second round selection of Montez Sweat out of Mississippi State. In his most recent mock draft, Matt Miller has Sweat projected to go 18th overall so for a player of Sweat’s caliber to fall this far is unlikely.

With that said, this is a strong draft class for edge rushers, and because Charles Harris has been a disappointment since the Dolphins drafted him in the first round of 2017, they’re going to be in the market again for another pass rusher. Miami is stuck with Harris for the time being, but questions remain of what the team will do with Robert Quinn and Cameron Wake. Wake may retire at the end of this season, and Quinn did not play up to his current contract this year. Andre Branch should be shown the door, and what once looked to be a strong position for the Dolphins is suddenly in disarray.

Miami has to find a way to put more pressure on opposing quarterbacks, and Sweat could be the long-term answer. At 6’6″, 245 lbs, Sweat has a very similar size compared to Hall-of-Famer Jason Taylor. With a run on defensive linemen likely to occur in the first round, I wouldn’t be all that surprised if Sweat wound up being Miami’s pick in round one.

Round 3 (80th overall) – WR Kelvin Harmon (NC State)

Whether we want to admit or not, the Dolphins need to add to their wide receiver corps for 2019. Miami has a good group of players at the position, but they still lack that #1 threat that defenses need to pay extra attention to. Miami has been rolling out Kenny Stills as their leading man to date, but he’s more suited as a number 2 or 3 option on other teams.

The Dolphins drafted DeVante Parker back in 2014 to be that leading target, but we all know how that’s turned out. Parker will be gone after this season. Due $6 million in 2019, Danny Amendola could be gone as well should the Dolphins elect not to pay him that much money. That leaves Stills, Albert Wilson, and Jakeem Grant, as Miami’s only options at receiver. Although all three have become legitimate contributors in their own right, Miami needs to pair them with a big, strong route-runner that can help open the offense altogether.

Harmon fits the mold, but like Haskins and Sweat, it’s hard to believe that Harmon will fall this far into Day 2. There are plenty of teams that are wide receiver needy that are likely to have a higher grade on Harmon. Don’t be surprised if he goes off the board in the late first round. Miami won’t use their first round on him, but they could give it consideration in the second, and if somehow he does fall into the third, I project that they would pounce.

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