10 star players that the Miami Dolphins could have drafted

Miami Dolphins 2007 Draft:

9th overall pick: Ted Ginn Jr.

11th overall pick: Patrick Willis

12th overall pick: Marshawn Lynch

We all knew that the Dolphins made a mistake when they drafted Ted Ginn Jr. and “his family”, but we thought it was quarterback Brady Quinn that we thought should have been the pick at the time. But it was two other players that they passed on that would go on to become NFC West legends.

Patrick Willis cut his own career short with his abrupt retirement, but he was arguably the best linebacker in the NFL during his peak. Marshawn Lynch began his career in Buffalo, but he had the best years of an excellent career as a member of the Seahawks.

It is worth noting that Ginn remained in the league longer than either of the other two players and actually carved a nice career out for himself.

Miami Dolphins 2008 Draft

1st overall pick: Jake Long

3rd overall pick: Matt Ryan

It is not often that a team can select a player who makes the Pro Bowl in each of his first four seasons and have that player be seen as the incorrect choice. But that is what happened with the Dolphins in the 2008 Draft.

Miami held the number one overall pick that year, and opted to select all-world offensive tackle Jake Long as a cornerstone piece to build the offense around. He had a solid career with the Dolphins, qualifying for 4 Pro Bowls and being named an All-Pro twice.

But the third pick that year was used on quarterback Matt Ryan, who spent 14 seasons as the starter under center for the Falcons and even won a league MVP award in 2016. The Dolphins have used 12 different starting quarterbacks in that same time frame.