The Miami Dolphins were sitting nicely with a top-five draft pick, but back-to-back wins have dropped them to 11th in the latest order. Fans are not happy, but there is a silver lining they are not thinking about and should be.
When teams typically draft that high, it's because they have a quarterback issue. It is safe to argue that the Dolphins do indeed have one of those with Tua Tagovailoa.
The problem, however, is that there are no elite quarterbacks in this year's upcoming class.
If the Dolphins end the season with a top-five draft pick, they will be under pressure to draft a quarterback who will eventually replace Tagovailoa. If they stay outside of the top five, the next GM is going to be able to start building his roster the way he wants.
Dolphins are avoiding the pressure to overdraft a quarterback that may not be their answer
We can't be certain who will be making the draft decisions next April, but given the contract of Tagovailoa and the unlikely interest in trading him, Miami is going to need players at other positions they can build around.
Miami has gaping holes in the secondary, and drafting a top cornerback makes sense, but so does fixing the offensive line. Chris Grier failed to deliver quality picks throughout his nine years with the Dolphins. The ones he did hit on, he let leave in free agency rather than pay them.
The next GM is going to have their own vision, but hopefully not the same results. If they want to beef up the interior offensive line, fans will be ecstatic, even if it means they don't have a new franchise QB to root for. Picking 11th isn't that bad with this draft class.
Being put in a position where they almost have to take a player at a position simply because that's what the pressure tells them to do is immediately starting on the wrong foot. Mid-round draft picks may not have been Grier's forte, and it may not be the next GMs either, but it might be much easier to trust that person with a lower pick than watch them waste a top one simply because they feel they have to go quarterback.