We are a week removed from Jon-Eric Sullivan's first draft as the general manager of the Miami Dolphins, and it's safe to assume that he's been adamant in his approach. Regardless of how some might feel about the Dolphins' draft or where/when they selected specific players, Sullivan stuck to his guns and stayed true to his board.
Leading up to the event, Sullivan had been very open and honest about what the team was looking for. Yet, there was one area that was notably missing when the draft was complete.
From the beginning, Sullivan made it a point that he would draft a quarterback every year. However, despite having 13 selections in the 2026 NFL Draft, the QB position was not among them. Sullivan admitted, though, that the possibility did arise on a couple of occasions.
Miami Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan talks about almost drafting a QB in the 2026 NFL Draft
The pressure was never on Sullivan to draft a quarterback in this class. Miami picked outside of the top 10, and outside of Fernando Mendoza, there weren't any can't-miss prospects at the position. More importantly, the Dolphins signed Malik Willis away from the Packers this offseason to potentially be the franchise QB. And they still have Quinn Ewers on hand, who performed admirably in his three starts to end last season.
But given Sullivan's remarks about drafting QBs and Ewers not having been drafted by this new regime, it was widely expected that the Dolphins would address the position at some point in the draft. Yet, they made all 13 picks without a single quarterback's name added to the fray — opting instead to wait and sign Iowa's Mark Gronowski as an undrafted free agent.
Speaking on NFL Network's The Insiders, Sullivan was asked by insider Tom Pelissero if he was ever close to drafting a QB at any point of the draft process, and what it means for the guys already in the room.
"We had some discussions...we really like our room," Sullivan said. "We're obviously excited to get Malik, Quinn's doing an excellent job...and we like (Cam) Miller as a three. There were conversations along the way, if certain guys would've fallen to a certain point, I think we probably would've pulled the trigger.
"It didn't happen that way. We're excited to get Gronowksi as a UDFA. We've liked him all along. Big athlete, can run, can move...Inevitably, we ended up adding to the room. It just didn't come in the form of a draft pick."
Understandably, Sullivan talks up Gronowski following his addition, but the former Iowa QB has a long path to making the team. The same holds true for Cam Miller, whom the Dolphins signed off of the Raiders' practice squad before the end of last season. Chances are, they will be vying for the Dolphins' practice squad if another team doesn't snatch them up before then.
In speaking with Pelissero, Sullivan doesn't detail any specific quarterbacks they were considering pulling the trigger on. But with 13 picks, the opportunities were certainly there.
In the end, I'm in agreement that the Dolphins not drafting a quarterback was an endorsement of sorts for Ewers. The former Texas QB was once considered the No. 1 player coming out of high school. He didn't live up to that billing, but his fall to the seventh round in 2025 was still a surprise given the Longhorns' success during his tenure. There is, obviously, some upside to his ability, and Sullivan and staff can see it.
Miami may have added to the room with Gronowksi, but I'd wager he's more of an extra arm to throw balls in offseason workouts. At this point, the primary backup spot is Ewers' to lose.
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