NFL insider drops bombshell that could impact Dolphins' QB search

The Miami Dolphins are hunting up a new quarterback this offseason, as Tua Tagovailoa's departure is all but a stone-cold certainty.

While Green Bay Packers backup Malik Willis makes the most sense, given his ties to new Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley, it's not a slam dunk. Miami has some serious salary cap demons to negotiate before it's feasible to pay Willis enough.

Those cost-cutting measures are well underway, but if the Dolphins anticipate a full teardown anyway, why not look to the 2026 NFL Draft for a sleeper QB of the future?

Quinn Ewers may prove to be that as a seventh-round pick from last year. However, Sullivan could hedge his bets with another 2026 prospect who's gaining serious steam.

Miami Dolphins must pay attention to FCS star creating serious buzz as potential second QB selected in 2026 NFL Draft

According to NFL insider Jason La Canfora, North Dakota State's Cole Payton could be the second QB off the board behind expected No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza:

Here's what La Canfora had to say about Payton's exploding stock, via SportsBoom:

"[Payton] is creating a strong buzz in the scouting community with multiple trusted personnel executives assuring me they have a high second-round grade on Payton and believe he is firmly the second-best talent at the quarterback position in this draft. Payton is only a one-year starter, and at an FBS school at that, but his athletic traits have continued to impress, he has ideal size at 6-3, 220 pounds, and proven evaluators with a track record of sizing up quarterbacks have been raving to us privately about him for months."

Yes, it's worth noting that the top draft picks who preceded Payton from the FCS powerhouse program didn't fare so well. I mean, Carson Wentz did have one MVP-caliber season cut short by an injury and was never the same after that. Trey Lance was just wildly overdrafted at No. 3 overall.

But from what I've seen, and from what these sources tell La Canfora, Payton is almost the best blend of Wentz and Lance. His size and arm strength are on par with Wentz's. His athleticism and status as a one-year starter mirror Lance's prospect profile.

Adam Carter, who works in player personnel for the University of San Diego's football team, is bullish on Payton — even going as far as to say he's the QB1 in this class over Mendoza.

During the 2025 season, Payton completed 72% of his throws for 2,719 yards and averaged a cartoonish 12.1 yards per pass attempt with 16 TDs to just four INTs. He also ran for 777 yards and 13 more TDs.

A notable data point nugget here from Carter highlights just how impressive Payton's precision was this past year.

"He has the highest single season big time throw rate from a clean pocket (11.80%) and when blitzed (13.3%) in over 10 years. These numbers are even more impressive when you factor in that Carson Wentz had a 7.1% big time throw rate from a clean pocket and a 2.6% big time throw rate when blitzed."

It wasn't a bunch of dink-and-dunk completion-hunting to account for his absurd efficiency. This man was letting it rip down the field.

Who knows how far the QB2 in this draft will fall? If Payton keeps picking up steam, it may behoove the Dolphins to trade back in Round 1 and grab Payton then. Otherwise, they have three third-round picks to work with in a potential trade up to kick off Day 2. It just depends on how desperate other QB-needy teams get.

If Miami does sign Willis or acquire another veteran via free agency, perhaps the sense of urgency to score Payton won't be as high. We'll have an answer on that key piece to the puzzle in a month or so.

Until then, it might be time for Phin Phanatics to dive into some Cole Payton film. Should be very interesting to see how he tests and runs at the NFL Combine here soon.