The Miami Dolphins may soon find themselves holding one of the most valuable cards in the NFL draft, and the bigger question is whether they should play it or cash it in.
At 0-5, Miami is barreling toward the top of the draft board. ESPN gives the Dolphins a 49 percent chance to land No. 1 overall and a 93 percent chance to end up with a top-five pick.
With a roster this thin, GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley cannot afford a miss. They need a hit that changes the shape of the franchise.
The evaluation starts at quarterback, where Malik Willis has not given the Dolphins much reason to believe he is the long-term answer. The situation is tough for any young passer working with limited talent around him, but Willis has been rough through five games. He is near the bottom of the league in a number of categories and has thrown four interceptions to just two touchdown passes.
That uncertainty matters because the quarterback class is not lining up neatly for Miami, either. The 2027 group was supposed to be loaded, but the picture has gotten murkier.
Texas quarterback Arch Manning and Oregon’s Dante Moore opened the season as the headliners, yet both have slipped. Manning has been deeply disappointing, while Moore was injured in Week 4.
Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker has surged instead. Several mock drafts have him going first or second, and many project him to Miami.
Mel Kiper Jr. has Mestemaker as the No. 1 quarterback and No. 2 player overall behind Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith. Kiper sees major upside in the 20-year-old, including his arm strength.
Even so, there is still time for the board to change. Half the regular season remains, and Manning and Moore could still rebound.
Miami’s Darian Mensah, Mississippi’s Trinidad Chambliss, Notre Dame’s CJ Carr, Missouri’s Austin Simmons and USC’s Jayden Maiava are also in the mix. The class may not have a sure thing at the top, but it could end up being deep.
That is where the Dolphins’ dilemma really begins. If they are not convinced they can find their quarterback of the future with a premium pick, do they risk taking the next Cam Ward - or the next Tua Tagovailoa, for that matter? The article’s answer is that Miami will draft a quarterback in 2027, but not necessarily in the first round.
If the Dolphins choose to go another direction, the options still get interesting fast. Jeremiah Smith would be the splashiest non-quarterback swing.
The Ohio State receiver is widely viewed as the best player in college football and a legitimate candidate to go No. 1 overall. But that would require Miami to believe he is truly a generational talent.
Only three receivers have ever been taken first overall, and none since the Jets selected Keyshawn Johnson in 1996.
Another possibility is Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons, who is viewed as one of the most NFL-ready players in the class and someone who could become a long-term anchor for Hafley’s defense.
Then there is the possibility that Miami does not make the pick at all. If multiple teams start bidding for a quarterback, the Dolphins could be staring at a trade offer too strong to turn down. When a team is unsure, moving back and stacking picks can be the safest play.
That kind of deal has shaped recent draft history. The Bears last dealt the No. 1 pick in 2023, sending it to Carolina and receiving receiver DJ Moore plus four picks, including two firsts and two seconds.
In 2016, the Titans got six picks from the Rams - two firsts, two seconds and two thirds - so Los Angeles could take Jared Goff. Even the No. 2 pick can bring back a haul, as Cleveland did in 2025 when it sent the selection and a sixth-rounder to Jacksonville for two first-round picks and a second.
For a Dolphins rebuild that is still in its early stages, and with every spot on the roster carrying some kind of need, trading down may be the cleanest path of all.
In Other News...
Austin Jackson Just Gave Dolphins Fans A New Offensive Line Debate
Austin Jackson got another look at right tackle in Week 7, and for a night at least, he gave the Dolphins something closer to stability than drama. After a season of uneven stretches, Jackson held up adequately in pass protection and fit into an offensive line performance that gave Miami room to breathe, especially with the unit working in sync enough to keep the pocket from collapsing around the offense.
The bigger takeaway may be what that means for a position that has been a talking point for much of the season. Jacksons work helped steady a side of the line facing a rookie edge threat, and the overall blocking had enough pop to support a productive ground game, with Miami leaning on balance in a way it has wanted more often. For a team trying to find a permanent answer up front, one cleaner outing only sharpens the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins May Have Finally Found A Coach Worth Trusting
Jeff Hafleys first season in Miami has already given the Dolphins something they badly needed, a little proof that the reset might be headed in the right direction. After the team picked up its first win of the season against the New York Jets, NFL insider Peter Schrager offered a pointed endorsement of the first-year coach, crediting Hafley for keeping a young roster competitive even as the organization works through a rebuilding phase.
For a franchise that has spent too much time searching for steadiness, that kind of early confidence matters. The Dolphins are trying to build something sustainable, and the next chance to keep it moving comes in Week 8 at home against the New England Patriots. How Miami handles the stretch ahead will say plenty about whether this start was a one-off or the beginning of a much more stable run. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Got A QB Spark But The Bigger Question Just Changed
A new quarterback spark arrived in Miami in Week 8, and it came at a time when the Dolphins badly needed something to stabilize a season that had been drifting. Malik Willis stepped in and gave the offense a cleaner rhythm than it had shown for much of the year, enough to put Miami back in the win column and give the roster a little breathing room as the season moves deeper into the schedule.
The larger question now is what comes next for a team that has been searching for answers under center and still has to decide what kind of trajectory this season can realistically have. Week 8s quarterback chatter across the league only sharpened that conversation, because the Dolphins suddenly have a live option to evaluate while other clubs keep sorting through injured starters, uneven play and backup plans that are working better than expected. [Read more 🡒]