Will the Miami Dolphins finally get their franchise quarterback?
This offseason, the Dolphins were unsuccessful in their attempts to woo Peyton Manning. Other free agents Matt Flynn and Alex Smith discussed taking their talents to South Beach with the Dolphins, but ended up on the opposite coast in Seattle and San Francisco, respectively.
If our fan mock draft goes according to plan, the Miami Dolphins will be able to draft the player who is the consensus No. 3 quarterback on the board in Texas A&M's Ryan Tannehill.
Do the Dolphins pull the trigger? New Miami offensive coordinator Mike Sherman was Tannehill's head coach at Texas A&M. If Sherman doesn't believe Tannehill is a franchise-type quarterback, then where do the Dolphins turn?
The Dolphins traded their top wide receiver, Brandon Marshall, to the Chicago Bears this offseason. However, the top two wide receivers in Justin Blackmon and Michael Floyd are already off the board. Could the Dolphins stick with last year's quarterback Matt Moore and improve the protection around him? The only slight concern is that Iowa's Riley Reiff is more likely suited to play right tackle and it would probably be too high to pick Stanford guard David DeCastro.
Along the defensive line, the Dolphins re-signed dominant nose tackle Paul Soliai earlier this offseason. The Dolphins could still boost the defensive line with versatile linemen Fletcher Cox from Mississippi State or Memphis' Dontari Poe. Miami could draft Melvin Ingram as a pass rush force from the outside linebacker position to be paired with Cameron Wake. At inside linebacker, the Dolphins could discuss taking Luke Kuechly here.
The Dolphins have a good trio of cornerbacks in Vontae Davis, Richard Marshall and Sean Smith, but if Stephon Gilmore from South Carolina is the top-rated player on the board then maybe they go in that direction.
The choice is yours. Who will be the No. 8 overall pick in the 2012 fan mock draft?
Previous Picks
1. Indianapolis – QB Andrew Luck, Stanford
2. Washington – QB Robert Griffin III, Baylor
3. Minnesota -- OT Matt Kalil, USC
4. Cleveland - RB Trent Richardson, Cleveland
5. Tampa Bay - CB Morris Claiborne, LSU
6. St. Louis - WR Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma St.
7. Jacksonville - WR Michael Floyd, Notre Dame
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