Even if the Miami Dolphins use their first-round pick to draft a quarterback, Ryan Tannehill will be the starter, without question, in 2018.
Team executives made that crystal clear on Wednesday, according to Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
The Dolphins executives reiterated that Ryan Tannehill is Miami's starting QB for 2018. There will be no competition, and that whatever QB Miami selects in this draft will spend his rookie season watching and learning.
— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) April 18, 2018
There have been strong indications that Miami is, indeed, looking to draft a quarterback. Baker Mayfield is said to be high on the team’s wish list, though based on recent reports he’ll be long gone before Miami picks at No. 11 overall. Lamar Jackson actually got some one-on-one time with none other than Dan Marino when he had his workout with the Dolphins recently, so perhaps he’s an option, too.
Given the fact that Miami recently inked Tannehill to a new contract, this really shouldn’t be all that surprising. Much like the situation in Jacksonville, there’s no need to rush a young quarterback into the starting lineup, even if in the long term that young man might be the future of the organization.
Tannehill is coming off of two straight seasons that were ended by a knee injury. He’s going to be fully healthy for the regular season, however, and if he is then history suggests he’ll perform admirably for Adam Gase.
Still, bringing in another passer seems to be a prudent course of action, so nobody should be surprised if the Dolphins do draft one early this April.