The Dolphins have done little right in the NFL Draft. For every Dan Marino, there have been 50 former Fins who gave Miami fans heartburn and sleepless nights. Here are eight picks we'll never forget the Dolphins whiffing on.
8. John Beck (2007, 40th overall). In the grand scheme of things, John Beck is just a blip on the Dolphins' radar, a moment in time everyone has nearly forgotten, a face most Dolphins fans wouldn't even recognize in Starbucks if he were making our Venti cold brew. But flash back to the Dolphins' 2007-to-2009 era and you'll quickly relive the heartbreak. The quarterback played only nine games in his Fins career, five of which came during the franchise's darkest hour: the 1-15 2007 season. Nothing good came of the John Beck era.
7. Jason Allen (2006, 16th overall). When Nick Saban took over the Dolphins in 2006, he was thought of as the king of the SEC and probably the best coach in college football. When the draft came around, though, it soon became clear he knew little about college football outside the SEC.
Saban decided to use his first-round pick on Tennessee safety Jason Allen. It went poorly. Allen barely played for the Dolphins due to hip alignments and poor on-field production. Saban wasn't around much longer either.
6. Pat White (2009, 44th overall). You didn't dream this pick happened. It really was a thing we all lived through. The year after the Dolphins thought they had the entire NFL on tilt with their superspecial Wildcat formation that won them exactly zero playoff games, they went all-in on the scheme by selecting skinny, shifty quarterback Pat White.
He threw five passes as a Dolphin in 13 games and was knocked unconscious by a hit so vicious that only a couple of years later, he was playing minor-league baseball.
5. Jamal Fletcher (2001, 26th overall). With both Patrick Surtain and Sam Madison on the roster, the Dolphins still felt the need to use their 2001 first-round pick on Wisconsin cornerback Jamal Fletcher. That's bad. What's worse was they did so instead of drafting Drew Brees. That makes it
Fletcher played three subpar seasons with the Dolphins. Brees is still Brees-ing. The rest is Dolphins history.
4. Ted Ginn Jr. (2007, ninth overall). This one is confusing. Ted Ginn is still in the league and remains a damn fine third-option wideout. He's still breaking off chunk gains and long touchdowns. The problem is the Dolphins took Ginn ninth overall at a time when the team needed quality football players, not gadget speedsters who are a luxury on a good team.
It's hard to blame Ginn for his time in Miami: His quarterback was Chad Henne. There is also the fact that Miami, not Ginn, is the one that decided he should be the ninth overall pick.
3. Jonathan Martin (2012, 42nd overall). Jonathan Martin was a terrible football player for about 40 games in a Dolphins uniform. That wasn't the biggest issue, though. He had major problems in the locker room, especially with fellow lineman Richie Incognito, that led to what is commonly referred to as "Bullygate," a scandal that
Martin is currently in a lot of trouble himself. All Dolphins fans care about is the fact that Miami took a tackle everyone referred to as "soft" coming out of Stanford so early in the draft.
2. Eddie Moore (2003, 49th overall). Eighteen games and 35 tackles — that's all that came of the Dolphins' highest pick from the 2003 draft. Anquan Boldin was available, but the Fins and coach Dave Wannstedt decided the team needed a backup linebacker much more than it needed a playmaking wide receiver who filled an obvious roster need.
Moore is remembered most for being knocked out by a random dude at a bar in Fort Lauderdale for talking to his girl, not anything that happened on the football field. Boldin went on to catch 1,076 balls for 82 touchdowns and 13,779 yards.
1. Dion Jordan (2013, third overall). The Dolphins liked Dion Jordan so much they traded up to third overall in the 2003 draft to get him. By the end of his Dolphins career, he had spent more time suspended than on the field. If it weren't for Jordan's current career rejuvenation in Seattle, it would be safe to put him on the shortlist of biggest draft busts not only for the Dolphins but also in all of sports history.
