You read the headline, so let's cut the crap and get to the point: The Miami Dolphins need to use a high draft pick on a quarterback in this April's NFL Draft. Yes, the team needs to replace Ryan Tannehill.
It's time. It's been time. Not because of what Ryan Tannehill has or hasn't done, but because the Dolphins need a plan for the future. A proactive plan, for once. A plan that makes sense if Tannehill's knee isn't healthy. Nobody wants another year of Jay Cutler or Matt Moore. The Fins need something that isn't sheer desperation — to plant a seed that has time to grow rather than one that is planted, has a gallon of water dumped on it, and is set outside for a day with the expectation it will blossom.
Nope. It's time for the Dolphins to deal with the most important position in football the right way and get out in front of a problem before it arises. No more half-measures. No more Band-Aids. No more kicking the can down the road because Moore isn't completely terrible most of the time.
This year's quarterback draft class is unique in that there isn't a consensus frontrunner (not yet anyway) and there are a lot of guys in the running to be the first quarterback taken. Josh Rosen (UCLA), Josh Allen (Wyoming), Sam Darnold (USC), Lamar Jackson (Louisville), or Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma) could end up being the best quarterback in this year's draft class. And there is even a tier of quality signal-callers beyond that group, including Riley Ferguson (Memphis) and Luke Falk (Washington State).
Miami has two fourth-round picks this year, so spending a second- or a third-round one on a back-up plan to Tannehill is plausible. Miami routinely blows high picks on guys who do nothing anyway, so why take a shot on Jackson or Mayfield if one of them is sitting there in the middle of the second round?
The Dolphins should continue to invest in quarterbacks in the draft until they get it right. Then, just when they think they have the quarterback of the future, draft another one. Tannehill might be the answer in 2018, but he likely won't be the answer in 2020 and beyond. The Dolphins need to plan for then now so they can break the vicious circle of mediocrity that has lasted two decades.