A juicy bit of Miami Dolphins quarterback gossip drops as NFL Draft week begins – Miami Herald

The Dolphins didn’t like Josh Rosen in the first round a year ago.

But how about the third round this year?

Seems more than plausible, based on reporting by Pro Football Talk’s Peter King:

“No team in the league — from what I’ve heard — has spent more time researching Josh Rosen in recent weeks than Miami,” King wrote.

Rosen, the 10th pick in the 2018 draft, would presumably be available in trade if the Cardinals take Kyler Murray first overall Thursday.

And the Dolphins are expected to take a quarterback at some point this weekend anyway, likely in Day 2 or 3.

King speculates that Chris Grier might offer his counterpart in Arizona, Steve Keim a third-round, take-it-or-leave-it offer for Rosen, and doesn’t expect the Dolphins to face a ton of competition for Rosen’s services, particularly if the Redskins and Giants take a quarterback in the first round.

So the calculus for the Dolphins is simple: Do they have a third-round grade on Rosen? And do they like him more than any quarterback they would be able to draft in that range (i.e.: N.C. State’s Ryan Finley, West Virginia’s Will Grier and Buffalo’s Tyree Jackson)?

Rosen was bad as a rookie — he completed just 55.2 percent of his passes for 2,278 yards, 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions — but he was also set up to fail.

The 2018 Cardinals were a terrible team — bad roster, bad coaching, bad scheme.

So perhaps a different environment will mean a different result.

Rosen would presumably get a one-year audition to be the Dolphins’ starter.

He would have to beat out Ryan Fitzpatrick for the starting job, and then do enough to convince the Dolphins he is their future.

One more factor: The Dolphins would control Rosen’s rights for up to four years due to the NFL’s fifth-year option for first-round picks.

So it would truly be like drafting a quarterback in the third round, albeit at a higher pay scale.

But with $37.9 million in cap space this year and an estimated $120 million-plus in 2020, that won’t be a deal breaker.

King’s newsy nugget came deep in his mock draft. He predicts the Dolphins will take Clemson defensive tackle Christian Wilkins with the 13th pick.

“Wilkins slipping to 13 would be a gift for rookie Dolphins coach Brian Flores, who learned under Bill Belichick that quick 315-pound people-movers in the defensive interior are to be collected and valued,” King explained. “Dolphins have so many needs, and if an offensive tackle they like falls here, that could be the pick too.”

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