THE DRAFT PAGES

DRAFT DIVE PART 8, QUARTERBACKS

DRAFT DIVE PART 8, QUARTERBACKS

Greg Creese

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On the heels of the fortuitous signing of quarterback Malik Willis, the Miami Dolphins are not in a position of great need at the position this year. But with GM Jon-Eric Sullivan stating the team would draft one “every year or every other year,” it would be unwise to ignore the position in the draft, even in a year as bad as this one.

Pundits may think Alabama’s Ty Simpson is in play for Miami, but that’s not reality. History shows that when Green Bay has had a quarterback, yes, it will draft one. But it will do so in the fifth round, or later.

This is part eight in an 11-part Aqua & Coral Report series breaking down and ranking potential Dolphins draftees by position.

DOLPHINS QUARTERBACK PROSPECTS

Admittedly, the view from here is skeptical and sour.

The one player I do like is Connecticut’s Joe Fagnano, but I like him for the reasons Sullivan probably wouldn’t take him, despite his likely low draft position — his experience. In the last two years, nobody ripped through defenses more efficiently, but he just completed seven years in college.

Of the other QBs, the preference is to draft someone with high physical upside, like a Taylen Green. Cole Payton would be on par in that regard, but his lack of experience and the inability to get it as a pro is cautionary.

Below are the latest evaluations on quarterback prospects.

2026 ACR Dolphins Draft Guide bios included. (⭐denotes favorite players respective of projected draft range; DNM means “Do Not Want”)

Joe Fagnano, Connecticut

QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana

Looks like he has all the makings of a solid pro (smart, accurate, poised); no real overwhelming traits but no weak ones either; prob more game manager than gunslinger, but prob can be as good as talent surrounding him too; his big-game performances bode well… gamer; runs well for 6-5; reminds me of Daniel Jones physically but Andrew Luck overall; watching some of the plays he made with major pressure all around him and/or in his face, his height comes into play in terms of seeing things; don’t see him as a guy who takes over games in the NFL, but moxie in big games will prob bode well in him leading teams to Ws; will make the play if you ask him to; leader, and that value can’t really be underestimated (R1)

QB Taylen Green, Arkansas

Strong arm but a bit of a funky motion; great runner; questionable decision-making and processing; sees field from pocket without issue; anticipatory skills need work; great at running zone read pull and can turn a gap into a long TD; has a bad tendency to run backward when he’s in trouble in pass game, likely because it’s always worked; ARK line was awful in ’25 and team switched coaches mid-year which is fair to consider when looking at processing issues; turnovers a concern both throwing & running but that could also make him more affordable at draft time; could add ‘slash’ threat even if he’s not pro ready passer, assuming he can protect the football; would consider as backup who can get regular plays while seeing if he can develop into more on a cheap contract; concern as primary signal caller will be his processing and decision making, everything else is there; combine was athletically one of the best ever by a QB and showcased his physical gifts (R5)

QB Cole Payton, NDSU

6-3, 232 beast of a lefty; strong dangerous runner+; has a hideous throwing motion; release is relatively quick and his arm strength is pretty good; seems accurate and saw him hit a few outs to the field side with pace; seems to be able to make the layered throw; his line gave him a ridiculous amount of space and time so it’s kind of hard to verify him as a processor; completed 72 percent of his passes last year and he was not just dipping and dunking; as ugly as the throwing motion is, there’s something to work with because of his size and his running ability; 4.56 40, 40-inch vertical and 10-10 broad jump at the combine shows tape matches tests; limited time as a starter; total project who I would consider earlier but the lack of playing time isn’t going to change in the pros and that’s what he needs most (R5)

QB Sawyer Robertson, Baylor

6-4, 216; 304-of-504 (60.3) for 3,681 yards (7.3 ypc) with 31 TDs and 12 interceptions in ’25; better completion pct and TD-Int ratio in ’24; played exclusively spread and out of the gun so some things are hard to translate to pro game but his processing seems pretty quick, hard to tell; delivery isn’t exceptionally short or excessively long; lively arm but his feet will need a ton of coaching up; real good touch on deeper throws; a bit lazy in his play fakes; a bit lumbering as a runner and not much of a threat; is really an excellent passer when it comes to a fade route; you really don’t get to see him operate much with a muddy pocket; pretty skilled as a thrower in terms of the variety of throws he can make; doesn’t seem to make too many of platform or throws on the run; primarily a pocket passer, though all of his testing numbers at the combine were good (4.64 40-yard dash) (R7) 

QB Joe Fagnano, Connecticut

6-3, 226 signal caller who played a whopping seven years of college football; started at Maine before transferring to UConn, where he injured his shoulder in 2023; not an overwhelmingly strong arm and he struggles at times with deep balls; that said, this could be this year’s Tyler Shough (though not as physically gifted, nor with the sordid injury hx); the experience showed in his stats – in his two seasons following injury, was 405-of-619 (65.4%) for 5,079 yards, 48 touchdowns and 5 interceptions; in 2025, he ranked in the top five of the NCAA in passing yards while throwing the fewest interceptions (1), to go along with 28 TDs; feel like he’s probably already a reliable career backup but have a feeling MIA is not going the ‘old’ direction (R7-UDFA)

QB Haynes King, Georgia Tech

6-2, 212 who was ACC Player of the Year in 2025; average passer but athletic and a good runner; though smaller, offers similar possibilities in the “slash” department because he ran a 4.46 at the combine and the rushing skills he showed in college; hand and arm measurements are sub-standard; probably a better chance as a special teamer or trying to work at another spot than QB (UDFA)

NOTABLE QUARTERBACK DNWs

QB Ty Simpson, Alabama (R2/DNW)

QB Garrett Nussmeier, LSU (R5/DNW) 

QB Carson Beck, Miami: There are plenty of people reading this who’ve watched more Beck than me given the Dolphins/Canes crossover, so won’t pontificate — great size (6-4, 220), throws a pretty nice ball, arm strength is good enough, he’s been in and won plenty of big games; the flip side is he tends to take the underneath pass rather than wait out his progressions; the processing seems slow; his team won big games but there weren’t a ton of times you could point to him and say “he’s the reason;” don’t think he’s wired to be a successful pro (R4/DNW) 

QB Drew Allar, Penn State: physically built in a QB lab at 6-5, 228; broke his ankle in October but seems fine; big arm shows up on balls he has confidence throwing, which typically is the product of a completely clean pocket and someone open in the middle of the field; arm does not show the same way on deep balls, inconsistent at best; has what I’d term a loose delivery, long throwing motion; footwork is erratic; wouldn’t call him overly athletic but he can run okay, the size is nice in short yardage; he does not throw to the outside with much success; given his physical traits and this weak QB class, that he isn’t going second overall speaks volumes honestly; accuracy is not great; he just never looks real comfortable; throws great at pro days, it’s when there’s noise around him that there’s a problem (R4/DNW)

THE SCHEDULE