Let's say this up front: the Dolphins don't have to find their long-term answer at quarterback in 2026. They can push their quarterback search into the 2027 season if there aren't any good options this year. And so far there aren't any good options. I don't favor signing Green Bay's Malik Willis to a three- or four-year free-agent contract that gives him, say, $20 million or more a year (likely more). Willis only has six starts in four years. He's unproven.
The race for the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL draft is taking shape after 10 weeks of the 2025 season. Five teams have at least a 5% chance at landing the top pick, according to ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) projections. So we called on our NFL reporters and analysts to size up each of those bottom-tier franchises after midseason.
When the season without reason ended, here was John Mara after deciding to keep Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll: "That's obviously the No. 1 issue for us going into this offseason is to find our Quarterback of the Future. Whether that be via the draft or acquiring a veteran, it's going to be up to them to decide, ultimately."
At this point, it's just conjecture, but as Hall of Fame executive Ron Wolf proved many years ago with the Green Bay Packers, it's never a bad thing to keep refueling the quarterback pipeline.
