Miami Dolphins Make a Huge Draft Mistake By Passing Over Quinn

The Dolphins blew it. Contrary to most experts' predictions, Miami skipped over Notre Dame star quarterback Brady Quinn with their first pick in the draft. Instead, they used the choice, which was the ninth overall pick, to select Ted Ginn, Jr. out of Ohio State. This was a decision that Miami fans should regret for years.

Reasonable people may disagree on the objective merits of Brady Quinn. I will dive into the details of his career and abilities in a moment. However, please allow me stack the deck heavily in my favor by making two points.

First, Miami took Ginn, a 5'11", 176-pound receiver who averaged just over 4 catches and 60 yards per game. Good numbers, but certainly not stellar. Ginn was a fine receiver in college, and may prove to be an adequate wideout in the NFL, but he is certainly not the type of player that you just can't pass on. He wasn't even the best receiver available.

So, why would the Dolphins take a mediocre receiver with their first pick in the draft when they still don't have a quarterback for next season, let alone for the next decade? I have no idea. It's like buying a bunch of used bullets before you even get a gun. Why the hell would anyone do that?

Well, one argument could be that Quinn was not worth the pick. That somehow, an undersized receiver will contribute more to the Dolphins' bottom line over the next ten years than a potential franchise quarterback. Perhaps, some will say that the Dolphins simply didn't think Quinn was good enough to start for their team. Well, that leads me to my second point, which is this:.

With respect to their quarterback position over the past ten years, the Miami Dolphins have exhibited some of the worse judgment calls in the history of personnel management. Let's just take a look at the men that have stood behind center since Dan Marino retired in 1999:

Sage Rosenfels

A.J. Feeley

Cleo Lemon

Jay Fiedler

Ray Lucas

Daunte Culpepper (with a crushed knee)

Dave Dickinson

Gus Frerotte

Not exactly Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Of course, prior to 1999, the Dolphins had it easy. Dan Marino, the best statistical quarterback in NFL history, played QB. And if you really want to know the truth, Marino fell into their laps when he dropped on draft day all the way to the 27th pick because of rumors about drug useage. Without the rumors, Marino would have gone in the top five, so by the time he fell to Miami in the late first round, the pick was a no brainer. The people who deserve most of the credit for Marino ending up in Miami are the 26 teams who picked ahead of the Dolphins.

Brady Quinn's last two seasons at Notre Dame, while under the tutelage of head coach and quarterback guru Charlie Weiss, were among the best in college history.

Between the 2005 and 2006 seasons, Quinn completed 63% of his passes for almost 7,400 yards, to go along with his 69 touchdowns (and only 14 interceptions) in 25 games.

During that period, he led Notre Dame to a 19-6 record.

The knock against Quinn is that he did not perform well in big games. But in the biggest game that he ever played, the November, 2005 game against the Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush-led USC Trojans, Quinn dueled Leinart almost pass-for-pass, throwing for 268 yards and two touchdowns. Plus, he rushed for a 60-yard touchdown in the team's last second 34-31 loss.

So do you wanna go with Sage Rosenfels behind center or the six-foot five-inch, 245 pound QB who holds all of Notre Dame's QB records?

Oh, and this just in: Ginn, who sprained his foot recently, told Miami the day after the draft that he may not even be available when training camp starts in three months. Good job, Miami. Good job.