The Miami Dolphins seem poised to move on from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa this offseason, and if those ever-growing rumblings come to fruition, the once-storied South Florida franchise will need a new signal-caller in short order.
Recently, talks of Miami potentially acquiring Baltimore Ravens quarterback, Lamar Jackson, have surfaced thanks to a speculative article from Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun. Jackson, a Pompano Beach native, “would love to play in Miami,” according to Preston. However, with the Dolphins as cash strapped as they will be once the team parts with Tagovailoa, a cheaper option at the position may afford the team more success in future years.
Successful rookie quarterbacks can often help a team retool quickly, allowing bigger money to be spent on surrounding the youngster with talented teammates in order to expedite the growth process. There just so happens to be one quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft who could be the right option for the Dolphins — and if things play out the way one recent mock draft predicts they will, that passer could be wearing aqua and orange very soon.
Fernando Mendoza — the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback for the Indiana Hoosiers — will be the first quarterback taken in the upcoming draft, and earlier this week, Pro Football Focus released a mock in which the Dolphins made a trade with the New York Giants to acquire the first overall pick in 2026 in order to select him.
The best part?
Miami didn’t have to pay too steep of a price to make the deal happen.
In the fictitious scenario, Miami sends New York the 10th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the 44th pick in 2026, plus a 2027 first round pick and a 2027 second round pick to acquire the first pick in the upcoming draft. That pick is then used to bring Mendoza’s talent to Miami Gardens.
Here was PFF’s reasoning for the deal:
With Tua Tagovailoa benched ahead of the Dolphins’ Week 16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, it’s obvious that Miami is in the market for a new quarterback. In this mock draft, they get aggressive to move up for one.
Mendoza recorded a 6.2% big-time throw rate and a 2.3% turnover-worthy play rate this season, which compares well with recent No. 1 overall picks Cam Ward (6.3%, 3.3%) and Caleb Williams (6.2%, 3.6%).
Mendoza has been compared to Matt Ryan as a quarterback — which is interesting, because Ryan took the Atlanta Falcons to the Super Bowl with Mike McDaniel as an offensive assistant with the club at the conclusion of the 2016 NFL season. Of course, if the two were to be paired up in Miami, McDaniel would have to keep his job after a disastrous 2025 season as head coach of the Dolphins.
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So, what do you think? Should the Dolphins pull the trigger on this hypothetical trade and send two first round picks, plus two second round picks in order to acquire the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft? Should Fernando Mendoza be pegged as the next potential savior of the franchise? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter at @MBrave13! Fins up!
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