With the eighth pick in the first round of the NFL draft, the Miami Dolphins taking Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill made too much sense not to happen. And it did happen.
The Dolphins took Tannehill with their first-round draft pick, making him the first passer they’ve chosen in the first round since Dan Marino in 1983.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross was urging G.M. Jeff Ireland to select Tannehill after the team missed out on Peyton Manning and Matt Flynn in free agency, Dolphins offensive coordinator Mike Sherman was Tannehill’s coach at Texas A&M, and Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin has a good reputation for working with young quarterbacks. There were a lot of reasons for this to be the Dolphins’ pick.
Now the question is how quickly Tannehill -- who played wide receiver his first two college seasons and still needs some seasoning as a passer -- can get up to speed and get to work turning around a franchise that has needed a quarterback for a long, long time.