ESPN has the Miami Dolphins drafting a QB in the 4th round of the 2026 NFL Draft

When the Miami Dolphins hired general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan to lead the team into the future, one of the first questions he was asked was what he planned to do at the quarterback position.

Sully would then go on to cut Tua Tagovailoa — as expected — and sign his replacement and the potential franchise QB, Malik Willis — as some expected. (Note: IDK what “franchise QB” even means anymore after Tannehill and Tua.)

The dead cap sucks, but it was inevitable, and to land Willis, I’m happy.

Still, Sullivan promised to add competition at the position, and he did just that. But with three quarterbacks on the roster — more on QB2, Quinn Ewers another time — Miami isn’t necessarily forced to draft anyone at the position. (They also have Cam Miller on the roster.)

But for the sake of this article, I’m going to hold Sullivan to those words.

What words, you may ask, check it out for yourself:::

“The quarterback position again is the most important position in sports in my opinion, certainly the most important position in football. We’re going to invest in that position every year if we can. Now depending on where we are as a football team, it’ll be at different values, but we will draft quarterbacks every year, if not every other year because I think you have to.”

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, this draft class isn’t necessarily as special as many had once thought. Still, there are some players that I believe have the potential to be the guy in the NFL, and ESPN’s Benjamin Solak — yes, the former Bleeding Green Alumni — gave his thoughts on where this year’s class would land in a recent article.

Normally, I’d keep on scrolling, but the QB he had Miami targeting just so happened to be the guy I’ve been programmed to love for the last three or four years living in Central, PA. But before we get into who Sullivan and the Dolphins select, let’s discuss how the top of the draft ended up.

With the first-overall pick in the draft, there is no doubt that the Las Vegas Raiders are going to select Fernando Mendoza — we all know this. After Mendoza, however, is where the real mystery lies. In this article, Solak projects a trade at Pick #31.

The Arizona Cardinals trade back into the first round with the New England Patriots to select Alabama’s Ty Simpson. That is fine and dandy, but if I’m being honest, I’d much rather Miami trade out and acquire more ammo for next year’s star-studded class. Nevertheless, Simpson is off the board at Pick #31.

The next quarterback wouldn’t be selected until late in the third round, and it really could go several ways depending on how teams view the next tier of guys. For this article’s sake, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier is the next QB off the board. He comes off the board in the third round (99th overall) with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

As things stand, there are several intriguing prospects still on the board.

Miami’s Carson Beck, Arkansas’ Taylen Green, and North Dakota State’s Cole Payton are just a few of the options available at the QB position when Miami is on the board, but Solak decided to go a different direction. And it’s honestly the direction I’ve been hoping the Dolphins would go if the board were to fall this way.

(Note: I’d be fine with any of these QBs, or with waiting a year and drafting one in 2027.)

The Miami Dolphins should draft this quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft

With the 4th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins select Penn State QB Drew Allar.

Here’s what Solak said about the 22-year-old QB::::

“”Allar is a tough nut to crack in this draft class. He has been named the toolsy developmental prospect of favor … but he isn’t even as toolsy as North Dakota State’s Cole Payton or Arkansas’ Taylen Green, who will likely go later. He has the traditional height, weight and arm talent of a dominant pocket passer, but the deterioration of his play from 2024 to 2025 puts a hiccup in his developmental projection. (Allar was limited to six games after a season-ending ankle injury last season.)

Despite a strong arm, Allar never really pushed the ball downfield in Penn State’s offense. In his three seasons as a starter, his most aggressive season (2024) saw an air yards per attempt of 8.2, below the nation’s average of 8.4. This is particularly worrisome because Allar enjoyed a low pressure rate (21% in 2025, second to only Carson Beck) and long time to throw. Yet he still didn’t find opportunities or success throwing downfield.

Allar can make anticipation throws into tight windows against the sideline or to the middle of the field, and that’s tough to teach. Winning with arm talent on rhythm throws from the pocket is how C.J. Stroud excelled for Bobby Slowik with the Texans in 2023 and 2024, and that’s how Allar will find success in the NFL. The Dolphins are invested in Malik Willis for 2026 and even into 2027, given his contract guarantees, but using an early-Day 3 pick on Allar would allow him to beat out Quinn Ewers for the QB2 job and challenge for QB1 reps in 2027 if Willis struggles.

The Dolphins have so many draft needs that they might pass on quarterback entirely. But they also have so many picks (three third-rounders) that taking the leap on a falling Allar wouldn’t impact their rebuiand could even accelerate it if he hits.“”

Now again, I think I’d prefer to go all-in next year, but with the number of draft picks Miami has, I’d have no problem taking a flyer on any of these quarterbacks — though my allegiance will foolishly remain with Allar. Sure, there are plenty of flaws in his tape, but there’s also some “wow, this kid has something” moments, and for a guy that hasn’t played the position for a long time, he’s exactly the type of flyer I’d take here in the 4th round.

During his time at Penn State, Allar never quite lived up to the hype. In four seasons, he completed just 63.2% of his passes for 7.402 yardes, 61 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. He averaged 7.4 yards per throw. On the ground, he carried the ball 224 times for 736 yards and 12 touchdowns. Allar isn’t going to beat you with his legs — as Malik Willis will — but he does have some sneaky mobility like that Chargers QB.

In round 4, I’d be over the moon for Allar. He’s the perfect QB to take a chance on and let compete in a room that would then have Willis, Quinn Ewers, Cam Miller, and Drew Allar. That looks pretty good to me, but then again, I’m a Dolphins fan. And after so many years of smoke and mirrors, someday, somehow, we will have a game-changing QB once again.

*lettuce pray*

What are your thoughts on the Miami Dolphins drafting Drew Allar in the 4th round of the 2026 NFL Draft? Is there a QB in this class you’d prefer to take a chance on? How do you think Malik Willis will do in year one? Let us know in the comments section below!

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