The Miami Dolphins have been looking for the next Dan Marino since the day he retired. In that pursuit, the franchise has a habit of thinking all quarterback woes can be solved with a second round pick. And while that has been flawed thinking so far, it’s hard to find any criticism with what GM Chris Grier did last night.

In 2003, Miami traded a 2004 second round pick to Philadelphia for A.J. Feeley, who lasted just one year with the Dolphins and went 3-5 as a starter.

In 2007, Miami used a second round pick on John Beck from BYU, who also lasted only one year in South Beach and went 0-4 as a starter.

In 2008, Miami used a second round pick on Michigan’s Chad Henne. The Wolverine product stuck in Miami for four years and went 13-18 as a starter.

In 2009, Miami — fresh off of its success with the Wildcat offense — used a second round pick with West Virginia superstar running quarterback Pat White. He never worked out in the NFL at any position, lasting only one year in the NFL and finishing with under 100 total career yards.

In 2012, Miami drafted second round quarterback Ryan Tannehill with the 8th pick in the Draft. Tannehill lasted forever in Miami, going 42-46 and constantly falling short of high expectations.

Now, with the Tannehill era over, Miami sent a second round draft pick to Arizona for Josh Rosen in a trade that could wind up being one of the best in team history. The Dolphins played this situation about as perfectly as any team could.

Entering the Draft, there were 3 teams in real need of finding a young quarterback: the Giants with an aging and underperforming Eli Manning, the Redskins with Alex Smith injured, and the Dolphins with Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Giants drafted Daniel Jones with the 6th pick in the 2019 Draft, and after Miami took Clemson DT Christian Wilkins with the 13th selection, Washington took Dwayne Haskins with the 15th pick. Arizona, of course, took Kyler Murray with the first pick, making Rosen superfluous on the roster.

At this point, Miami had all the leverage. Rosen’s trade value should have been very high, as he would cost a new team just $2.08 million a year over the next three years. Arizona already paid 65% of his contract, making him an extremely cheap option for a team to add.

There’s an argument to be made that because of the financial gain, Rosen would be worth a 1st round pick. And if you liked Rosen the prospect, perhaps a high 1st round pick. And while Miami could have sent the team’s 2nd round pick — 48th overall — to Arizona for Rosen, and been lauded for it, the Dolphins did even better. First, the Dolphins traded down with New Orleans, sending the team’s 48th and 116th (4th round) picks to the Saints for the 62nd pick, the 202nd pick (6th round), and most importantly, a 2020 second round.

The Dolphins then sent the 62nd pick, along with a 2020 5th round selection, to Arizona for Rosen. If you combine the two trades, the Dolphins sent the 48th pick, 116th pick (4th round), and a 2020 5th round pick for Josh Rosen, a 2020 2nd round pick, and the 202nd pick. Yes, Miami may have had all the leverage, but the Dolphins paid almost nothing to get a quarterback taken with the 10th pick in the 2018 Draft.

Nobody knows how good Rosen will be in Miami, but in terms of GM maneuvering, this was absolutely brilliant. Worst case scenario, the Dolphins have a cheap young quarterback on the roster now, and a 2020 2nd round pick that the team can use if it needs to move up in the 1st round next year for a quarterback. Best case scenario is the Dolphins acquired the team’s quarterback of the future for pennies.