If we're talking about stock up and stock down for the 2025 NFL season, the Miami Dolphins are a major "stock down" after the offseason.
The Dolphins struggled last season with injuries, to say the least. The departure of Vic Fangio left the defense in a worse place than I think anyone really expected. The quarterback position is extremely unsettling.
And it's to that last point that we need to speak today. The Dolphins have one of the most unsettling quarterback situations in the NFL with Tua Tagovailoa at the top of the depth chart, but they made an extremely underrated move in 2025 to boost that position group with perhaps the most unlikely name.
Zach Wilson provides Dolphins major upside behind Tua Tagovailoa
You rarely, if ever, actually want to see your backup quarterback play in the NFL. If you lose your starter, it's more likely than not that you'll be in a much worse position. There are exceptions to that. The situation in Miami is not remotely the same, but the Dolphins having free agent pickup Zach Wilson come in to back up Tua Tagovailoa feels like a very vaguely similar situation to the one in Tennessee from a handful of years ago when the Titans brought in Ryan Tannehill to back up Marcus Mariota.
Now, unlike Mariota with the Titans, Tagovailoa is actually a good starter when healthy. And unlike Tannehill at the time, Zach Wilson doesn't have a prior history of quality time on task in the NFL.
But stick with me here.
The Dolphins have added the 2nd overall pick from the 2021 NFL Draft and Mike McDaniel's offense is historically very friendly to quarterbacks. Not every quarterback has excelled in it, as we've seen, but Wilson is a different type of talent who looked good in his limited action last preseason with the Denver Broncos.
Having a year to grow as a player off the field and really hone his craft, Wilson could have stuck around in Denver to keep developing under Sean Payton and Broncos QB coach Davis Webb, but he took a shot at the situation in Miami, which is arguably the most desirable backup QB situation in the league.
History would tell us that Tagovailoa is not likely to play a full season. Wilson is likely going to play at some point this year, and it could be the situation that completely turns around his NFL career.
And he's got a chance to ditch the "bust" label with a division rival of the team that drafted him: The New York Jets.
The Dolphins don't want to see Tagovailoa hurt this year, obviously. They don't want to have to turn to Wilson. But in the event that Wilson is needed, the Dolphins are in a much better spot at QB than they have been in recent years.
