MOBILE, Ala. — The Miami Dolphins, under general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley, have vowed they aren’t going to skimp on quarterback, which is a definite position of need heading into next season. That’s why you can be certain the Dolphins will scout all six quarterbacks at this week’s Senior Bowl.

“We’re going to invest in that position every year if we can,” Sullivan said during his introductory news conference. “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.

“If you hit on a guy, great. And if not — if you hit on two, you have trade value.”

Unfortunately for the Dolphins it’s not a good year to need to draft a quarterback, and Miami might not get much help at the Senior Bowl, whose rosters feature quarterbacks who might not be selected in the first three rounds of April’s NFL draft. 

A few players had success on Tuesday’s first day of practice. Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia had a particularly good throw in 1-on-1 drills down the right sideline for maybe 35 yards. But mostly the performances fit the draft projections. Many of these quarterbacks aren’t trying to show they have rifle arms. Their goals are more fundamental.

“Operating the huddle, getting in and out of that and taking snaps under center and just operating the offense at a high level,” said Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson, who had a decent showing Tuesday.

Not surprisingly, quarterbacks drafted after the third round don’t usually have much success as starters.

Recent anecdotal evidence suggests quarterbacks drafted in the fourth through seventh rounds largely spend their careers as backups, or at best, marginal starters for a couple of years.

In the past 10 years, since 2016, there have been 67 quarterbacks drafted in fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds. That total includes 15 fourth-rounders, 14 fifth-rounders. 21 sixth-rounders and 17 seventh-rounders.

The late-round success stories, led by the Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, a 2016 fourth-round pick, and San Francisco 49ers’ Brock Purdy, a 2022 seventh-round pick, are few.

Kansas City Chiefs backup Gardner Minshew, a 2019 sixth-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars, was a late-round success story with his 47 starts in 63 games.

But the average story of the late-round quarterback who stays in the league is similar to, say, Tennessee Titans reserve quarterback Brandon Allen, a 2016 sixth-round pick by Jacksonville, who has played for six teams. He’s made 10 starts in 19 games over 10 seasons.

The New England Patriots’ Joshua Dobbs, a 2017 fourth-round draftee by the Pittsburgh Steelers, also comes to mind. Dobbs has made 15 starts in 27 games during his eight-year career.

Or, there’s Mike White of South Florida (and University School), a 2018 fifth-round pick by Dallas. White, the Dolphins’ backup in 2023, has made seven starts in 15 games and has nine touchdowns and 13 interceptions in his career.

Still, Drew Fabianich, the Senior Bowl executive director who spent 18 years as a national scout for the Cowboys, said these six quarterbacks are players the NFL wanted to see.

Among this year’s three Senior Bowl quarterbacks on the American Team, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier (6-foot-1, 202 pounds) is projected as a third- or fourth-round pick after an injury-interrupted senior season that saw him throw 12 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Pass rushers of many types should draw Dolphins’ interest at Senior Bowl; practice observations

“Was it a great year? No,” Fabianich said. “But I can’t forget what I saw last year (29 touchdowns, 12 interceptions). Now he’s got to show people what he is when he’s healthy and what he can do.”

Arkansas’ Taylen Green (6-6, 229), a dual threat QB who passed for 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and rushed for 777 yards and eight touchdowns, projects as a fourth- or fifth-round pick.

“He needs to improve his accuracy, he’s very streaky,” Fabianich said. “But when he’s on, he is really on.”

Illinois’ Luke Altmyer (6-1, 210), who threw for 22 touchdowns and five interceptions with a 106.9 passer rating, might be a seventh-round pick or an undrafted free agent. 

“He’s a bigger man than he looks on paper,” Fabianich said. “He’s very consistent. He’s a really good game manager.”

Among the three National Team quarterbacks, Robertson (31 touchdowns, 12 interceptions) projects as a fifth- or sixth-round pick.

“I think you’ll be surprised how well the ball comes out of his hand,” Fabianich said. “He may be the best pure passer of this entire bunch.”

North Dakota State’s Cole Payton, a one-year starter who threw for 16 touchdowns and four interceptions as well as rushing for 777 yards and 13 touchdowns last season, also projects as a fifth- or sixth-round pick.

“Cole Payton is here because the league wanted to see the young man because he’s a dual threat,” Fabianich said. “Very productive in one year, so this is huge. He needs to prove that he belongs, which I believe he will.”

Pavia, at 5-foot-9, 198 pounds, is a gutty winner but isn’t likely an option for the Dolphins.

“He needs to prove that he can actually operate within the pocket, or a team has to be very comfortable with him using his legs and using the RPO (run-pass option) game for him to be successful,” Fabianich said.

Miami needs a solid starting quarterback option.

The Dolphins drafted Quinn Ewers in the seventh round in 2024, and Skylar Thompson in the seventh round in 2022. Those have been their only quarterback draftees since selecting former franchise QB Tua Tagovailoa at No. 5 in 2020, and Tagovailoa isn’t expected to be back.

Right now, Ewers (three touchdowns, three interceptions in three starts) projects as the starter.

Miami also has quarterback Cam Miller, a late-season acquisition who was a 2025 sixth-round pick by the Las Vegas Raiders out of North Dakota State, on its roster. 

So, yes, the Dolphins are searching for a starting-caliber quarterback.

The Senior Bowl’s biggest recent draft surprise was Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr., projected as a late first-round pick or an early second-round pick, going No. 8 to Atlanta in 2024. So magical things can happen.

The Dolphins have five picks in the first three rounds of the April 23-25 draft — one in the first round (No. 11), one in the second and three in the third.

Perhaps one of those selections becomes a quarterback they saw at this week’s Senior Bowl.