Ryan Retirement Brings Back Huge Dolphins Draft Decision

The Miami Dolphins had the opportunity to select QB Matt Ryan at the top of the 2008 NFL draft but went in a different direction

Matt Ryan / Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Quarterback Matt Ryan announced his retirement Tuesday, two days before the start of the 2024 NFL draft, and no doubt older Miami Dolphins fans will remember his own draft year.

It was 2008 and the Dolphins had the very first pick in the draft after their miserable 1-15 showing the year before, which means they could have had Ryan had they wanted him. But the Dolphins went a different route and their quest for a franchise quarterback continued for another decade until finally they were able to land Tua Tagovailoa.

Deciding to go with tackle Jake Long over Ryan, who ended up going third overall to the Atlanta Falcons after the St. Louis Rams selected defensive end Chris Long, is one of the great what-ifs in Dolphins draft history.

The Dolphins did select a quarterback in that 2008 draft, but they did it in the second round with their third selection that year — they took defensive end Phillip Merling at the top of Round 2 — when they took Chad Henne from Michigan, the same school that produced Jake Long.

It was a Bill Parcells move through and through, going with the potential franchise left tackle over a quarterback who wasn't viewed as a prospect in the same line as a Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck, to name just two.

The Dolphins' decision paid off in the short term because they made a remarkable turnaround in the first year under Parcells and head coach Tony Sparano, improving 10 games to win the AFC East title after they landed QB Chad Pennington as a free agent in August.

But that would be the only season they would make the playoffs with Long, who made the Pro Bowl his first four seasons but then fell victim to knee issues that sidetracked his career.

In the meantime, Ryan became a 15-year NFL starter and he also was selected to the Pro Bowl four times. He did, however, win NFL MVP honors in 2016 when he led the Falcons to the Super Bowl under a coaching staff that included Mike McDaniel.

WHAT IF THE DOLPHINS HAD DRAFTED RYAN

The big question, of course, is whether the Dolphins messed up by not taking Ryan first overall in 2008, and it's easy in retrospect to say they did because of how things played out with Long's injuries.

And then there's the issue of taking the franchise quarterback if given the chance.

But, again, Ryan wasn't viewed as a slam-dunk prospect, and even now we can say he had a very solid, even good, NFL career, but it's still only four Pro Bowl selections in 15 seasons but more importantly receiving AP Offensive Player of the Year votes only once — in 2016, the year he was MVP.

With Ryan as their quarterback, the Falcons made the playoffs five times — in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2017 — while the Dolphins made the playoffs twice during Ryan's time in Atlanta (2008, 2016) before he moved to the Colts in 2022.

Those results certainly suggest the Dolphins should have taken Ryan, adding the greater value of a quarterback, but it didn't help that Henne never developed into anything more than a solid backup, a backup good enough to also last through the 2022 season.

Even if you land on the side of the Dolphins having blown it by bypassing Ryan, this might not be the slam dunk it appears and it's also by no means the biggest draft blunder in Dolphins history.