The Lamar Jackson myth: What really happened in the Miami Dolphins’ 2018 draft room | Opinion
Sometimes stories take on a life of their own and grow into legendary tales. And sometimes stories take on a life of their own and grow into ugly, bleeding, false lies.
And this is about the latter.
To wit: Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross never told general manager Chris Grier to trade down during the 2018 draft and pick Lamar Jackson.
It. Did. Not. Happen.
Multiple sources, including people in the Dolphins draft room at the time, insist over and over this never happened.
But the Dolphins’ fan base has repeated this falsehood time and again — and particularly on social media Monday night when Jackson threw five touchdown passes and ran for 95 yards in a Baltimore Ravens “Monday Night Football” victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
The fact Jackson is now a dynamic talent and is having an MVP candidate season has made people in South Florida crazy. They’re adding Jackson to the list of quarterbacks someone within the Dolphins organization wanted but decided not to land.
But Jackson cannot join Drew Brees on that list.
Because the reporting that began this rumor is incorrect.
So what really happened that fateful April day in 2018? Like many fallacies, this one is based on some truth. And the truth is this:
When the Dolphins were on the clock, with the No. 11 overall selection in the first round, Grier was convinced Minkah Fitzpatrick was his pick. And there was no debate about that until Ross, who has owned the Dolphins since 2009, suggested a different course than simply picking the Alabama defensive back.
Ross suggested the team consider trading down from the pick. He wanted to look around and see if his team might trade down, pick up an extra first-round pick, and perhaps still land Fitzpatrick or a player of similar talent. This has been confirmed for me by Ross himself in a 2018 email.
And, in hindsight, this would have been the smart approach. Multiple picks that came after No. 11 produced very good players while Fitzpatrick’s career span in Miami one full season before he was traded to Pittsburgh.
But Ross never went to the next step and said, “And let’s pick Lamar Jackson while we’re at it!”
Reports and columns claiming that secondary step occurred have been prolific. And even I wrote in September that if it happened, it would be a bad look for Grier. But in that same column I stated I had not been able to independently confirm those prior reports.
Well, now I have the answer.
Again ... it did not happen.
End of myth.
By the way, Jackson was picked No. 32 overall. He was the fifth quarterback taken in the first round that year after Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen and Josh Rosen. And looking back now, it suggests Jackson might be the best of the group based on his current play.
But I would be careful to say the Dolphins would be enjoying the fruits of what Jackson has become if they had picked him. In Baltimore, the entire organization has transformed itself top to bottom to make sure Jackson succeeds.
The philosophy changed. The offense changed. The offensive coordinator changed. The personnel was adjusted to fit Jackson’s abilities.
Jackson is in a perfect situation for him.
I have serious doubts the Dolphins would have and could have embraced similar significant changes to make Lamar Jackson work in Miami. And we’ll probably never know because no one in that Dolphins draft room suggested drafting him in 2018.
This story was originally published November 26, 2019 at 8:26 AM.
