5 Best Quarterbacks in Miami Dolphins History

Morrall was almost like the Jameis Winston of his time, bouncing from various teams and occasionally performing at a high level. Luckily for whoever was paying the bills, he didn’t share Winston’s love of turning the ball over. 

In all seriousness, Morrall lands on our list for winning all nine regular-season starts during the Dolphins’ perfect 1972 season. Griese gets most of the love because he started and won Super Bowl VII, but let’s make sure we always remember what Morrall did for arguably the greatest team in league history. 

5. Jay Fiedler (2000-2004) 

Anyone who grew up using the Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas-era Dolphins on “Madden” likely remembers Fiedler. Undrafted out of Dartmouth in 1994, the Ivy League standout bounced around professional football for several years and even played for the NFL Europe’s Amsterdam Admirals.

The Dolphins gambled on Fiedler ahead of the 2000 season, and he responded by winning 10 of his 15 starts. Fiedler completed 58.4% of his passes for 11,040 yards, 66 touchdowns, and 63 interceptions over his five years in Miami.

Most importantly: He’s the most recent Dolphins quarterback to win a playoff game, as of publishing.

4. Ryan Tannehill (2012-2018)

Of the four quarterbacks selected in the 2012 NFL draft’s first round, Tannehill is arguably the most successful. Granted, most of his best years came after he joined the Tennessee Titans in 2019, but the Texas A&M product had a far better career than he’ll likely ever get credit for. 

The No. 8 pick in that loaded 2012 draft, Tannehill completed 62.8% of his passes for 20,434 yards, 123 touchdowns, and 75 interceptions in six seasons.

However, a torn ACL cost him all of 2017, and he failed to start a playoff game in Miami. We can’t say the same about our next pick…

3. Tua Tagovailoa (2020-2025)

Tua already has an extremely complicated and divisive legacy among Dolphins fans. Some prefer to look on the bright side and focus more on how electric the trio of Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, and Jaylen Waddle was every week. 

But the reality is that Tagovailoa struggled with injuries and confidence, especially later in his Dolphins career. Why else would Miami have accepted such a significant cap hit just to rid themselves of him following the 2025 season? 

Tannehill has Tagovailoa beat in passing yards and touchdowns, but the latter was more productive when healthy. Team success proved to be the tiebreaker, at least in our eyes. 

2. Bob Griese (1967-1980)

The No. 4 pick in 1967, Griese joined the Dolphins during their AFL days and left with two Super Bowl rings.

He trails only Marino in most of Miami’s passing records, though good luck finding any Dolphins fans who have anything bad to say about the eight-time Pro Bowler.

Griese was the perfect quarterback for his time, and that’s a genuine compliment. He was a reliable game manager, willing to take the occasional risk while trusting his running game and defense. You don’t play in 12 postseason games and eventually earn a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame by accident. 

1. Dan Marino (1983-1999)

We shouldn’t need to go too in-depth here. Marino remains among the greatest quarterbacks in league history, though Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are inching closer to passing him for the best players never to win a Super Bowl. We’re not sure whether that’s a compliment, an insult, or both. 

Marino retired as the NFL’s all-time leader in most passing categories (both single-season and all-time) and appeared on the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. How could we have picked anyone else?

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