FanHouse JohnBeck

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

For the fourth straight year, the Miami Dolphins used a second-round pick on a quarterback, selecting West Virginia's Pat White with the 44th overall pick. White, a record-setting player in college, joined John Beck (recently released) and Chad Henne as recent selections, to go along with the trade that brought Daunte Culpepper to Miami prior to the 2006 season.

While there is still some debate as to what type of future White will have in the NFL, the Dolphins view him as a quarterback, while one scout recently told Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel that Miami is trying to "revolutionize pro football by bringing the spread to the NFL."

Not all that long ago, the Dolphins took a shot on John Beck as their starting quarterback. The 40th-overall pick in the 2007 draft out of BYU, Beck entered the Miami lineup after the team's 0-9 start to 2007. Beck lost four straight, committing eight turnovers and throwing exactly zero touchdown passes in that stretch.

And just like that, Beck's initial chance to be a No. 1 guy in the NFL ended. His career in Miami ended as well earlier this offseason, and now Beck will try to latch on with Baltimore after reportedly agreeing to a one-year deal with the Ravens this weekend.

Heading into the 2009 season, we know this much about the Miami Dolphins quarterback situation: Chad Pennington is going to be the starter, and for good reason. After 2009? Well, that's anybody's guess. Miami seems to be quite high on 2008 second-round pick Chad Henne, which played a role in the front office's decision to not offer Pennington a long-term contract extension after he helped guide the Dolphins to an AFC East title.

On Saturday, the Dolphins raised a few eyebrows when they used the 44th overall pick on West Virginia quarterback Pat White ... the third straight year they've selected a quarterback in the second round.

Just in case there were any lingering doubts about John Beck's prospects in Miami, head coach Tony Sparano confirms what most of us already suspected: Chad Henne is the Dolphins' quarterback of the future. Not the immediate future -- that job is still Chad Pennington's -- but come 2010, the former second-round pick is scheduled to take over the full-time gig.

And while the organization is making plans beyond next season, they want to make one thing clear: there is no quarterback controversy in the interim. Pennington, who came to the Dolphins from the Jets last summer and helped guide the team to an improbable 11-5 record, is firmly entrenched as the starter for '09. Just something to keep in mind.

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer

When the New York Jets tossed Chad Pennington aside in favor of Brett Favre, the Miami Dolphins were happy to pick up the 32-year-old veteran and put him under center.

They were rewarded with a quarterback that finished second in the league's MVP voting, as the team completed one of the most improbable one-year turnarounds in NFL history, claiming the AFC East title one year after a forgettable 1-15 season.

After being kicked to the curb by the New York Jets in favor of Brett Favre, quarterback Chad Pennington found himself in Miami hoping to return the Dolphins to some sort of relevance following forgettable a 1-15 season.

Mission accomplished, as Pennington helped lead Miami to an 11-5 season and a surprising AFC East title. Meanwhile, in New York, the Jets were on the outside of the playoffs looking in.

Late in the fourth quarter of a Week 2 blowout loss to the Cardinals, Dolphins rookie quarterback Chad Henne saw the first NFL action of his brief career. He completed 7 of 12 passes for 67 yards and, in general, didn't make a fool of himself.

Naturally, the outing was reason enough for some fans to call for a quarterback change, partly because Chad Pennington had been serviceable but uninspiring, but also because the Dolphins haven't had a franchise quarterback since Dan Marino retired in 1999.

Some eight weeks later, Miami is 4-4 and thanks to their improved play and relatively easy second-half schedule, they're legit contenders for a wild card spot. And Pennington, who has benefited from the emergence of Greg Camarillo, a revitalized running game and the Wildcat, will keep his job. Just like head coach Tony Sparano said he would back in mid-September.

Which is why the Miami Herald's Greg Cote thinks fans should temper their calls for Henne -- for stability's sake:

There weren't a lot of positives in the Dolphins 31-10 loss to the Cardinals last Sunday, but fans got a glimpse of the future. With 9:38 to go in the fourth quarter, rookie second-round pick Chad Henne took the first regular-season snap of his NFL career, and all things considered, he did fine, completing 7 of 12 passes for 67 yards.

Henne replaced newly acquired Chad Pennington, who went 10 of 20 for 112 yards before head coach Tony Sparano took mercy on his soul midway through the final quarter.

But don't mistake the move as an indication that the Pennington era is over after two weeks. Just the opposite, in fact:

Sparano unequivocally stated Henne had no chance of starting against the Patriots after Sunday's defeat, and reiterated that in his news conference Monday.

Sparano said Pennington is not the reason the Dolphins' offense has been anemic, and indicated the team is not going to make a knee-jerk reaction despite starting the season with two losses. The Dolphins are sticking to their plan to bring along Henne as their quarterback of the future, rather than accelerating his development

Can't be much clearer than that, I think. Presumably, this also includes the Dolphins' long-term plans for last year's second-rounder, John Beck. Which is to say: he's not in them (Thanks, Cam, Randy).

As for the present, one of the many benefits of coming off a 1-15 campaign, is that there really is no occasion "to make a knee-jerk reaction. " It's seldom the case a team goes from the worst in the league to Super Bowl contender in 12 months. Two things the Dolphins have going for them: youth and time to get it right. So let's hear it for rebuilding.

On Friday, the Dolphins sent quarterback Josh McCown to the Panthers, presumably to provide depth behind Jake Delhomme after Matt Moore suffered what looked to be a serious injury during the preseason finale against the Steelers (turns out, Moore will be okay and, like the rest of us, is day to day).

Prior to moving McCown, there was some speculation that Miami would either trade or release John Beck, the team's 2007 second-round pick. After all, Beck was drafted by the previous regime, and Bill Parcells himself had green-lighted the McCown signing, which included $2.5 million in up-front loot.

Funny story. According to the Palm Beach Post's Edgar Thompson, general manager Jeff Ireland has a perfectly rational explanation for keeping Beck and jettisoning McCown.

John Beck remains in Miami, but his teammate up to about 20 minutes ago is now a Cleveland Brown. Cornerback Travis Daniels was sent to the great state of Ohio to bolster the Browns' almost-non-existent secondary and the Dolphins got an undisclosed draft pick for their troubles.

MDS at PFT writes that Daniels, a 2005 fourth-round pick and Nick Saban favorite, started just six games in '06 and five games last season and was in danger of getting cut in the coming weeks. Browns general manager Phil Savage couldn't wait around for that to happen, however; the team's secondary is in shambles, beset by injuries and inexperience. So while Daniels provides a warm body, it comes at a cost.

If the compensation is from the 2009 draft, it means the Browns will be without three choices in next year's draft. The team previously had surrendered its third-round and fifth-round selections to move up in 2008 for Martin Rucker and Paul Hubbard, respectively....

The Browns' backup cornerbacks have not exactly sparkled in training camp and two exhibition games and starter Eric Wright was victimized Monday night by the New York Giants' fifth-string receiver.

Next up: getting Joshua Cribbs and Derek Anderson healthy. And finding a way to keep the opponent's first team from hanging 30 on you is sorta important, too.