Dolphins drafting of Tua Tagovailoa means hope. (includes audio story)

“Don’t screw this up” is a phrase many Miami Dolphins fans were echoing all day yesterday in anticipating of the NFL draft. Well Dolphins fans, your hopes, dreams, and wishes have come true. Tua Tagovailoa is a Miami Dolphins quarterback. While I’ve written in the past that I thought the team should draft Oregon’s Justin Herbert (who was taken by the Los Angeles Chargers), Tua was taken at number 5. He brings hope to a team that hasn’t had it in decades.

I know that we all got caught up in the rumors and possibilities. Playing GM is fun. However, Tua was the guy from the start. Give credit to general manager Chris Grier and head coach Brian Flores. They had many people believing they could pick anyone. This was a true — gulp — Patriots move. Now it’s something to cheer about in difficult times.

“I appreciate it man. I can’t wait.” – @Tuaamann

Over the past year, my concern has been Tua’s injury history. But the Dolphins gave him a passing grade on his health. Chris Grier had this to say: “Football is a violent game. We did a lot of work on him…We’re very comfortable”.

The greatest part of all of this for fans is the lack of tanking. The team still won and built a culture out of thin air. To top it all off? Players want to play in Miami. They want to be a part of what the team is building.

The team then chose an offensive tackle to help protect their new franchise QB. The University of Southern California’s Austin Jackson was the pick at number 18. Jackson was a first-team All-PAC12 player and will anchor the left tackle position. He is the first of many expected picks at the offensive line for the team. (The draft continues today.)

The Dolphins’ Grier pointed out that the team is trying to get good players regardless of position. They feel they’ve done so with Jackson, who can stand up and protect Tua. A right tackle is still needed to protect the left-handed Tua’s blindside.

Welcome to the fam, @Noah_Igbo9 🥳

Truthfully, I don’t know much about Noah Igbinoghene, the Auburn cornerback the Fins took at number 30. It was a surprising pick when you think about the money the team is dishing out to Xavien Howard and Byron Jones. This had me thinking, could Howard be on the trade block? Or is this a situation in which the team is loading up on one position.

Nik Needham, Howard, Jones, McCain, and now Igbinoghene. The team will still need to address the safety position and hopefully by pick 39. One player to watch out for is Antoine Winfield Jr. He’s a great safety who can hit hard and play the ball. His father is also one of coach Flores’ favorite players.

Lastly, I wanted to send a thank you to everyone who followed along with the live-tweeting last night. This will continue throughout the second and third rounds, however, just for picks made by the Dolphins.

Fans, we have something to cheer about. Get ready.

Kai’Chien Chisholm is currently studying broadcast media and wants to become sports broadcaster. He currently works for the ProFootballNetwork and is the Podcast Network Director for the site while running his own podcast.