It's beginning to sound like Tannehill won't last past the No. 8 pick.  (Getty Images)

A few days ago, Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland said that while there were times when it made sense to go after a quarterback in the first round, he also doesn’t believe it’s a good idea to be pressured into making that type of selection.

But what if the pressure is coming directly from your boss?

That’s the question Ireland might have to answer this week if team owner Stephen Ross badly wants Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill as the Dolphins No. 8 pick. And while Tannehill to Miami makes sense because new Dolphins offensive coordinator Mike Sherman was Tannehill’s head coach in College Station, a Pro Football Talk source says that Ross is the one pushing for Tannehill the most. But as you should know by now, any news this week regarding the draft from “sources” or from “scouts” doesn’t necessarily mean anything. It’s just as likely a smokescreen as it is true.

But for a second, let’s imagine that Ross really is that intent on grabbing Tannehill (this, of course, means the Browns and the Jaguars would have to pass on him), and if that’s the case, it doesn’t matter how Ireland feels about being pressured.

We recently detailed Ireland’s history with draft picks since he took over the GM job in 2008 -- hint, it’s not very good, especially when trying to select quarterbacks (Chad Henne and Pat White) -- but if Ross thinks Tannehill is a better option than Matt Moore or David Garrard, Ireland most likely will have to acquiesce.

Not that this idea is totally crazy. While NFLDraftScout.com’s Rob Rang has the Dolphins selecting Oklahoma State receiver Justin Blackmon in the latest CBSSports.com mock draft (he has the Browns selecting Tannehill at No. 4), Dayne Brugler predicts Tannehill will end up in Miami. As does Pete Prisco, Clark Judge and Pat Kirwan for that matter.

So, why is Ross supposedly making such an effort at Tannehill?

As Mike Florio writes, “Ross desperately wants to turn the page on yet another embarrassing offseason, which has seen the Dolphins fail to hire Jeff Fisher as coach and Peyton Manning as quarterback.  They also whiffed on new coach Joe Philbin’s pupil with the Packers, Matt Flynn, even though it’s unclear whether the Dolphins decided they didn’t want Flynn or Flynn decided he didn’t want the Dolphins, or a little bit of both.”

Maybe Ireland agrees with Ross. Maybe he doesn’t. But Ross’ desires just gives further thought to the idea that if Tannehill is available at No. 8, he won’t get past Miami.

But remember, chatter in the weeks leading up to the NFL draft is often meaningless. As the Miami Herald writes, a high-placed source says the PFT report is wrong.

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