A-
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins won the weekend at the trade table. Grade: A-.
by Fins1981 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 20 picks
· 7 steals
· 8 reaches
Nobody else had Eric Gentry anywhere near the 220th pick. The Dolphins did, by 132 spots, and that gap is the whole story. Add it all up and it grades out a clean A-.
Landing Thompson that late papers over a lot of smaller sins. The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend.
A whole weekend of picks and interior defensive lineman is somehow still a want. The Dolphins indulged a want in Moore while a need in interior defensive lineman stayed open.
It is a haul that will look even better come September.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 31 they get a long-term starter on the line, even if it was a touch early. A real need, handled.
A premium they did not need to pay, Gabe Jacas a notch or two before his time. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A market-rate edge rusher, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Derrick Moore. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A top-tier offensive lineman at a bargain, Jake Slaughter in the 75th pick, plain and simple. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Steal is underselling it; Keionte Scott at the Round 3 slot is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
By-the-book stuff, Ted Hurst at the 89th overall pick squarely in line with his ranking. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Germie Bernard at pick No. 92 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A curious use of slot 94. Interior defensive lineman needed the pick; a cornerback in Devin Moore did not.
They took Michael Trigg at par in No. 111, which is nothing to complain about. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They robbed the room for Brenen Thompson here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Drew Allar at the 130th overall pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Taylen Green in Round 4, Pick 38 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Dametrious Crownover at the 151st pick. The roster fit checks out.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Isaiah World at pick 154 is the proof. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They did well to land Demond Claiborne in slot 168, just ahead of his grade. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
VJ Payne is a better player than the 206th pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Value said wait; Robert Spears-Jennings in the Round 6 slot says they were not listening. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Eric Gentry well ahead of where he belonged. It fills a real need, too.
They reached into another round for Bryce Foster, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A need, and now a little less of one.
Enrique Cruz Jr. at pick 238 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.