C+
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins bled value on every deal, hence the C+.
by [email protected] ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 1 steals
· 7 reaches
The move everyone will second-guess came early. The Dolphins reached some 44 spots for Nadame Tucker, and value like that does not grow back.
They handed away value on the phones that the picks cannot earn back. Landing Ponds that late papers over a lot of smaller sins. They punted on quarterback, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
With quarterback, interior defensive lineman and other spots unsolved, spending premium capital on cornerback is the choice that costs them.
A perfectly average weekend, for better and for worse.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 26 they get a mismatch in the passing game. A clean fit for the roster.
No drama and no debate, Omar Cooper Jr. went about where he belonged in the 30th overall pick. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Elijah Sarratt at No. 43 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
D'Angelo Ponds at pick 75 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Michael Trigg at slot 87 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose cornerback. Jalon Kilgore in the Round 3 slot leaves quarterback, interior defensive lineman and other spots for later.
Value said wait; Caden Curry in pick No. 94 says they were not listening. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A real head-scratcher, Nadame Tucker in the Round 4 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Charles Demmings in the 151st pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Louis Moore at Round 5, Pick 28 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A minor need, but a need all the same.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Jack Kelly this early at No. 238. A need, and now a little less of one.
They talked themselves into Adam Randall at pick 244, and the board did not agree. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.