B
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins worked the phones like thieves and earned a B.
by [email protected] ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 25 picks
· 2 steals
· 17 reaches
The Dolphins put a flag in the ground for Cole Payton, 83 picks before anyone else would have, and the value took the hit.
They banked enough surplus on Stukes to cover a lot of smaller sins. The dealing alone would carry a lesser class.
It is a bet on later, and a defensible one for a team playing the long game. They left with quarterback solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
They paid sticker price for Olaivavega Ioane in slot 18, and that is fine. A need, and now a little less of one.
In the 30th pick they get a true top target at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
They talked themselves into Elijah Sarratt at the Round 2 slot, and the board did not agree. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Caden Curry this early at pick No. 79. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Michael Trigg in No. 84 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Skyler Bell in pick 87 is fair value, right on his grade. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Nadame Tucker at the Round 3 slot is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Kaleb Proctor at the 111th overall pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Cole Payton. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
You do not let a cornerback like Treydan Stukes reach Round 4, Pick 20 and blink. They did not. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Taylen Green at the 126th pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Hezekiah Masses at No. 141 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
A reach for Louis Moore in slot 151; a little patience would have been rewarded. A minor itch, scratched.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Jaeden Roberts in pick 154. It fills a real need, too.
This one needs a full-page explanation: J'Mari Taylor in No. 160, miles early. The roster fit checks out.
A slide stopped in the 163rd pick, with Zxavian Harris worth more than the price. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A big swing on Red Murdock at the 168th overall pick, well ahead of any board in the building. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A real head-scratcher, VJ Payne in the Round 5 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
A straight-up fair deal on Josh Cameron at slot 187, value and slot in agreement. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They reached into another round for Nick Barrett, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Kalil Alexander well ahead of where he belonged. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Deven Eastern at pick No. 227 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A wild overpay on Adam Randall in Round 7, Pick 22, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Jack Kelly in the 243rd pick is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Josh Moten in pick No. 250 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.