A-
Miami Dolphins
A masterclass at the trade table lands the Dolphins a A-.
by [email protected] ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 2 steals
· 4 reaches
There is conviction, and then there is this. The Dolphins took Kalil Alexander a full 49 picks ahead of where the board had him, an overdraft steep enough that it colors the whole weekend. They executed a plan and it shows in the A-.
The Stowers value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere. The dealing alone would carry a lesser class.
Leaving quarterback unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. The veteran additions, Teven Jenkins chief among them, give the class a floor the rookies alone would not.
Add it up and few war rooms did better this weekend, Olaivavega Ioane and all.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 24th pick they get a cornerstone up front. A clean fit for the roster.
In pick No. 30 they get a premier pass rusher at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
Value with a capital V on Chris Johnson in pick 43, a genuine coup. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
A conviction pick on Skyler Bell at the Round 3 slot that the board grades a round light. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They barely believed it either: Eli Stowers still on the board at Round 3, Pick 26. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Michael Trigg in the 96th overall pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Kaleb Proctor at the Round 4 slot is right where the board had him, plain and simple. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Nadame Tucker. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Kalil Alexander in pick 238 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.