B+
Miami Dolphins
A solid, sensible weekend for the Dolphins: B+.
by [email protected] ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 19 picks
· 1 steals
· 11 reaches
There is reaching, and then there is Kalil Alexander at Round 7, Pick 11. The Dolphins jumped the board by 60 and dared it to prove them wrong. Call it a sensible B+, earned the boring way.
That Johnson pick is the receipt they will wave around later. The trade work was a quiet net positive.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
Olaivavega Ioane in the 18th overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A tidy bit of business in No. 43, where Chris Johnson graded well above the range. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
The board had cheaper options than Derrick Moore at pick 46, and it noticed. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A straight-up fair deal on Elijah Sarratt at pick No. 75, value and slot in agreement. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Jalon Kilgore in the 87th pick is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
They did well to land Michael Trigg in slot 120, just ahead of his grade. It fills a real need, too.
Nadame Tucker at pick 130 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Charles Demmings at pick No. 151 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
They jumped the gun on Louis Moore, taking him earlier than his grade liked. A minor need, but a need all the same.
A real head-scratcher, Cole Payton in Round 5, Pick 14 is miles ahead of his ranking. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A wild overpay on J'Mari Taylor in the 160th pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A need, and now a little less of one.
Josh Cameron in No. 184 is fair value, right on his grade. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Taylen Green at slot 194 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the quarterback. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They liked Keyshaun Elliott enough to skip the value, taking him in the Round 6 slot. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Nick Barrett in pick No. 225 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Value said wait; Kalil Alexander in slot 227 says they were not listening. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They reached into another round for Adam Randall, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. The roster fit checks out.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Deven Eastern this early at Round 7, Pick 30. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They paid sticker price for Jack Kelly in the 255th overall pick, and that is fine. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.