C+
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins got the worse of every deal, and it shows in the C+.
by [email protected] ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 23 picks
· 4 steals
· 14 reaches
The Dolphins spent real capital to be 94 picks early on Kamran James, and the board is going to hold them to it. Fine in stretches, shaky in others: a C+.
If one pick saves this weekend, it is Stowers. The dealing is the wound this class cannot quite close. Quarterback was the priority and it is no longer a question, which is most of the job.
If Sonny Styles and a couple of the gambles land, hindsight will be kinder than this grade.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 30 they get a coverage-and-run second-level piece at a price that makes it sweeter. A real need, handled.
A slide stopped in pick 43, with Omar Cooper Jr. worth more than the price. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Skyler Bell at Round 3, Pick 13 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They reached a country mile for Kaleb Proctor at the Round 3 slot, and the board is aghast. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Nadame Tucker this early at the 91st overall pick. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Circle this one: Eli Stowers at slot 94 is a fall that decides a draft. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
No edge and no loss on Jalon Kilgore in slot 97; it is a wash and a sensible one. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Michael Trigg at pick No. 115 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A offensive lineman of that caliber at Round 4, Pick 30 is the definition of value, full stop. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Isaiah World in the Round 5 slot. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Charles Demmings in pick 152 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Louis Moore in No. 154 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Taylen Green at the 160th pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A wild overpay on Cole Payton in the 165th overall pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A premium they did not need to pay, J'Mari Taylor a notch or two before his time. The roster fit checks out.
A conviction pick on Josh Cameron at the Round 6 slot that the board grades a round light. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They did well to land Red Murdock in slot 201, just ahead of his grade. A need, and now a little less of one.
Deven Eastern at Round 7, Pick 20 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They reached into another round for Kalil Alexander, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A big swing on Adam Randall at No. 250, well ahead of any board in the building. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Josh Moten. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
They went early on Jack Kelly in the 252nd pick, and the value did not follow. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Kamran James well ahead of where he belonged. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.