B-
Miami Dolphins
Hood should have been long gone. The Dolphins pounced, and earned a B-.
by Reheheheheh ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 39 picks
· 25 steals
· 12 reaches
Somebody in No. 216 was going to get robbed, and it turned out to be the rest of the league. The Dolphins sat still while Colton Hood, the No. 24 name on the board, slid all the way to them, then sprinted to the podium. The bottom line is a respectable B-.
The Hudson pick is the one the value grade keeps tripping over. The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend.
The Masses pick reads as want over need, and the roster will feel it at linebacker. That linebacker hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
A tidy weekend of work that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 11th overall pick they get a go-to option on the outside. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In the Round 1 slot they get a quarterback's worst nightmare, reach and all. The biggest hole, addressed.
In pick No. 30 they get a disruptive interior force, and a steal at that. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Mansoor Delane at Round 2, Pick 11 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A minor need, but a need all the same.
A wild overpay on Justin Joly in pick 58, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A top-tier safety at a bargain, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren in the 75th pick, plain and simple. It adds depth where they could use a little.
KC Concepcion in slot 76 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Christen Miller in No. 85 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Markel Bell in the 87th pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It fills a real need, too.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Travis Burke in No. 90, miles early. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Kaelon Black well ahead of where he belonged. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A want over a need in pick No. 99: Hezekiah Masses adds a cornerback while linebacker keeps waiting.
Denzel Boston at the 121st overall pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They bypassed pressing needs at linebacker to take A.J. Haulcy, a safety that was not the priority.
Ted Hurst in slot 130 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Carson Beck at the Round 4 slot is money in the bank, a quarterback taken below his worth. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Taylen Green at slot 135 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They talked themselves into Cyrus Allen at pick No. 138, and the board did not agree. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A curious use of the 139th overall pick. Linebacker needed the pick; a cornerback in Charles Demmings did not.
Jordan Hudson in No. 151 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Somehow Avieon Terrell was still sitting there in the Round 5 slot, and they pounced on premier cornerback value. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
A cornerback of that caliber at the 161st pick is the definition of value, full stop. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
They will replay Drew Shelton at pick 177 for years; that is how good the value is. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They robbed the room for Ja'Kobi Lane here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Taking Caden Curry in pick No. 186 is close to grand larceny; an edge rusher that good had no business lasting this long. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
You do not let a cornerback like Chris Johnson reach the 192nd pick and blink. They did not. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Steal is underselling it; Bryce Lance at the Round 6 slot is a heist with the alarm still ringing. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Tacario Davis at No. 198 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
They barely believed it either: Dani Dennis-Sutton still on the board at pick 202. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Circle this one: Jalen Farmer at the 212th overall pick is a fall that decides a draft. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
The board fumbled Colton Hood all the way to Round 6, Pick 35, and they scooped it up. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
The board fumbled Max Iheanachor all the way to slot 224, and they scooped it up. The roster fit checks out.
Steal is underselling it; VJ Payne at pick 227 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
A big swing on Deven Eastern at the 230th pick, well ahead of any board in the building. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Vincent Anthony Jr. at the 237th overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A real head-scratcher, Patrick Payton in the Round 7 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
You do not let a safety like Genesis Smith reach pick No. 239 and blink. They did not. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
They read the board right and Thaddeus Dixon was the payoff at No. 241. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
The board had Miles Kitselman higher than slot 247, and the tight end fell to them anyway. A need, and now a little less of one.