A-
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins won the weekend at the trade table. Grade: A-.
by Fins1981 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 35 picks
· 21 steals
· 11 reaches
Somewhere a scout is still blinking. The Dolphins spent the Round 7 slot on Eric Gentry, a name the board had a full 126 spots lower. One of the weekend's best, top to bottom, and a A- to show for it.
However the rest shakes out, Golday at that price is a win they earned. Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck.
The kind of weekend a front office frames and hangs on the wall.
Pick-by-Pick
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Olaivavega Ioane in Round 2, Pick 6. A need, and now a little less of one.
Chris Brazzell II in No. 47 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A tidy bit of business in pick No. 49, where Omar Cooper Jr. graded well above the range. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Emmanuel Pregnon at pick 72 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. The roster fit checks out.
Somehow Lee Hunter was still sitting there in the Round 3 slot, and they pounced on premier interior defensive lineman value. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
You do not let an edge rusher like Gabe Jacas reach slot 90 and blink. They did not. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Taking Gabe Jacas in the 91st overall pick 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.
They will replay Eli Stowers at pick 92 for years; that is how good the value is. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Circle this one: Anthony Hill Jr. at Round 3, Pick 30 is a fall that decides a draft. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Malachi Lawrence in pick No. 110 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A offensive lineman of that caliber at No. 112 is the definition of value, full stop. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They barely believed it either: Bryce Lance still on the board at the Round 4 slot. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Michael Trigg in slot 126 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Drew Allar at the 130th pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Steal is underselling it; Jake Golday at the Round 4 slot is a heist with the alarm still ringing. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They robbed the room for Connor Lew here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Zakee Wheatley at Round 4, Pick 39 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Taylen Green in the 151st overall pick, miles early. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Zxavian Harris in slot 152 is fair value, right on his grade. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Demond Claiborne at pick No. 165 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the running back. It fills a real need, too.
A reach on Matt Gulbin in No. 168; the board had better options right there. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Marlin Klein at pick 170. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Nice patience on Caleb Douglas, who had no business lasting to No. 181. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Louis Moore slipping to the 182nd pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Anez Cooper at pick No. 189 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A slide stopped in the Round 6 slot, with Jeff Caldwell worth more than the price. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Ephesians Prysock at Round 6, Pick 35 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A minor itch, scratched.
They paid up for Robert Spears-Jennings at slot 219 when waiting would have done the job. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
A real head-scratcher, Logan Fano in pick 220 is miles ahead of his ranking. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Eric Gentry in the 226th overall pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A need, and now a little less of one.
Value said wait; Enrique Cruz Jr. in pick No. 227 says they were not listening. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Riley Mahlman this early at the 238th overall pick. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Micah Morris at the Round 7 slot is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It fills a real need, too.
They reached a country mile for Adam Randall at pick 256, and the board is aghast. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Shamar Easter in slot 257 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.