A-
Miami Dolphins
Grand theft in the Round 3 slot: the Dolphins steal Slaughter and grade out a A-.
by Fins1981 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 3 steals
· 4 reaches
You could see the war room lean forward. Jake Slaughter at the Round 3 slot is the sort of fall that does not happen, except it just did.
They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped edge rusher, which is a strange place to end up.
The cost of the Heidenreich reach is exactly the players who went right after him. The Dolphins paired the rookies with proven help, Malik Hooker leading the way.
In short, they turned a good board into a better roster, and it shows.
Pick-by-Pick
They read the board right and Sonny Styles was the payoff at the Round 1 slot. The roster fit checks out.
In pick 31 they get a weapon on the perimeter at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Emmanuel Pregnon in No. 43. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A reach on Ted Hurst in pick No. 75; the board had better options right there. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Mike Washington Jr. in Round 3, Pick 26 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Jake Slaughter at the 94th pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
By-the-book stuff, Bryce Lance at the 95th overall pick squarely in line with his ranking. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They took Michael Trigg at par in slot 116, which is nothing to complain about. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Isaiah World at the 130th overall pick is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Dametrious Crownover in pick 151 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. A need, and now a little less of one.
No drama and no debate, Drew Allar went about where he belonged in slot 154. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They liked Jaren Kanak enough to skip the value, taking him in the 227th pick. It fills a real need, too.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Eli Heidenreich well ahead of where he belonged. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
John Michael Gyllenborg at Round 7, Pick 22 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.