A-
Miami Dolphins
A masterclass at the trade table lands the Dolphins a A-.
by Fins1981 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 19 picks
· 6 steals
· 11 reaches
It is the swing that defines the weekend: Eric Gentry in slot 241, a good 114 spots before the room expected him. A near-flawless weekend of work, and a A- to cap it.
The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend. Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Caldwell. It is not that Davis is a bad player; it is that the Dolphins had louder needs to answer first.
They covered a lot of ground and still skipped edge rusher, which is a strange place to end up.
Few war rooms will sleep better than this one tonight.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 30th pick they get an anchor for the offensive line, reach and all.
They took Max Iheanachor at par in pick 47, which is nothing to complain about. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They reached a country mile for Ted Hurst at Round 2, Pick 30, and the board is aghast. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Value said wait; Bryce Lance in slot 75 says they were not listening. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Jalen Farmer this early at No. 87. It fills a real need, too.
A cornerback of that caliber at the 90th overall pick is the definition of value, full stop. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Malachi Fields at the 94th overall pick is the proof. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Michael Trigg at Round 4, Pick 8 is a conviction pick that outran the value. A need, and now a little less of one.
They bypassed pressing needs at edge rusher to take Tacario Davis, a cornerback that was not the priority.
They talked themselves into Drew Allar at slot 130, and the board did not agree. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Travis Burke at pick 151 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
DeMonte Capehart slipping to the 152nd pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Value with a capital V on Charles Demmings in No. 162, a genuine coup. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Nothing to complain about; Demond Claiborne went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Somehow Jeff Caldwell was still sitting there in slot 211, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Jaren Kanak in the Round 7 slot is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A reach for John Michael Gyllenborg in pick No. 227; a little patience would have been rewarded. The roster fit checks out.
They paid up for Eli Heidenreich at Round 7, Pick 22 when waiting would have done the job. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A real head-scratcher, Eric Gentry in No. 241 is miles ahead of his ranking. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.