D-
Miami Dolphins
The phones sank the Dolphins this weekend: D-.
by Fins1981 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 35 picks
· 13 steals
· 15 reaches
There is conviction, and then there is this. The Dolphins took Eric Gentry a full 119 picks ahead of where the board had him, an overdraft steep enough that it colors the whole weekend. It grades a D-, and the process earned it.
The dealing is the wound this class cannot quite close. Golday falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch. Almost all the early capital went to that side of the ball.
In short, the board sent warnings, and they will be hoping it was wrong.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a bell-cow for the offense, outstanding value to boot. A clean fit for the roster.
In pick 30 they get a No. 1 receiver at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
LT Overton in the 43rd overall pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They reached into another round for Mason Reiger, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
You do not let a tight end like Eli Stowers reach pick No. 75 and blink. They did not. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Steal is underselling it; Keionte Scott at Round 3, Pick 23 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A minor need, but a need all the same.
A quiet steal in pick No. 89: Mike Washington Jr. for less than the market said. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren in the 90th overall pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A tidy bit of business in No. 92, where Elijah Sarratt graded well above the range. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Ted Hurst slid further than he should have, and the Round 3 slot is lovely value for the wide receiver. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They let Devin Moore come to them and pounced at slot 109. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
The board fumbled Jake Golday all the way to the 112th pick, and they scooped it up. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Ja'Kobi Lane at Round 4, Pick 16 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
By-the-book stuff, Eli Raridon at pick 129 squarely in line with his ranking. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They paid up for Dametrious Crownover at slot 130 when waiting would have done the job. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A premium they did not need to pay, Isaiah World a notch or two before his time. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They read the board right and Kaleb Proctor was the payoff at the 148th pick. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Zxavian Harris in No. 151 is fair value, right on his grade. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
No edge and no loss on Drew Allar in pick No. 152; it is a wash and a sensible one. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Domani Jackson in pick 177 lands just on the right side of the ledger. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Patrick Payton at the Round 6 slot is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Jeff Caldwell in the 199th overall pick is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Lander Barton at the Round 7 slot is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It fills a real need, too.
Jalen Huskey in slot 226 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
They talked themselves into Robert Spears-Jennings at the 227th pick, and the board did not agree. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Eric Gentry in No. 234, miles early. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They reached a country mile for Logan Taylor at pick 235, and the board is aghast. A need, and now a little less of one.
Nolan Rucci in the 238th overall pick is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A big swing on Micah Morris at pick No. 239, well ahead of any board in the building. The roster fit checks out.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Joshua Braun well ahead of where he belonged. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Trey Zuhn III at the 244th pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A need, and now a little less of one.
A tight end of that caliber at the 246th overall pick is the definition of value, full stop. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Enrique Cruz Jr. in No. 253 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Riley Mahlman at pick No. 256 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A wild overpay on Zach Rice in the Round 7 slot, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.