B-
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins did the meat-and-potatoes work well: B-.
by adsfasdfff ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 5 steals
· 3 reaches
Priorities are a choice, and the Dolphins made a strange one, taking Julian Neal at cornerback in the Round 4 slot with quarterback and running back crying out for the pick instead. The bottom line is a respectable B-.
They covered a lot of ground and still skipped quarterback, which is a strange place to end up. Every board in the league had Boerkircher lower, and that gap is the story.
Getting Orange where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. The dealing nudged the ledger their way without much fuss.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but quarterback.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 11 they get an island corner at fair value.
A premium they did not need to pay, KC Concepcion a notch or two before his time. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Olaivavega Ioane at the 30th pick. It fills a real need, too.
Gabe Jacas at pick No. 43 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Christen Miller at slot 75 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Kamari Ramsey is a better player than pick 87 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
The board had Domonique Orange higher than the Round 3 slot, and the interior defensive lineman fell to them anyway. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Brenen Thompson in the 94th overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Hard to square with the roster. With positions of obvious need still on the board, Julian Neal adds a cornerback and leaves quarterback and running back untouched.
They jumped the gun on Nate Boerkircher, taking him earlier than his grade liked. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
By-the-book stuff, Jimmy Rolder at the 227th pick squarely in line with his ranking. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
No edge and no loss on Robert Spears-Jennings in the 238th overall pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.