C+
Miami Dolphins
Larceny in slot 126 lands the Dolphins a C+, Burks and all.
by dagray08 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 22 picks
· 14 steals
· 3 reaches
When a board-topper like Deion Burks slides to pick No. 126, you do not overthink it, and the Dolphins did not. It nets out a thoroughly average C+.
Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere. The cost of the Tucker reach is exactly the players who went right after him.
Quarterback was the priority and it is no longer a question, which is most of the job. Nearly every premium pick went to that side of the ball.
So much rides on Sonny Styles that the real verdict is a season or two away.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 24 they get a potential shutdown corner. Need was not the driver here.
In slot 30 they get a three-down second-level presence, outstanding value to boot. A clean fit for the roster.
A quiet steal in the Round 2 slot: Dillon Thieneman for less than the market said. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
A cornerback of that caliber at the 75th pick is the definition of value, full stop. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Circle this one: Eli Stowers at No. 87 is a fall that decides a draft. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They robbed the room for Jake Slaughter here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. The roster fit checks out.
You do not let an interior defensive lineman like Christen Miller reach pick 91 and blink. They did not. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They barely believed it either: Jake Golday still on the board at pick No. 92. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They will replay Antonio Williams at No. 94 for years; that is how good the value is. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Ted Hurst at the 97th pick is the proof. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They did well to land Jalen Farmer in pick 112, just ahead of his grade. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Brian Parker II is a better player than the Round 4 slot suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Deion Burks at the 126th overall pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They liked Mason Reiger enough to skip the value, taking him in Round 4, Pick 30. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They took Isaiah World at par in slot 146, which is nothing to complain about. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Oscar Delp in pick No. 149 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It fills a real need, too.
Nadame Tucker in slot 151 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Trey Moore at pick 163 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Zxavian Harris at the 165th overall pick. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Bryce Boettcher in the Round 5 slot. A need, and now a little less of one.
No drama and no debate, Cole Payton went about where he belonged in No. 196. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Kaelon Black slipping to pick No. 227 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.