D-
Miami Dolphins
Johnson should have been long gone. The Dolphins pounced, and earned a D-.
by jbianchi23 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 7 steals
· 3 reaches
The Dolphins did not so much draft Jalon Daniels as overpay for him, 81 picks clear of his grade. It sets an uneasy tone for the weekend. The board pushed back all weekend, and the D- is the result.
Getting Johnson where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. The trade table is where this weekend went wrong.
The interior defensive lineman spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. It is a win-now wager, and the future is the stake.
In the end, a class the front office will want to grow past quickly.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 4 they get a ballhawk on the outside at fair value. Need was not the driver here.
In slot 12 they get a bendy edge with upside. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Nick Emmanwori in pick 46 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
A clean, defensible pick in the Round 2 slot with a little surplus value in Ozzy Trapilo. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They will replay Colston Loveland at the Round 3 slot for years; that is how good the value is. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Taking Smael Mondon Jr. in the 98th overall pick is close to grand larceny; a linebacker that good had no business lasting this long. The roster fit checks out.
Mikail Kamara at the 99th pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
No edge and no loss on Riley Mahlman in slot 113; it is a wash and a sensible one. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Jalon Daniels in pick No. 122, miles early. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
The board fumbled Kaleb Johnson all the way to No. 138, and they scooped it up. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
You do not let a linebacker like Jay Higgins reach Round 5, Pick 4 and blink. They did not. It fills a real need, too.
Samuel Brown at pick 166 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They reached a country mile for Kyren Lacy at slot 213, and the board is aghast. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Steal is underselling it; Jordan White at the 245th overall pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.