C+
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins land in the muddy middle: C+.
by aechean ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 2 steals
· 7 reaches
You can fall in love with a player. You are not supposed to marry him in the wrong round. The Dolphins did exactly that with Patrick Payton in pick No. 130. The final tally is a middling C+.
Getting Delp where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. Job largely done: quarterback settled and 8 of 8 of the wish list covered.
A perfectly average weekend, for better and for worse.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 11th pick they get protection for the quarterback, reach and all. A clean fit for the roster.
In the Round 1 slot they get a rangy last line of defense. More want than need.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Dontay Corleone in Round 2, Pick 11, miles early. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Connor Lew in pick No. 75 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Value said wait; Harold Perkins Jr. in pick 87 says they were not listening. It fills a real need, too.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Nicholas Singleton. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A real head-scratcher, Drew Allar in No. 94 is miles ahead of his ranking. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Patrick Payton at the 130th overall pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Circle this one: Oscar Delp at the 151st pick is a fall that decides a draft. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Nice patience on Thaddeus Dixon, who had no business lasting to pick No. 227. A minor itch, scratched.
They liked Barion Brown enough to skip the value, taking him in slot 238. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.