B
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins won the night they stopped Klare from sliding. Grade: B.
by Elreezy ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 9 steals
· 5 reaches
Thirty-one other rooms let Max Klare slide, and the Dolphins were the ones holding the card at pick 116. Highway robbery.
If Aguilar pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. The McNeil-Warren pick reads as want over need, and the roster will feel it at interior defensive lineman. They punted on interior defensive lineman, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
Good work on the whole, with interior defensive lineman the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 24th pick they get a mismatch in the passing game. A real need, handled.
In the Round 1 slot they get a green-dot type in the middle, and a steal at that. A clean fit for the roster.
A tidy little value on Chris Johnson in slot 39, a step better than break-even. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Dillon Thieneman slipping to Round 2, Pick 11 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. It adds depth where they could use a little.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Emmanuel McNeil-Warren at safety with interior defensive lineman open.
Jake Golday at the 89th overall pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They let Connor Lew come to them and pounced at pick 90. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Keylan Rutledge in No. 94 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A need, and now a little less of one.
They barely believed it either: Max Klare still on the board at the Round 4 slot. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
CJ Daniels at slot 130 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They did well to land Malik Benson in pick 151, just ahead of his grade. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A big swing on Trey Moore at the 155th pick, well ahead of any board in the building. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Aamil Wagner in No. 195 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Kaelon Black slid further than he should have, and pick No. 227 is lovely value for the running back. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Thaddeus Dixon at Round 7, Pick 22 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
Jack Kelly in the 239th overall pick is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. The roster fit checks out.
Joey Aguilar at Round 7, Pick 32 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.