A-
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins cleaned up, and the board agrees: A-.
by AVG ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 6 steals
· 4 reaches
The war room fell hard for Kamran James, and it showed at pick No. 238: 108 picks ahead of a board that had other ideas. Very little went wrong, and the A- is earned.
On value alone, Lance makes the weekend a net positive. The Dolphins indulged a want in Demmings while a need in running back stayed open. A whole weekend of picks and running back is somehow still a want.
Add it up and this is about as clean as a draft weekend gets.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 29 they get a sticky cover corner. Need was not the driver here.
A tidy bit of business in slot 30, where Sonny Styles graded well above the range. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They let Emmanuel McNeil-Warren come to them and pounced at Round 2, Pick 27. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Somehow Jake Slaughter was still sitting there in the Round 3 slot, and they pounced on premier offensive lineman value. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They paid a round early for Sam Roush in No. 77, more than the board wanted. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Jalen Farmer at pick 87 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It fills a real need, too.
Bryce Lance at slot 118 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They took Jude Bowry at par in the 128th overall pick, which is nothing to complain about. A need, and now a little less of one.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose cornerback. Charles Demmings in the 130th pick leaves running back for later.
Value with a capital V on Chris McClellan in No. 151, a genuine coup. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A straight-up fair deal on Drew Allar at pick 155, value and slot in agreement. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A quiet steal in the Round 5 slot: Nate Boerkircher for less than the market said. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Fair-plus on Zavion Thomas, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Kamran James in Round 7, Pick 22 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.