C+
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins won the weekend at the trade table. Grade: C+.
by Savemia ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 13 picks
· 3 steals
· 6 reaches
Nobody had Patrick Payton this high, and it is not close. The Dolphins reached 58 spots to get him at pick No. 200. It washes out to a C+, no better and no worse.
Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck. Branch falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch. They punted on tight end, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
It grades out a shrug today, with plenty of room to move either way.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get protection for the quarterback at fair value.
In pick 30 they get a ballhawk on the back end. More want than need.
A quiet steal in the 75th pick: Jake Slaughter for less than the market said. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
The board fumbled Zachariah Branch all the way to the 87th overall pick, and they scooped it up. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Ted Hurst at pick No. 90 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Darrell Jackson Jr. at Round 3, Pick 27 is a conviction pick that outran the value. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They paid up for DeMonte Capehart at No. 130 when waiting would have done the job. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Anez Cooper at the Round 5 slot is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They reached a country mile for Patrick Payton at Round 6, Pick 19, and the board is aghast. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A reach on Robert Spears-Jennings in the 227th overall pick; the board had better options right there. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Latrell McCutchin Sr. in pick No. 238 lands just on the right side of the ledger. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Zavion Thomas slid further than he should have, and pick 248 is lovely value for the wide receiver. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They liked Miller Moss enough to skip the value, taking him in the 250th pick. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.