C-
Miami Dolphins
A costly weekend of dealing drags the Dolphins to a C-.
by Fins1981 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 3 steals
· 8 reaches
They will call it conviction in the building and a reach everywhere else: Noah Thomas, 130 picks early at Round 7, Pick 11. It lands right in the middle: a C-, no more, no less.
That Slaughter pick is the receipt they will wave around later. Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere. For all the activity, quarterback went untouched, which is hard to explain.
So much rides on Max Iheanachor that the real verdict is a season or two away.
Pick-by-Pick
No edge and no loss on Max Iheanachor in slot 43; it is a wash and a sensible one. A need, and now a little less of one.
Keionte Scott slipping to pick 75 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren in the 87th overall pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
They robbed the room for Jake Slaughter here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A market-rate linebacker, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Harold Perkins Jr.. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Zxavian Harris at the 147th pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They paid sticker price for Domani Jackson in the 173rd overall pick, and that is fine. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
A conviction pick on Jeff Caldwell at No. 174 that the board grades a round light. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Febechi Nwaiwu at slot 177 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They took Jimmy Rolder at par in pick No. 209, which is nothing to complain about. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They talked themselves into Isaiah Jatta at Round 6, Pick 30, and the board did not agree. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They paid a round early for Eli Heidenreich in pick 221, more than the board wanted. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Owen Heinecke at the Round 7 slot is a conviction pick that outran the value. The roster logic is harder to follow.
Value said wait; Noah Thomas in the 227th pick says they were not listening. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They liked Nolan Rucci enough to skip the value, taking him in the Round 7 slot. It fills a real need, too.
A reach on Logan Taylor in the 241st overall pick; the board had better options right there. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A wild overpay on Adam Randall in Round 7, Pick 37, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It patches a soft spot without any drama.