C+
Miami Dolphins
A masterclass at the trade table lands the Dolphins a C+.
by Reheheheheh ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 26 picks
· 16 steals
· 9 reaches
The move everyone will second-guess came early. The Dolphins reached some 216 spots for Keanu Koht, and value like that does not grow back. It nets out a thoroughly average C+.
Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Tyson. They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own. They will answer for taking cornerback early while quarterback, tight end and other spots went begging.
The quarterback spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
So much rides on Spencer Fano that the real verdict is a season or two away.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 11 they get a building block for the line at fair value.
In the 30th pick they get a downhill thumper at linebacker, though they paid up to get him. A real need, handled.
Circle this one: Makai Lemon at pick 43 is a fall that decides a draft. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Avieon Terrell at No. 75 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
They paid a round early for Drew Shelton in slot 87, more than the board wanted. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Caden Curry in the Round 3 slot is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They talked themselves into Deven Eastern at pick No. 94, and the board did not agree. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Steal is underselling it; Dani Dennis-Sutton at the Round 4 slot is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Jordyn Tyson in the 130th overall pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose cornerback. Jermod McCoy in slot 133 leaves quarterback, tight end and other spots for later.
The eyebrow-raiser of the weekend. They went cornerback with Colton Hood while clear needs at quarterback, tight end and other spots sat open.
A curious use of the 135th pick. Quarterback, tight end and other spots needed the pick; a cornerback in Chris Johnson did not.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Devin Moore at cornerback with quarterback, tight end and other spots open.
A top-tier wide receiver at a bargain, Bryce Lance in No. 137, plain and simple. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Ja'Kobi Lane at the 138th overall pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Hard to square with the roster. With positions of obvious need still on the board, Tacario Davis adds a cornerback and leaves quarterback, tight end and other spots untouched.
They bypassed pressing needs at quarterback, tight end and other spots to take Charles Demmings, a cornerback that was not the priority.
A big swing on VJ Payne at pick No. 151, well ahead of any board in the building. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Patrick Payton at the Round 5 slot is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Vincent Anthony Jr. at Round 5, Pick 22 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Chris McClellan at slot 173 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Somehow CJ Daniels was still sitting there in the 174th pick, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
You do not let a safety like Genesis Smith reach the 177th pick and blink. They did not. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
They barely believed it either: Davison Igbinosun still on the board at No. 180. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
Keanu Koht at the 227th overall pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They robbed the room for Kaden Wetjen here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.