We were in Mobile, Alabama, covering the Senior Bowl<\/a>, which allowed us to gather a lot of information and talk to people about what the Dolphins might be looking for in the draft.\u00a0<\/p>\nWith all of that information in mind, it\u2019s a good time to do a new Dolphins seven-round mock draft.\u00a0<\/p>\n
7-Round Miami Dolphins 2026 Mock\u00a0Round 1, Pick 11: Francis Mauigoa, OL, Miami\u00a0<\/p>\n
Both Sullivan and new head coach Jeff Hafley have been pretty consistent about building the new-look Dolphins through the trenches, so that\u2019s where we\u2019re starting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mauigoa has played more than 800 snaps at right tackle for the past three seasons and has the physical play demeanor that the Dolphins are looking for. He might be better off at right guard than tackle, but the Dolphins have a bigger need there anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In an ideal world, Mauigoa would play right guard, and the Dolphins would try to get another season out of Austin Jackson. If he gets cut, Mauigoa could replace him right away, allowing the team to sign a veteran at guard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Either way, Mauigoa gives the Dolphins flexibility while addressing a major need.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Round 2, Pick 43: Zion Young, Edge, Missouri\u00a0<\/p>\n
If you followed our Senior Bowl coverage from last week, then you know all about Zion Young. He was one of the better players at the event, and he\u2019s built exactly the way the Packers like their edge rushers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With Sullivan and Hafley running things in Miami, it\u2019s safe to assume they\u2019ll use similar guidelines when selecting players. Young was listed at 6-5, 262 pounds with 33-inch arms in Mobile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019s a bigger edge who wins with power and plays the run incredibly well. Given Miami\u2019s massive need at pass rusher, it makes sense to spend a top 50 pick on one.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Round 3, Pick 75: Treydan Stukes, SCB\/SAF, Arizona\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stukes is probably a player with whom most casual draft fans aren\u2019t familiar quite yet, but he should rise up boards the closer we get to April\u2019s draft.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Arizona product played in the slot for most of his college career, but he\u2019s not built like your typical slot cornerback. In fact, he\u2019s about 6-2, 200 pounds, which is more of a safety\/outside cornerback build.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Dolphins could use help in the slot and at safety this offseason, and Hafley asks a lot of his safeties, so getting someone with good versatility feels like the right path.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Round 3, Pick 87: Malachi Fields, WR, Notre Dame\u00a0<\/p>\n
Malachi Fields is my big receiver of choice outside of the top 50 picks. The Notre Dame product came in at 6-4, 218 pounds with 32-inch arms in Mobile, and he used that size throughout the week.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fields is excellent in contested situations and does a great job tracking the ball down the field and using his huge frame to make difficult catches. He\u2019s also a great blocker on the perimeter, which Miami still needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Dolphins\u2019 receiver room needs a significant overhaul, and Fields would be a good piece of the puzzle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Round 3 Pick 90: Genesis Smith, SAF, Arizona\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s right, we\u2019re going back to Arizona to add another Wildcat to the Dolphins\u2019 secondary. Unlike Stukes, Smith is a more traditional deep safety who does his work playing the ball downfield.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He also has extensive experience playing in the box and in the slot, so the Dolphins could move him around if they wanted to. Smith\u2019s range would allow Miami to move Minkah Fitzpatrick around quite a bit, assuming he returns.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The team will still need more outside cornerback help in this scenario, but pairing Smith and Stukes together would give the Dolphins a lot of options in Hafley\u2019s first season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Round 4, Pick 111: Gracen Halton, IDL, Oklahoma\u00a0<\/p>\n
The interior of Miami\u2019s defensive line doesn\u2019t look like a huge need on paper, but Hafley\u2019s scheme is much different than Anthony Weaver\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hafley wants his interior defensive linemen to get upfield and shoot gaps, which is exactly what Halton did all week at the Senior Bowl. The Oklahoma product would be a nice rotational option to pair with Kenneth Grant and Jordan Phillips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His speed, pass-rush repertoire, and aggressive mentality make him a perfect fit for what Hafley wants his interior defensive linemen to do upfront.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Round 5, Pick 149: Dae\u2019Quan Wright, TE, Mississippi\u00a0<\/p>\n
Miami\u2019s tight end room could be pretty barren, depending on how the team handles free agency. Darren Waller and Greg Dulcich are set to hit free agency, so the Dolphins might need someone to pair with blocking tight end Julian Hill.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wright was asked to do a lot of blocking in college, and the results were mixed. However, the highs clearly showed a player who was capable of creating space and sealing rush lanes in the NFL.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also a pretty solid athlete in the open field, which should make him at least a functional pass catcher. Wright is raw, but there\u2019s a real chance he develops into a solid starter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Round 7, Pick 227: Cole Payton, QB, North Dakota State\u00a0<\/p>\n
Unlike the other Senior Bowl members on this list, Cole Payton was not a standout in Mobile last week. However, I believe Sullivan when he said they were going to draft quarterbacks frequently<\/a>, and Payton was the best remaining passer on the board.\u00a0<\/p>\nHe\u2019s got a solid-enough arm and good running ability to be worth developing as a late-round pick. This is not a good QB class, but using a seventh-round pick on a QB swing is a good process \u2014 even if the player is underwhelming. <\/p>\n
More Miami Dolphins Coverage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The annual Senior Bowl wrapped up with the game Saturday, which means we\u2019re in the thick of draft…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":726397,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2049],"tags":[217,7,216,251,2087,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-726396","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami-dolphins","8":"tag-dolphins","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-miami","11":"tag-miami-dolphins","12":"tag-miamidolphins","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116007127180006039","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=726396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726396\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/726397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=726396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=726396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=726396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}