{"id":787512,"date":"2026-03-02T21:10:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T21:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/787512\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T21:10:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T21:10:13","slug":"nfl-draft-prospects-whose-combine-could-interest-dolphins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/787512\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL draft prospects whose combine could interest Dolphins"},"content":{"rendered":"

INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 The 2026 NFL scouting combine concluded Sunday, and professional teams now have all the measurables from draft prospects<\/a> who participated in drills and testing at Lucas Oil Stadium.<\/p>\n

From the Miami Dolphins\u2019 perspective, the past week started with new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan unveiling tidbits of his offseason plan, like that all options being on the table with how to manage quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and his guaranteed $54 million<\/a> for 2026.<\/p>\n

Before the Dolphins\u2019 focus shifts to the draft in April, they have free agency starting next week.<\/p>\n

Miami will be acquiring veteran talent then, but with the team strapped for cash<\/a>, Sullivan\u2019s primary objective in his first offseason at the helm is to build through the draft.<\/p>\n

The Dolphins have needs at virtually all positions, but they will surely be looking at edge rushers, cornerbacks, quarterbacks, pass catchers and linemen.<\/p>\n

Miami has eight picks in the 2026 draft, starting with No. 11 in the first round, a second-round selection at No. 43 and then three in the third round.<\/p>\n

Here are 10 prospects, many of which could interest the Dolphins, who improved their draft stock at the combine:<\/p>\n

Malachi Lawrence, UCF edge defender<\/p>\n

Ohio State\u2019s Arvell Reese and Texas Tech\u2019s David Bailey, two of the top three edge rushers in the draft with Miami\u2019s Rueben Bain<\/a>, ran the fastest 40-yard dashes among players at the position. After them, Lawrence was next at 4.52 seconds.\u00a0 He showed athleticism at 253 pounds with his 40-inch vertical and 10-foot-10 broad jump. With 20 sacks in his college career, he did it both standing up and with his hand in the ground, which would allow coach Jeff Hafley to use Lawrence in multiple ways with his defensive fronts<\/a> if he grabs him in the middle rounds.<\/p>\n

Brenen Thompson, Mississippi State wide receiver<\/p>\n

The combine\u2019s fastest man, Thompson is sure to attract attention for his 4.26-second 40. The Dolphins will need receivers to complement Jaylen Waddle and could especially use a vertical threat like Thompson after Tyreek Hill\u2019s release<\/a>. If new offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik is anywhere near as speed-obsessed as former coach Mike McDaniel was, he will be eyeing the Bulldogs speedster.<\/p>\n

Carson Beck,<\/a> Miami quarterback<\/p>\n

The boos that rained down on him<\/a> from Indiana fans at Lucas Oil Stadium might\u2019ve been the best thing that could have happened for Beck as a pro prospect. A quarterback at the combine doesn\u2019t go in expecting fans will try to make it difficult on him, but he was poised and precise with his passing under the surprise circumstances. As Beck is now more than a full year removed from his elbow surgery, his stock is rising among passers in this draft.<\/p>\n

Taylen Green, Arkansas quarterback<\/p>\n

As Miami is bound to part ways with Tagovailoa, the team could go the route of taking an athletic freak of a dual-threat quarterback in the late rounds to come in and compete with Quinn Ewers. Green\u2019s 4.36 40 was a full tenth of a second faster than next-best at the position, Georgia Tech\u2019s Haynes King. Meanwhile, he measured in at 6 foot 6 and 227 pounds. He can still be erratic with his throws, so he would be a project.<\/p>\n

Mike Washington Jr., Arkansas running back<\/p>\n

Everyone\u2019s raving about Notre Dame\u2019s Jeremiyah Love as the draft\u2019s top running back, and rightfully so. But Washington ran a faster 40 (4.33 seconds) at 223 pounds. Previously at Buffalo and New Mexico State, he had a 1,000-yard rushing season with eight touchdowns in the SEC, so he is on a rapid rise from previously being a relatively unknown prospect over the past six months.<\/p>\n

Chris Johnson, San Diego State cornerback<\/p>\n

The Dolphins could easily have their choice of top cornerbacks in LSU\u2019s Mansoor Delane and Tennessee\u2019s Jermod McCoy<\/a> with the No. 11 pick, but if they go elsewhere with that first selection, Johnson could be a second-round option among the next tier. He has the frame, ran a strong 4.40-second 40 and had a 38-inch vertical jump along with smooth footwork in on-field drills.<\/p>\n

Monroe Freeling, Georgia tackle<\/p>\n

Miami Hurricanes tackle Francis Mauigoa<\/a> could present a home run if he dropped out of the top 10, but on the other end of that, Freeling is catapulting his stock into the range of the Dolphins\u2019 pick with his combine performance. Athleticism from offensive linemen is needed for an offense that will feature the wide-zone blocking scheme, and Freeling has that with a 1.71-second 10-yard split on his 40, which came in under 5 at 4.93.<\/p>\n

Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon tight end<\/p>\n

The Dolphins will need a tight end. They probably, with many roster holes, don\u2019t draft the top tight end. But Sadiq\u2019s blazing sub-4.4 time (4.39) has him boosting his stock. Maybe he could be a Miami option if they find a trade down and he ends up being one of two late-first-round selections.<\/p>\n

Lorenzo Styles Jr., Ohio State safety<\/p>\n

The Styles family is athletic. After linebacker and projected first-round pick Sonny Styles stole the show on Day 1 of drills, his brother ran the fastest time for a safety since at least 2003, with an eye-popping 4.27 40-yard dash. Scouts say he\u2019s still stiff in his on-field work, but that kind of speed might not last to Day 3 of the draft.<\/p>\n

Zavion Thomas, LSU wide receiver<\/p>\n

Thomas\u2019 40 was only two-hundredths of a second off of Thompson\u2019s, while outweighing him by 26 pounds, 190 to 164. So he has a more NFL-ready body to go with the speed. He\u2019s a bit raw as a prospect, though, as his on-field production doesn\u2019t match the athletic traits. Still, he could be worth taking a chance on late to develop something with that pure speed under NFL coaching.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 The 2026 NFL scouting combine concluded Sunday, and professional teams now have all the measurables from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":787513,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2049],"tags":[217,7,8628,95805,216,251,2087,6,927,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-787512","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-jeff-hafley","11":"tag-jon-eric-sullivan","12":"tag-miami","13":"tag-miami-dolphins","14":"tag-miamidolphins","15":"tag-nfl","16":"tag-nfl-combine","17":"tag-nfl-draft"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116161637534435903","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787512","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=787512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/787513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=787512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=787512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=787512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}