{"id":870381,"date":"2026-04-20T02:12:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T02:12:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/870381\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T02:12:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T02:12:28","slug":"what-dolphins-fans-should-expect-from-the-2026-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/870381\/","title":{"rendered":"What Dolphins fans should expect from the 2026 NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The 2026 NFL draft is just four days away, and the Miami Dolphins hold seven of the top-100 picks. Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan has gone on record regarding his intention to rebuild the organization through the draft.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">However, this may not be the year to do so.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, many NFL teams believe that this is one of weakest draft classes in recent memory. As such, this may result in \u201cone of the more trade-heavy drafts in recent memory.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">We\u2019ve already seen the <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/nfl\/teams\/cincinnati\/\" data-i13n=\"sec:content-canvas;subsec:anchor_text;elm:context_link\" data-ylk=\"slk:Cincinnati Bengals;sec:content-canvas;subsec:anchor_text;elm:context_link;itc:0\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Cincinnati Bengals&quot;,&quot;ySubModuleName&quot;:&quot;anchor_text&quot;,&quot;yHasCommerce&quot;:false}\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> trade away their No. 10 overall pick to the <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/nfl\/teams\/ny-giants\/\" data-i13n=\"sec:content-canvas;subsec:anchor_text;elm:context_link\" data-ylk=\"slk:New York Giants;sec:content-canvas;subsec:anchor_text;elm:context_link;itc:0\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;New York Giants&quot;,&quot;ySubModuleName&quot;:&quot;anchor_text&quot;,&quot;yHasCommerce&quot;:false}\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">New York Giants<\/a>, in exchange for 3x Pro Bowl defensive tackle, <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/nfl\/players\/900020\/\" data-i13n=\"sec:content-canvas;subsec:anchor_text;elm:context_link\" data-ylk=\"slk:Dexter Lawrence;sec:content-canvas;subsec:anchor_text;elm:context_link;itc:0\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Dexter Lawrence&quot;,&quot;ySubModuleName&quot;:&quot;anchor_text&quot;,&quot;yHasCommerce&quot;:false}\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dexter Lawrence<\/a>. According to Schultz, \u201cseveral executives\u201d around the league believe that Thursday night could see a \u201cflurry of trades\u201d, perhaps in exchange for star players or more capital in 2027 and beyond.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Anyhow, regardless of what league executives may think, there is talent in this draft\u2014if you know where to look.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">On offense, this is a fantastic wide receiver class. Names such as Carnell Tate (Ohio State), K.C. Concepcion (Texas A&amp;M), Jordyn Tyson (Arizona State), Makai Lemon (USC), and Denzel Boston (<a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/nfl\/teams\/washington\/\" data-i13n=\"sec:content-canvas;subsec:anchor_text;elm:context_link\" data-ylk=\"slk:Washington;sec:content-canvas;subsec:anchor_text;elm:context_link;itc:0\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Washington&quot;,&quot;ySubModuleName&quot;:&quot;anchor_text&quot;,&quot;yHasCommerce&quot;:false}\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Washington<\/a>) all expected to go in the first round. The Dolphins have a serious hole at WR, and could do with any of these players at picks No.11 or No. 30.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">On defense, the bulk of the talent lies at edge rusher, cornerback, and linebacker. Again, the Dolphins are in desperate need of reinforcements on the edge, as well as at cornerback.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Mansoor Delane (LSU) is considered the top corner in the draft, and he might be available for the Dolphins at No.11. <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/nfl\/teams\/tennessee\/\" data-i13n=\"sec:content-canvas;subsec:anchor_text;elm:context_link\" data-ylk=\"slk:Tennessee;sec:content-canvas;subsec:anchor_text;elm:context_link;itc:0\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Tennessee&quot;,&quot;ySubModuleName&quot;:&quot;anchor_text&quot;,&quot;yHasCommerce&quot;:false}\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tennessee<\/a>\u2019s duo of Jermod McCoy and Colton Hood\u00a0are both expected to go in the first round as well. At edge, the top prospects (Arvell Reese of Ohio State and David Bailey of Texas Tech) will be long gone before the Dolphins select at No. 11 (barring any trades, of course). However, Keldric Faulk (Auburn), Cashius Howell (Texas A&amp;M), <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/ncaaf\/players\/338296\/\" data-i13n=\"sec:content-canvas;subsec:anchor_text;elm:context_link\" data-ylk=\"slk:R Mason Thomas;sec:content-canvas;subsec:anchor_text;elm:context_link;itc:0\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;R Mason Thomas&quot;,&quot;ySubModuleName&quot;:&quot;anchor_text&quot;,&quot;yHasCommerce&quot;:false}\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">R Mason Thomas<\/a> (Oklahoma), and <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/ncaaf\/players\/338648\/\" data-i13n=\"sec:content-canvas;subsec:anchor_text;elm:context_link\" data-ylk=\"slk:Gabe Jacas;sec:content-canvas;subsec:anchor_text;elm:context_link;itc:0\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Gabe Jacas&quot;,&quot;ySubModuleName&quot;:&quot;anchor_text&quot;,&quot;yHasCommerce&quot;:false}\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Gabe Jacas<\/a> (Illinois) are just a few names that will likely be available for the Dolphins in the first round and second rounds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">All in all, the 2026 NFL drafts is one of the weaker draft classes in recent memory, sure. So expect some trades, expect some teams to reach for players, and expect the unexpected. But for the Dolphins, none of this should matter. There is talent available in major positions of need for the team, and Miami has the arsenal to move up or down in the draft and select those players. Do this, and the Dolphins will have taken the first step towards rebuilding this organization into a Super Bowl Contender.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The NFL Draft will take place in <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/nfl\/teams\/pittsburgh\/\" data-i13n=\"sec:content-canvas;subsec:anchor_text;elm:context_link\" data-ylk=\"slk:Pittsburgh;sec:content-canvas;subsec:anchor_text;elm:context_link;itc:0\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Pittsburgh&quot;,&quot;ySubModuleName&quot;:&quot;anchor_text&quot;,&quot;yHasCommerce&quot;:false}\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Pittsburgh<\/a> from April 23\u201325, 2026.\u00a0Round 1 begins on Thursday, April 23rd, at 8:00 PM EST. Coverage is available on NFL Network, ABC, ESPN.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Who do you want the Dolphins to draft on Thursday night? Do you want the team to trade up for a player, or trade back? Let us know down below! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 NFL draft is just four days away, and the Miami Dolphins hold seven of the top-100&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":870382,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2049],"tags":[7730,256,1489,217,7,23926,6085,216,251,2087,56,6,1890,520,32197,526,3235,855],"class_list":{"0":"post-870381","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami-dolphins","8":"tag-arsenal","9":"tag-cincinnati-bengals","10":"tag-dexter-lawrence","11":"tag-dolphins","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-gabe-jacas","14":"tag-jordan-schultz","15":"tag-miami","16":"tag-miami-dolphins","17":"tag-miamidolphins","18":"tag-new-york-giants","19":"tag-nfl","20":"tag-nfl-teams","21":"tag-pittsburgh","22":"tag-r-mason-thomas","23":"tag-tennessee","24":"tag-the-dolphins","25":"tag-washington"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116434615927483681","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870381","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=870381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870381\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/870382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=870381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=870381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=870381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}