At a draft party with former teammates like Arch Manning, Andrew Mukuba, and Jahdae Barron, Michael Taaffe’s phone rang during the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft, right at the high range of the draft projections for the former walk on and fifth generation Longhorn who developed into an All-American on the Forty Acres.
The call showed up as potential spam, but Taaffe didn’t care.
“I just was like, “Man, this has got to be it,’” Taaffe said.
It wasn’t spam — it was the Miami Dolphins selecting Taaffe
with the No. 158 pick. He doesn’t remember much else.
“Right when I answered, I kind of blacked out, and all I heard it was it was Miami,” Taaffe said. “I was just so relieved.”
The 6’0, 190-pounder is now joining former teammates Trey Moore and Quinn Ewers in South Beach. Taaffe had even discussed with Ewers the possibility of landing in Miami after a pre-draft Zoom call with defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Ryan Downard.
“I said, ‘I really liked y’all’s coach, this is awesome. What happens if y’all take me?’ And he said how cool it would be, and so now here it is. It’s awesome,” Taaffe said.
“I’m just so blessed and nothing could be better than a spot in Miami.”
Ewers was quick to welcome Taaffe to Miami on social media.
And privately.
“He said, ‘We can’t wait to get you down here and we’re going to kick it off.’ He’s going to show me the ropes, so it’s going to be awesome.” Taaffe said.
The Taaffe family might have blacked out, too.
“They were just amazed,” Taaffe said. “We’d been waiting for a while, and they were just in shock. They didn’t believe that the moment would actually come to reality, and when it happened, it felt like a fever dream. So, they were so happy for me. They’d been waiting and waiting and trying to be as cool as they could about it, and it was awesome.”
Taaffe’s selection is another coup for Austin-area performance coach Bernard “Bam” Blake, who trained Taaffe, Mukuba, and Barron before their successful college careers. Now all three are in the league.
“Crazy,” Taaffe said of their accomplishments. “We’ve talked about this since high school and to think this would actually be a reality, it’s hard to really believe because we probably all didn’t believe it at some point in time, to think that we would all have been NFL draft picks and playing in the NFL, and I’ve got to go earn it. I’ve got to go make a roster, but it’s just an exciting for this day. I’m going to go enjoy it.”
Taaffe closed with a message to Longhorn Nation.
“It’s just such a big thank you, Longhorn Nation,” Taaffe said. “You mean everything to me. I’ll forever bleed Burnt Orange, and the fan base will forever be in my heart. I’ll forever remember my time at the 40 acres, and I know they’ll keep supporting me, and hopefully we’re just getting started.”
