The Miami Dolphins had a calamitous 2025, as the Tua Tagovailoa-Mike McDaniel partnership completely eroded, and both are now employed by new teams.
It’s a new era for the Dolphins, and for a club at the ground floor of the rebuilding process, they correctly made a boatload of picks in the draft — one of the few teams that made than the Bills’ 10 selections.
Here’s a rundown of their 2026 rookie class.
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Kadyn Proctor, OT,
Alabama
As a former top recruit in the country, with gargantuan size and quality movement skills at left tackle, I was a big fan of Proctor during the pre-draft process. While some believed the Dolphins should’ve picked EDGE Rueben Bain here, they opted instead for emphatic checkmarks in the size department in Round 1. Can’t fault them for that. Proctor can be a franchise left tackle who can deal with every type of rusher.
Chris Johnson, CB, San Diego State
Johnson flew quietly under the radar as a legitimate first-round caliber cornerback in this class, and he should’ve been more hyped. His film was awesome, he was super productive, and tested like an elite-level athlete. This was another quality pick in Round 1 by the Dolphins.
Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech
I liked Rodriguez on film. Didn’t adore him. And I thought the pining for him got a little out of control by draft week. He played behind a defensive line that saw it’s entire starting four get drafted, including David Bailey, the No. 2 overall pick. Rodriguez made plays in coverage but wasn’t the most reliable tackler in space and turns 24 in September. Because of the abomination that was the Dolphins linebacker group a season ago, this pick was a sensible pick.
Caleb Douglas, WR, Texas Tech
Douglas is a reasonably sized wideout with a well-rounded game but no real standout traits or special elements to his game. With the perpetually increasing importance at wide receiver, another understandable pick.
Will Kacmarek, TE, Ohio State
Kacmarek was part of what I believed was a completely strange run on tight ends on Day 2 of the draft, particularly those of the run-blocking variety. Sure, some of the better offenses have started to lean into two and three tight end sets the past two seasons — see: Rams, Seahawks, and Bills — but Kacmarek hardly brings anything to the field as a receiver. He can be a punishing blocker at his size.
Chris Bell, WR, Louisville
I never was of the belief that Bell would’ve been a first-round pick if he hadn’t torn his ACL during his final season at Louisville. He does have impressive long speed for a stocky, powerful receiver, yet his route-tree experience was minimal, and he wasn’t a classic separator. I do like the Dolphins trying to methodically rebuild their receiver room with young talent.
Trey Moore, EDGE, Texas
Moore is a narrow-framed EDGE who looks more like an off-ball linebacker on the field. His film was pretty underwhelming to me, although he was productive in his final season at Texas. I had a Round 5 grade on him, and the Dolphins snagged him Round 4. He’s pretty pro-ready from a technical standpoint but doesn’t have loads of upside.
Kyle Louis, LB, Pittsburgh
A case can be made that Louis is just as, if not more impressive than Rodriguez from an athleticism perspective and when asked to carry out rangy linebacker responsibilities. Big fan of this pick for Miami. The Dolphins desperately needed more juice at the second level of their defense.
Michael Taaffe, S, Texas
The second Longhorn picked by the Dolphins, Taaffe has loads of experience on the backend and was reasonably productive as a coverage player in Austin. Didn’t love his film. Didn’t hate it either. The ingredients to being a fifth-round pick.
Kevin Coleman, WR, Missouri
Because of his ability to get open, I was initially drawn to Coleman in the pre-draft process. He took an interesting road to the NFL, having spent one season at four different schools in four years in college. I soured on him a bit after a pedestrian pre-draft workout. He can be a useful albeit unspectacular slot wideout in the NFL.
Seydou Traore, TE, Mississippi State
Got to be honest here — I did not evaluate Traore, as he wasn’t really on the draft radar in the months leading up to the actual draft in late April.
DJ Campbell, OG, Texas
The third and final Longhorn picked by Miami’s new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan, Campbell is a super-compact, decently powerful guard. Selected at pick No. 200, this is a depth addition for the Dolphins along their offensive line.
Max Llewellyn, EDGE, Iowa
LLewellyn had no business being selected this late, at No. 238 overall. He does turn 24 in August, yet it’s not as if he’s the oldest prospect in the class. I saw a refined rusher on film, and he tested reasonably well before the draft. Don’t be surprised if he makes a name for himself as an overachiever within a Dolphins pass-rush group that needs productive players.
