Dolphins trade back and then trade up in RD 1

It wasn’t the guy I expected us to draft, but it was the position I wanted without question. The O-line is a joke, we have 2 players on that line that are solid in LT Patrick Paul and C Aaron Brewer. That’s it! Jon-Eric Sullivan’s first move in the 2026 NFL Draft was trading back from #11 to #12, one spot with the Dallas Cowboys. We acquired two 5th RD picks, #177 and #180 to move back one spot, and break the hearts of quite a few fans here who wanted S Caleb Downs. One guy who probably was thrilled with the pick was RB De’Von Achane, and another guy was certainly QB Malik Willis. I’m looking forward to having these massive bookends on our O-line, it’s been way too long since this O-line was a strength, and not coincidentally, way too long since this team was a legit contender. Patrick Paul at 6’7 326 and Kadyn Proctor 6’7 352.

Jon-Eric Sullivan’s next trade in the draft was a trade up, as the Dolphins moved from RD1 Pick #30 to Pick #27 by trading Pick #30 and Pick #90 (RD 3) for the #27 Pick and and a 4th RD pick #138. The Dolphins at #27 selected San Diego St. Cornerback Chris Johnson. The 6’0 193lb CB will undoubtedly be pushed to start at the very important CB position. I had hoped we never traded up in this draft, I want more picks, but we really didn’t lose any picks, we just moved back from RD 3 to RD 4. Listen, it’s way too early to judge picks, but I would say the majority of us figured we’d go O-line and CB, and that’s precisely what we did. If/when S Caleb Downs is a perennial All Pro, and Kadyn Proctor is 6’7 380 and the fattest turnstile in Dolphins history, go ahead, pound your chest because you were right. On the other hand, if OT Kadyn Proctor is a motivated player here, and is mauling defenders at the LOS and downfield with regularity and provides solid protection for our QB, I won’t have a care in the world what Caleb Downs is doing.

Day 2 coming up tonight at 7:30 will have the Dolphins waiting 11 spots at Pick #43 and then we’ll have three selections in RD 3, #75, 87 and 94. I won’t be shocked (or disappointed) if we tap a guy for the O-line again in RD 3. LT Patrick Paul, LG Jonah Savaiinaea, C Aaron Brewer, RG Kadyn Proctor, RT Austin Jackson (if healthy). 2 gaping holes bigger than the space between Michael Strahan’s two front teeth that needed to be filled. I personally do not want to hand Big Jonah that job, and I also didn’t want to see OG Jamaree Salyer start at RG. I’m aware we could have selected an OG later and we still might do that. How many times have we been failed by the O-line? How many times have we had to watch an injury torpedo the success of that unit? Two injuries? If not injuries, just out and out subpar play? It’s been a nightmare, and we took one step in attempting to fix that. You all saw the run on the O-line, it was real, and it will probably continue.

I think we’ll probably grab a WR and possibly a TE as well, but where, who knows? I’m curious to see if we move back again in RD 2, that wouldn’t surprise me. We definitely need EDGE help so RD 2 would be a good place to grab one. Players still available at the EDGE position are Zion Young, Cashius Howell, T.J. Parker, Gabe Jacas, Derrick Moore and R. Mason Thomas. We’ll see if we nab one of those guys in RD 2, and then maybe find a WR and another O-lineman. I know some of you love Penn St. EDGE Dani Dennis-Sutton. Maybe we take him. Maybe he would help you guys recover from us not taking Caleb Downs. I know you guys liked him, I respect that, but how did he all of a sudden become a Hall of Famer? I’ll wait for your responses later!

What do you guys think we do in RD 2? Move up? Move back? What position do we target in RD 2? Then what do you think we do in RD 3? Let me know, I want to hear . . .

This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

93 Responses to Dolphins trade back and then trade up in RD 1

  1. Rockphin's avatar Rockphin says:

    way too long since this team was a legit contender. Patrick Paul at 6’7 326 and Kadyn Proctor 6’7 352.

    Proctor played at 400lbs while at Alabama. The dude has discipline issues.

    That’s my last negative post about the poor showing last night. (Until he becomes a problem)

    The picks really did shake my confidence in this regime right off the bat.

  2. Rockphin's avatar Rockphin says:

    I know you guys liked him, I respect that, but how did he all of a sudden become a Hall of Famer? I’ll wait for your responses later!

    Him and Rueben Bain. We will watch them for the next 5 years as those two become probowlers.

  3. manitobafinfan's avatar manitobafinfan says:

    would love to have a player named Jackass on this team instead of athe jackass former coach and gm

  4. bailbondmike's avatar bailbondmike says:

    Only 1 CB was taken before we took Johnson despite quite a few teams with a critical need at CB. There is going to be a huge run at CB today.

    Yeah, there were several CB’s ranked by the consensus higher than Johnson. Obviously, Johnson was their #2 CB ahead of them. I guess they didn’t want to lose out on him.

    I didn’t care for the trade up, but we didn’t lose a pick for it.

    It is what it is and we got a really good CB.

    • Mike E.'s avatar Mike E. says:

      On NFL.com there were 3 guys ahead of CJ, and one of them was Jermod McCoy who appears to have an injury issue

  5. Rockphin's avatar Rockphin says:

    Here is this list of player remaining. I have no clue what Sully is going to do moving forward.

    https://www.nfl.com/draft/tracker/2026/prospects/all_all?page=1&collegeClass=all&status=undrafted

  6. Mike E.'s avatar Mike E. says:

    BBMike – Caleb Downs Future HOF

  7. Rockphin's avatar Rockphin says:

    Weird! I can reply, but I can’t do a new post? Test again.

  8. Mike E.'s avatar Mike E. says:

    Rock – I wanted to put my usual “NEW BLOG UP” comment this morning and when I put up the new article, the comments were closed on the previous article. WordPress has been doing weird shit

  9. Mike E.'s avatar Mike E. says:

    Ahahahahahahahahaha, so true!


    The Phinsider

    @thephinsider

    ·

    Dolphins: We are going to build from the inside out. Dolphins: Speed gets slow. Big doesn’t change. Dolphins: With the 12th pick, we select Kadyn Proctor, T, Alabama. Fans: WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

  10. Rockphin's avatar Rockphin says:

    Ok, it seems the issue was sporadic? Let’s try again with what the site would not let me post 3 times. (Spinning wheel, no progression to the posting)

    I like Chris Johnson as a player. Shit! I mocked him to us in most of our drafts at 30. (but more often after trading down) why waste the draft capital to move up unnecessarily?

    • Mike E.'s avatar Mike E. says:

      I hate trading up, but they clearly felt like Johnson would go early before they picked at #30. Now I know that’s a very Grier-like move, but they were certainly right about the O-line run

      • Rockphin's avatar Rockphin says:

        OR they started the O line run by REACHING for a OT that would have been there with a trade up from 30.

      • Mike E.'s avatar Mike E. says:

        They didn’t start it, it started with Fano and Mauigoa, but they read it for sure!

      • Rockphin's avatar Rockphin says:

        and Chris Grief was SURE that NE was going to trade up above them to take fat Jonah. How did that work out?

  11. Rockphin's avatar Rockphin says:

    PFSN’s mock draft of tonight’s picks.

    Round 2, Pick #43: Denzel Boston, WR, Washington

    Round 3, Pick #75: Derrick Moore, EDGE, Michigan

    Round 3, Pick #87: Genesis Smith, S, Arizona

    Round 3, Pick #94: Deion Burks, WR, Oklahoma

    I prefer Elijah Sarratt to either of those two WRs. Also not a fan of the double down on WR in the 3rd.

  12. Mike E.'s avatar Mike E. says:

    Rock – Sully isn’t Grier, you have to see what happens here. It’s craziness. They’re two different people, and Sully makes his plan clear, and he’s following it. Did Grier really ever have a plan?

    • Rockphin's avatar Rockphin says:

      Different people, but from evidence so far same results…

      Throw away picks to move up for guys that will still be there. Reach for players.

      • The Flying Pig's avatar The Flying Pig says:

        realistically, we cannot say there is any evidence of the results of Sullys drafts

        we are guessing on the results

        I think judging now is more bout being jaded (which we all are) as a fan than it is evidence

        I see the similar pattern in this sense: we are second guessing the picks, and then hearing people defend the picks

        but bc we don’t have the results yet, it’s not really logical to draw a comparison.

        the final component of Grier stinking it up, was that the picks actually failed on the field. And that’s the most important part

        so we can’t really say “same results” right after the draft. The big result we will judge on may or may not happen

      • bookman11's avatar bookman11 says:

        That is not “evidence” that is your opinion.

      • Rockphin's avatar Rockphin says:

        Bookman, it is evidence that shapes my opinion

  13. The Flying Pig's avatar The Flying Pig says:

    one of the more interesting slides for me was Jermod McCoy especially since we passed on him for a Chris Johnson

    I would have thought going into the draft McCoy being available at 30 was a dream and he was in play at 11 based on his pro day

    but it turns out he fell out of the first

    of course there are injury concerns but it seems like he put questions about his readiness to play away at his pro day. He’s quite a talent

    but the thing is: he could have played in his final season at Tennessee – and I think the perception about him making a business decision not to play may have hurt his draft stock

    • Rockphin's avatar Rockphin says:

      It may not have effected him at the proday, but it is widely reported that he has a knee issue that will need to be corrected.

    • Mike E.'s avatar Mike E. says:

      Piggy – There appear to serious injury worries with McCoy, not just that he won’t be ready, they think his knee isn’t stable and will need more surgery, it’s a lateral thing. Running straight ahead doesn’t show that

  14. Rockphin's avatar Rockphin says:

    I’m not going to beat this to death. Especially because I like the player, but WHO was going to take Johnson? NOT SF obviously, NE? they took at tackle. KC? They took a DT.

    WHY did he feel he needed to waste the draft capital to move up past NO ONE? I would love to hear a straight answer from him other than we had conviction on the player.

  15. Mike E.'s avatar Mike E. says:

    I’m going to say it once, and rip it to shreds if you must, but trading up is complicated. Unlike Chris Grier, Sully didn’t give up a lot to do it, just a swap of a 3rd RD for a 4th RD, and my guess is in his estimation, it would cost a lot more to trade up early in RD 2 to get Chris Johnson than it cost him in RD 1. I hope that helps a little

    • Rockphin's avatar Rockphin says:

      Every situation is different of course, but the trade value between 1st round and 2nd round (on the charts) argues strongly against this premise.

      • Mike E.'s avatar Mike E. says:

        Can you please calculate moving up to pick #33 or #34 from pick #43, as opposed to moving from #30 to #27? Still think it’s going to be less?

    • Mike E.'s avatar Mike E. says:

      Loved it until Ross gets on. Kinda like the Mets going on a 12 game losing streak since Mr. and Mrs. Met hugged Zohran Mamdani.

  16. Rockphin's avatar Rockphin says:

    It’s really tough to try and predict the top of the 2nd before we pick at 43. The of the spots have already been traded previously. I bet there are 2-3 more trades in the top 10.

    49rs need OL, Edge, WR, DL & S

    Cardinals need QB, OL, Edge, DL, LB

    Bills need Edge, OL, LB, S and WR

    Raiders need QB, WR, OL, DL & CB

    Giants need DL, OL, CB, LB, WR, EDGE

    Texans need OL, DL, LB, CB & Edge

    Browns need QB, OL, WR, CB, Edge

    Chiefs need CB, WR, Edge, DL OL

    Bengals need LB, CB, OL, Edge, WR

    Saints need WR, Edge, CB, DL, OL

    The bold positions are the ones addressed in the first round.

    that is without the rest of the league’s needs who may trade up.

    Edge looks like the biggest need for the teams above us, so I can see the cupboard being bare when we pick.

    Young, Howell, Jacus and more are rated 2nd round guys. ONE might be still there at 43.

  17. Randy's avatar Randy says:

    Maybe we actually traded up to draft Rutledge, and Houston moved up to snipe us. Johnson was the next guy on the list. Could be. We’ll never know. These guys always act like the move they made…the guy they got….was always the guy they wanted.

    • Rockphin's avatar Rockphin says:

      But Houston traded up before the Dolphins did. It’s not like we traded up and then Houston traded further up.

  18. Mike E.'s avatar Mike E. says:

    Rock – Just in case you missed my reply

    Mike E.

     says:

    April 24, 2026 at 10:52 am (Edit)

    Can you please calculate moving up to pick #33 or #34 from pick #43, as opposed to moving from #30 to #27? Still think it’s going to be less?

  19. son of a son of a shula's avatar son of a son of a shula says:

    It’s not just the teams in front that weren’t necessarily taking him but all of them were looking to trade out and who knows who could have slid in there. You get the guys you want.
    Thats how he drafts, it’s for needs not BPA.

  20. son of a son of a shula's avatar son of a son of a shula says:

    Who had the worst night last night?

    Jerimayah Love – possibly the best player in the draft and he gets to play for the Cardinals.

  21. Randy's avatar Randy says:

    ROCK,

    Stop fucking up my conspiracy theories!

  22. Mike E.'s avatar Mike E. says:

    Looks like 110 points to move from #43 to 33, and only 60 points to move from #30 to #27

  23. Rockphin's avatar Rockphin says:

    The draft pulled Sonny out of hiding! Hello Bubba!

  24. Mike E.'s avatar Mike E. says:

    Rock – Maybe no one picked a CB after we picked because we took the guy they wanted

  25. Mike E.'s avatar Mike E. says:

    Rock – OK, I admittedly brain farted on the 2nd RD scenario. It’s like I forgot we had pick #30. LOL

  26. Mike E.'s avatar Mike E. says:

    Rock – I do think Chris Johnson is going to be a much better player than Fat Jonah though, i think you do too!

    • Rockphin's avatar Rockphin says:

      Yeah see below. I am NOT AT ALL upset about the player. Just questioning the reasoning behind the POTENTIALLY unnecessary trade.

      Then again, how did Jamar Fletcher work out? We will have to see.

  27. pieguyevan's avatar pieguyevan says:

    Let’s also not assume Jackson is going to be healthy all season. Odds are, our new guy is going to get plenty of time at RT with Jackson’s history. He also wasn’t very good when he WAS healthy. Just because he was better than anyone else we had doesn’t mean he was good. We ignored the line so much, and I’d be shocked if we were done.

  28. Rockphin's avatar Rockphin says:

    Anyway, I am just arguing to argue. I like the Johnson pick a lot. I think he will be a starter for us for years, forbid injury. He was one of the top rated CB’s in the draft and now he is going to be shutting down half the field for us moving forward.

    I am way more concerned with the pick at 12. I hope he get’s his shit together and we have to talk about paying him $100M in 5 years.

  29. Mike E.'s avatar Mike E. says:

    BTW – Our MOCK Draft accuracy was downright dreadful!

  30. Randy's avatar Randy says:

    Don’t be surprised if Proctor actually ends up being our LT. Paul has been average. I know fans have slobbered on him because of how terrible our OL has been, but his actual play has been just OK.

    Johnson looks like a safety to me.

  31. Randy's avatar Randy says:

    MikeE,

    Why? Proctor has a much higher ceiling, and Paul hasn’t been a standout. It might not happen this year…but ya never know.

  32. bailbondmike's avatar bailbondmike says:

    Round 2, Pick #43: Denzel Boston, WR, Washington

    ———

    If we take Boston, I will jump on the negative side so fast. Dude cannot get open. Has no good release from the LOS. When he gets a good release, CB’s are easily able to get back into position on his breaks. He will be what the Bill’s got in Keon Coleman leaving that team looking at WR again the next year. No thanks!

  33. bailbondmike's avatar bailbondmike says:

    BBM is more upset that Alicia Silverstone’s Clueless sequel got scrapped than he is about trading up for Chris Johnson.

  34. Randy's avatar Randy says:

    MikeE,

    I thought Paul looked adequate in pass pro and average to poor in the running game.

  35. steveccnv's avatar steveccnv says:

    so what did I miss?

    we like the player we went up for, but don’t like the compensation

  36. Randy's avatar Randy says:

    MikeE,

    What I said! Lol

  37. Randy's avatar Randy says:

    MikeE,

    It’s more about Proctor. IF he can stay in shape and IF he can correct his technique issues, it looks like his ceiling is all pro. I’m not sure Paul has that same trajectory. I’m not hating on Paul. He’s done what he can do….and like I said…overall I think he’s been OK. Good on him….but I see no reason to think the position can’t be upgraded.

    Seeing mediocrity and thinking that’s good enough is how we got here! Lol

  38. Mike E.'s avatar Mike E. says:

    Just saw that Steelers were on the phone with WR Makai Lemon when the Eagles jumped up and took him. LMAO! That’s a bitchslap!

Leave a reply to Mike E. Cancel reply