If you will allow me some leeway here, I want to try and change your perspective. Not only was this GM Jon Eric-Sullivan’s first NFL Draft experience, but it’s very important to remember that he was drafting to try and replace nearly half the roster. Chris Grier, our former GM left this team in an awful state. The most obvious issue to anyone from the outside was the cap situation, we came into the season over the cap. Before undertaking his, or really their, because Sully and Haf are really the synergistic duo who are in charge of the team. Together, they just purged the roster of a bunch of high price salaried players that let’s face it, didn’t have what it takes to get it done here. QB Tua Tagovailoa, WR Jaylen Waddle, EDGE Bradley Chubb, WR Tyreek Hill, OL Liam Eichenberg, OL James Daniels, WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, FB Alec Ingold, and K Jason Sanders. If you loved any of these players, forgive me, but they were part of the problem here. They’re part of the reason this team has been considered “soft”, and why this team could never really contend during the Grier/McDaniel. All the shiny stars in the world weren’t going to win here in Miami with the weak type of mindset of Grier/McDaniel, routinely rewarding players with salary bumps and contract extensions during a period where we made the playoffs twice and were out and out embarrassed looking like we didn’t belong on the field with the other team. Those days are OVER!!!!

We all need to realize the tremendous undertaking it was for Sully and Haf, knowing this team in tremendously disadvantageous cap situation. There will be no big spending to help fill the roster and better the roster once Free Agency begins and teams start cutting veteran players. I’m not saying we won’t make any moves, but we simply don’t have any space to make big purchase. Sullivan realized he had to fill the roster through the draft and UDFA’s, and we made 13 selections in the 2026 NFL Draft. Some of you hated at least half of them, and maybe national talking heads did too, but none of that matters. I explained yesterday that Sully and Haf may have changed the entire culture here in just one draft. The guys selected are “their guys”, and it was quite clear to me that Sully and Haf wanted physical players that want to get at it. These guys will run through a wall for HC Jeff Hafley and for their teammates. Do you not see the contrast to what we had here before? “Me” guys, not team players. There will be no “You get to pick the music for today’s practice Jaylen because you had a very good practice today!” I could vomit just thinking of that. Good practices will now be expected from every player and will be rewarded by playing better in the games and remaining on the roster.

Despite taking players that weren’t high on many boards, throughout the draft we Sully took physical players, because he wants this team to be a bigger, more physically imposing team. Our new OL Kadyn Proctor sure enough is big at 6’7 352. CB Chris Johnson isn’t really big, but he’s a “dog” and big enough at 6’0 193. LB Jacob Rodriguez who’s selection was blessed by none other than former Texas Tech LB and Hall of Fame LB Zach Thomas tells you all you need to know. This guy forced the most fumbles in the history of college football with 12, and had 7 FF’s last season. The WR’s we picked are also “dogs”, physical guys that are either difficult to bring down after the catch and aggressive making contested catches.The TE we drafted Will Kacmarek is hands down the best blocking TE in the draft. One guy who probably can’t wait to see these guys is RB De’Von Achane because Proctor and Kacmarek mean more yards for him! We drafted LB Kyle Louis who will be a chess piece. Undersized as a LB, Louis has very good cover skills and excellent athleticism and will be used like a LB/S hybrid.

We took our first EDGE rusher in RD 4 taking yet another player from Texas, Trey Moore. Not sure how much he can help this season, but the draft is never only about one season. That’s even more clear with the selection of WR Chris Bell in RD 3, who is coming off a late 2025 ACL tear. He will probably start the season on IR, and who knows, may finish on it too, but when healthy, Bell was a potential 1st RD pick.Bell is a big, thick WR at 6’2 222. He’s a tough receiver thats willing to fight for the ball and extra yards as well after the catch. IN RD 5 the Dolphins took, whaddaya know, another Texas player in S Michael Taffe. An undersized S with solid ball skills with 7 INT’s in his 5 year career and apparently he is QB Quinn Ewers best friend. We took a TE, a receiving TE in RD 5 Seydou Traore who is an international player, but a developing player at the TE position. We finally took another OL in RD 6, OG DJ Campbell from none other than Texas. We finished off the draft with another EDGE rusher Max Llewellyn. Here’s our entire draft haul . . .

RD 1 #12 OT Kadyn Proctor 6’7 352 – Alabama

RD 1 #27 CB Chris Johnson 6’0 193 – San Diego State

RD 2 #43 LB Jacob Rodriguez 6’1 238 – Texas Tech

RD 3 #75 WR Caleb Douglas 6’3 206 – Texas Tech

RD 3 #87 TE Will Kacmarek 6’5 261 – Ohio State

RD 3 #94 WR Chris Bell 6’2 222 – Louisville

RD 4 #130 EDGE Trey Moore 6’2 243 – Texas

RD 4 #138 LB Kyle Louis 6’0 220 – Pittsburgh

RD 5 #158 S Michael Taffe 6’0 190 – Texas

RD 5 #177 WR Kevin Coleman 5’10 179 – Missouri

RD 5 #180 TE Seydou Traore 6’3 233 – Mississippi State

RD 6 #200 DJ Campbell 6’3 313 – Texas

RD 7 #238 EDGE Max Llewellyn 6’6 258 – Iowa

So, 13 players in all, quite a haul. Once again my friends, culture change, and lord knows we need that so badly here. I think it’s the thing I hated most about this team was their inability to ever step up in a crunch moment. There are always exceptions on a big 53 man roster, and believe you me, ILB Jordyn Brooks, who is a “DOG”, will love playing next to Jacob Rodriguez, also a “dog” and fellow Red Raider. How many times did we hear from former Dolphins player how soft our team was? How many times did we witness how soft this team was, and that was partially HC Mike McDaniel, and certainly the players like Tua who never met a big moment he didn’t melt in, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle. None of those guys showed up big in big moments when it was needed.

I’m so looking forward to “seeing” the culture change, not hearing about. I can’t wait to see these guys in action. I’m not expecting to compete for a divisional crown this year but I expect this team to win at least half a dozen games or more this season. To me, that would be impressive after the extensive purge we went through. I want to observe a more physical team, we’ll know it when see it, and I think we’;re going to see it a lot. We’re going to see what big collection of “dogs” can do and how infectious it is to the entire team. Can’t wait to see it!

GO DOLPHINS!!!