Kelly: Dolphins beef up roster through 2026 NFL Draft | Opinion
There is a tonality, a consistent theme that was weaved throughout the Miami Dolphins first draft of this new regime.
Size. Physical players. Individuals with chips on their shoulders.
Talents the Dolphins’ new decision-makers coveted that maybe everyone else didn’t have the same viewpoint of.
We won’t know if any of these 13 draftees are tough enough to shine in the NFL, and don’t know if they can bring a winning culture to South Florida’s deflated franchise till later.
But the mold the Dolphins are building off was consistent, followed through with few exceptions. And if all 13 make the 53-man roster or the practice squad, and are healthy enough to contribute in 2026 and beyond, these draftees should serve as the new foundation for the new-look Dolphins.
“Iron sharpens iron, you know what I mean?” newly hired general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan warned on the second day of the 2026 draft, which happened to be his first draft steering a franchise’s future. “Anybody in this building that is afraid of competition, or doesn’t welcome it, or embrace it, shouldn’t be here. That’s where we are. It’s pretty simple.”
According to Sullivan, the theme of the draft was to add good football players who “can do different things,” because “the more you do, the more value you bring.”
First-round pick Kadyn Proctor, who is listed a 6-foot-7, 352 pounds, is the largest player in the 2026 NFL Draft. He’s added to replace Austin Jackson, who is entering the final year of his existing deal.
Will Kacmarek, the Dolphins’ second of three third-round picks, is viewed by many draft analysts as the best in-line blocking tight end. He’s added to replace Julian Hill, who signed as a free agent.
Chris Bell is a 6-2, 220-pound receiver who would have been a top-50 selection, likely a lock for the first round if he tested well at the Combine and came back with a clean medical report. But he tore an ACL in his left knee in late November and is four and a half months into a grueling rehab process.
The hope is that he will be healthy enough to contribute to the team as a rookie while he heals.
“I think most would tell you if he wouldn’t have gotten injured, he’s probably not sitting there anywhere close to where we got him,” Sullivan said of Bell, whom the Dolphins used the 94th pick to select in the third round.
“I’m physical,” Bell said. “A lot of [defensive backs] can’t deal with a big guy like me.”
Same might be said for Caleb Douglas, Miami’s first receiver drafted in 2026. He’s a 6-4 and 206 pounds who ran a 4.39 at the NFL Combine, and is viewed as a red-zone weapon, a master of catching contested 50-50 balls.
The Dolphins also added Missouri slot receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. in the fifth round. That’s a trio of new receivers for Malik Willis.
Chris Johnson, Miami’s second of two first-round picks, was the second cornerback selected in the 2026 NFL Draft. Coincidentally, or not, he’s one of this draft’s biggest cornerbacks with speed.
“This was one of my favorite guys in the draft,” coach Jeff Hafley said. “He has good size to him. good length to him.”
Johnson has the speed, athleticism and versatility to play multiple positions in Miami’s secondary — keeping things fluid.
So does Texas linebacker Kyle Moore, a former American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year, and Pittsburgh linebacker Kyle Louis, who were two of Miami’s seven third-day picks.
“The Dolphins aren’t just getting a great player,” Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi said of Louis, who recorded 201 tackles, 10 sacks and six interceptions in his 37 games with the Panthers. “They’re getting a competitor who elevates everyone in the locker room.”
That seems to be a common theme.
Former Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez is the most decorated college defender in the nation from last season, a turnover machine the Dolphins labeled as the flag-bearer for this draft class, which Hafley hopes will change the culture of a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2000.
Rodriguez and Texas safety Michael Taaffe, whom the Dolphins selected with the 158th pick, were both former walk-ons who rose to the highest level of college football.
“He embodies everything that coach Hafley and Jon-Eric want to build here with his makeup,” Jon Robinson, the former Tennessee Titans general manager, who now serves as a senior executive. “A former walk-on who has busted his tail to earn everything he’s given…. It’s hard in the scouting world to measure how much a guy truly loves football, but when you get a former walk-on, who earns being an elected team captain twice, that speaks in volume to his passion for the game.”
That is the type of dedication and tenacity Hafley wants to become part of Miami’s DNA moving forward.
And it’s this draft class that’s supposed to provide the coding for that DNA.
This story was originally published April 25, 2026 at 8:47 PM.
