Executive with NFL prospect all-star game offers insight on Dolphins rookies
Eric Galko, the director of football operations for the East-West Shrine bowl, is bullish about several Dolphins rookies who will debut during the team’s minicamp on Friday.
Among players he has closely evaluated, here was some of his feedback during a phone conversation last week:
▪ Texas guard DJ Campbell, who was drafted 200th overall by Miami:
Galko views him as very good value late in the draft.
“The biggest knock on him was his size and whether he can he play center and guard,” Galko said. “Evaluating him snap to snap this year, he was outstanding.
“He’s an efficient mover, can get to the second level. You don’t realize he’s an undersized guy when you’re watching him. His measurables are not wowing, but I can see him starting early in his career and playing left guard or right guard early in his career.”
Campbell allowed only one sack last season.
▪ Louisville receiver Chris Bell, who was picked 94th overall but won’t practice Friday as he continues his recovery from a torn ACL in November: “If he doesn’t get hurt in November, he’s a first-round pick. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up being the Dolphins’ best receiver by the second half of the season. He’s AJ Brown.
“He’s locked in on his rehab. I got a chance to get to know him; he’s a good person with a really impressive background. He’s self-confident but also a guy that can stay in the background. To get him in the third round, I can imagine how happy they were.”
▪ Texas Tech receiver Caleb Douglas, who was picked 75th: “He’s really talented; how long it will take [to develop] is a question. But you don’t find guys with that size and top-end speed” that often.
▪ Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez: Besides the elite production, “he is a special person, a better athlete than teams even expected.”
▪Undrafted rookie addition Mason Reiger, a linebacker from Wisconsin: “He had third-, fourth-, fifth-round grades, but he had medical stuff [that pushed him down]. Teams didn’t feel comfortable [with that]. But he’s immensely talented. He won MVP in the Shrine Bowl — had three sacks in the game — and was dominating all week. He was great at Wisconsin. The Dolphins got third-, fourth-round value.”
Reiger had 22.5 tackles for loss and 13 sacks in three years at Louisville and one season at Wisconsin.
At 6-5 and 251 pounds, Reiger had six tackles for loss and five sacks in 11 starts in his one year playing for the Badgers last season. He missed the 2024 season with an injury.
▪ How close is new Dolphins/former Mississippi State tight end Keydou Traore, the 180th pick and a member of the NFL’s international pathway program, to being able to contribute?
“He’s not far away from NFL-ready,” Galko said. “He could be used on gadget plays early on. He’s uber-athletic, a guy with so much upside and athletic ability.
“He has played in three different offenses in college. He could be a rotational tight end; he’s fluid after the catch, has good body control, can wiggle through safeties in coverage and can make plays after the catch.
“He has a running back level of agility and short-area burst. It’s going to take time with the blocking.”
Here’s what Galko — whose game is the longest running postseason all-star college game in U.S. history —had to say about two other postdraft additions, Indiana safety Louis Moore and Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski.
This story was originally published May 6, 2026 at 1:00 PM.
