Why the Dolphins will ‘more likely’ trade down in upcoming draft
The Miami Dolphins have seven picks in the first three rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft.
And as enticing as it would be to couple a few picks to move up in the draft, Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan finds that unlikely.
“I’m always going to pick up the phone,” Sullivan said Wednesday afternoon. “I think it probably is fair to say more likely to move back than move up. We need all 11 picks, but you never say never.”
It would then be easy to draw a straight line between Sullivan’s statement to his perception of the 2026 NFL Draft. That, however, wouldn’t be true.
“No, I’m not saying that,” Sullivan said when asked if his willingness to trade down equates to his lack of belief in the 2026 draft class’ talent. “We need all of [the 11 total picks]. I’m saying that you don’t know how this thing’s going to unfold.”
Added Sullivan: “You walk in there Day 2 and all of a sudden there are some players that you covet at the top, and you’re like ‘Maybe it makes sense to deal a pick for a player that you didn’t expect to be there, those are conservations we’ll have.”
Sullivan, however, has maintained this stance since the NFL Combine – before the Dolphins managed to stockpile this treasure trove of picks.
“The more likely scenario is that we would be looking to move back and get picks,” Sullivan said in late February before referencing his mentor, former Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson. “That’s the Ted Thompson in me — the more swings at the bat you have, the better chances you have to hit.”
That, however, doesn’t mean the Dolphins just want to continue to stack picks. Miami needs talent more than anything. That will be difficult to acquire if the Dolphins only have picks.
“We’re in this thing to draft good football players,” Sullivan said. “That’s what wins games: good football players. It’s great to have a lot of picks. I’m not going to fall into that trap and try to be smarter than the process and pass on good players to acquire picks. We got to get good football players in the equation.”
Sullivan then doubled down on that notion.
“I’m not going to pass on players and take a significant dip in value to get a pick,” Sullivan said.
Take a look at the Dolphins’ current roster and the holes are obvious. Safety remains a huge need. So does cornerback. The same also goes for wide receiver, edge rusher and even offensive guard. Need, however, will never be the end all be all, according Sullivan.
“We’re always going to be a best player available approach because you really have no idea what your needs are going to be,” Sullivan said. “I’ve lived that lie before when you feel like you have an embarrassment of riches in a room then all of a sudden you’re a hamstring and an ankle away from stealing guys off of the emergency board.”
The message then becomes simple.
“Take good football players and everything will work itself out,” Sullivan said.
At the end of the day, the Dolphins just want “really good players,” according to Sullivan, regardless of how cliché that may sound. It doesn’t matter the position — to paraphrase Sullivan, difference-makers are difference-makers — and that’s what Miami needs as this new regime begins to build this franchise from the ground up.
“If you deem somebody generational or a difference-maker, they tilt the field in your favor, you can never go wrong with that,” Sullivan said, regardless of position. “Really good players are really good players and when you have them, be thrilled that you have them and off you go.”
