Kelly: Dolphins pass on two highly praised prospects to select boom-or-bust tackle | Opinion
Imagine the type of conviction Jon-Eric Sullivan must have in Kadyn Proctor to have his first-round selection disappoint, if not anger most of his South Florida fan base?
First the trade-down, passing on selecting one of the top-rated players in the 2026 NFL Draft, and then passing on a player who helped transform the University of Miami football program.
Bold decisions for a boom-or-bust offensive tackle with weight issues.
Sullivan, the Dolphins’ newly appointed general manager, provided two hints about the 2026 Draft leading up to Thursday’s kickoff of the seven-round process.
The week before the draft Sullivan pointed out he’s likely to trade down, and not up the draft board.
He also claimed he believed in quantity, and not quality.
And he vowed to make the Dolphins a substantially bigger, and more physical team.
Miami seemingly achieved all three with the team’s first selection in the 2026 Draft, trading down one spot to acquire two fifth-round picks from the Dallas Cowboys, and then selected the Alabama offensive tackle, who is one of the draft’s biggest players projected to be a top 150 selection.
By making that trade, and draft-day decision Miami passed on taking Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, who was hyped as a generational safety.
Clearly the Dolphins didn’t share that opinion since they gift-wrapped him to the Cowboys, despite the team’s massive need at safety.
But the worst possible draft sin was passed on Hurricanes pass rusher Rueben Bain Jr. with the 12th pick, going with Proctor.
Proctor will more than likely be put opposite Patrick Paul, who had a promising season as the Dolphins first-year starting left tackle in 2025, could create gargantuan bookends for the offensive line considering Proctor is 6-foot-6, 352 pounds and Paul is 6-foot-7, 326 pounds.
The Dolphins seemingly expected a run on offensive linemen in the first round, and got ahead of it by picking Proctor, who showed flashes of quick feet, smooth footwork, and a forceful punch at Alabama.
Those are all traits that typically translate to success in the NFL for offensive linemen. But he’s struggled to keep his weight down in college, and doesn’t always maintain a strong motor late in games.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Bain with the 15th pick, so Floridians will get an up close and assessment of whether Sullivan and Hafley were right, or wrong in passing on Bain.
Considering the 12th pick is merely one of the 13 selections the Dolphins now possess, maybe this is part of some master plan from Miami’s new circle of trust.
It never hurts to fortify the trenches on either side of the ball, especially the offense, when the team’s top playmaker is a small tailback (De’Von Achane) and a small, but athletic quarterback in Patrick Willis.
Maybe Miami has a group of pass rushers and safeties they really like projected to be available in the later rounds. We’ll soon see how effective that game plan is.
Bain’s short arms (30.5 inches) turned off quite a few teams, leading to his slide to the middle of the first round.
And I’ve never felt Downs was this can’t-miss safety many draftniks were praising him to be.
Clearly the Cowboys disagreed, and we will quickly learn if Jerry Jones and company are better at evaluating talent than the Dolphins’ new decision makers.
The two extra fifth-round picks should help the Dolphins replenish the roster, which is under massive reconstruction because of trades, releases, and frugal free agent decisions Sullivan and Hafley made this offseason, resetting the Dolphins roster with the goal of becoming a younger and cheaper team.
For all we know those two fifth-rounds picks could turn into the next Andrew Van Ginkel (drafted 151 overall in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL draft), Davon Godchaux (178th in 2017), Bobby McCain (145) or Jay Ajayi (149), two fifth-round selections the Dolphins made in 2015.
However, if they have careers comparable to Jason Strowbridge, Anthony Weaver or Mohamed Kamara, who coincidentally were all disappointing pass rushers the Dolphins drafted in the fifth round in recent years, and if so we’ll likely have buyers remorse.
But Sullivan’s first two decisions made in his first draft proved he has bold conviction, doesn’t get swayed by the crowd, and backs up what he says with actions, which is a starting point to building trust with a fan base, and the media that cover their team.
Hopefully his evaluation skills are as strong as his convictions.
