Dolphins made five of ESPN's top-40 best picks in 2026 NFL Draft originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Coming into the 2026 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins owned a ton of draft capital and walked out of the draft having made 13 selections. While not all of their picks were viewed as great ones, there were plenty of solid pickups for Miami.
With two first-rounders and plenty of picks on Day 2 and Day 3, the Dolphins were bound to make a few good selections barring a disaster. And they didn't just make a good pick or two; new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan was cooking.
As ESPN's Matt Miller highlighted, the Dolphins made five of the top-40 best selections of the entire 2026 NFL Draft, with both first-rounders and a lot of their Day 2 picks being featured on this ranking.
"14. Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Miami Dolphins (Pick 2-43). 31. Chris Bell, WR, Miami Dolphins (Pick 3-94). 35. Kadyn Proctor, OT, Miami Dolphins (Pick 1-12). 38. Chris Johnson, CB, Miami Dolphins (Pick 1-27). 40. Kyle Louis, LB, Miami Dolphins (Pick 4-138)," Miller writes.
Five players inside the best 40 selections of the 2026 NFL Draft are some great work from Sullivan in his first draft for Miami.
The Louis pick might be the best value for Miami, as the fourth-round linebacker is a nice pickup much later than many had him ranked, including Miller, who had him 87th compared to his 138th draft slot.
Johnson and Proctor will start right away for the Dolphins, and both are solid rookies at decent values for Miami. Miller likes both picks, ranking them inside his top-40 selections.
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Bell was a great value at No. 94 overall as well, as he has some very high upside, and while his torn ACL might force him to wait a little before getting back on the field, the Dolphins are one of the teams that can afford to wait.
The Rodriguez pick in Round 2 is one that Miller really likes. "This was a fairly even play on value, but the need and scheme fit bump the pick into my top 15 selections," Miller writes.
Adding two quality starting-caliber linebackers, a high-upside WR, and a pair of starters at cornerback and along the offensive line is some fantastic work for Miami.
And for good measure, Max Llewelyn was also a top-100-ranked pick for Miami, coming in at 93rd overall on Miller's ranking. Overall, it's five top-40 picks for Miami, and six inside the top-100 overall.
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