Miami Dolphins Mailbag: Preferred targets in the 2026 NFL Draft, Jermod McCoy’s candidacy, and staying out of the rat race
A fresh round of questions from the Miami Dolphins fanbase.
The Miami Dolphins’ month of April is probably the biggest month of the year. No fooling and no April Fools on that one. With the Dolphins entering the first year of a new regime and 11 picks scheduled for the 2026 NFL Draft? That’s a heavy lift. The Miami Dolphins need as many hits as they can get.
Important times mean lots of uncertainty. As such, I asked you for all of your Miami Dolphins questions as we enter April. And with those questions, I bring you our latest Miami Dolphins mailbag edition.
Miami Dolphins mailbag: Preferred targets in the 2026 NFL Draft, Jermod McCoy’s candidacy, and staying out of the rat race
Hey Sam! There’s a number of layers to this question but I’ll offer up my five favorite targets that I think have a somewhat mildly realistic chance of being there at No. 11 overall:
- EDGE Rueben Bain Jr., Miami
- SAF Caleb Downs, Ohio State
- OG Olaivavega Ioane, Penn State
- OT Francis Mauigoa, Miami
- CB Mansoor Delane, LSU
Bain is a local product who plays on the edge and is a blue chip prospect in this year’s class. He’s an intense culture guy and a perfect fit for a new general manager that hails from a place that has typically coveted heavy EDGEs. Jeff Hafley spoke this week about trying to call his defense and play “the game within the game” through his safeties and I think Downs passes that sniff test with flying colors.
Behind that? A pair of physical offensive linemen who can plug in and help change the narrative about the Dolphins’ line of scrimmage play and then a gifted, versatile corner.
Tennessee CB Jermod McCoy’s candidacy?
I like McCoy. He’s one of 15 first-round grades I gave out this year. But for a Dolphins team that’s fresh off of a regime that was too flippant about player durability, I do generally think the risks associated after McCoy missed all of 2025 would be too unsettling for me if I were Sullivan. He’s probably be a “well shoot, if he makes it to pick 30!” option for me. I like this cornerback group and I do think Miami’s bought themselves some wiggle room with all the young competitors in that room to not force a CB pick at No. 11.
The 2027 Rat Race against the Jets?
I made this analogy a few weeks back on the Locked On Dolphins Squad Show: the Dolphins gotta run their own race. It’s like the Bluey episode about the ‘Baby Race’; you gotta learn to walk at your own pace. Miami’s brass seems to think they’re in a great place to skip the line at quarterback with the Malik Willis signing, which means they won’t need to worry about a ‘you know what contest’ with the Jets for the top pick.
If Sullivan and Hafley are right about Willis, expect to hear me drumming up a trade down with some early draft capital in 2027 (barring an elite player being in your lap).
Can Miami extend EVERYONE this offseason?
They can! And I suspect they will! I just don’t think those things are all going to happen before the draft. Or, for that matter, before June 1st. The Dolphins sound like Devon Achane is priority No. 1 — he probably should be. The Dolphins paid out nearly $5 million of compensation for 2026 already, they’re committed to him being here, and Miami has to be looking over their shoulder at Atlanta (Bijan Robinson) and Detroit (Jahmyr Gibbs) in the race to hit the first deal of the offseason at running back. I would suspect the latter two will push Saquon Barkley’s annual average record for the position, so Miami beating those teams to the punch with an Achane deal would be a win.
But Miami is tight on cap space. So if they DO get Achane done, they’ll likely need to convert salary in Jordyn Brooks’ contract to make things fit before the Bradley Chubb savings ($20 million in cap space) come rolling in on June 2nd. After that point, Miami can open things up to extend the other two. There’s also less of a rush on Aaron Brewer, in my opinion, because Tyler Linderbaum already chewed up the top spot for highest paid center in football by 50% ($27 million annual average). The damage is done on that negotiation front already.
Option A or Option B in the 2026 NFL Draft?
Okay, Dave. I love a good multiple choice question. Here’s the rankings I have on all six of these players on my newly released big board:
A. OG Vega Ioane (6th overall), CB Colton Hood (28th overall), EDGE Malachi Lawrence (52nd overall)
B. EDGE Rueben Bain Jr. (2nd overall), WR Omar Cooper Jr. (19th overall), SAF AJ Haulcy (44th overall)
Option B has a higher ranked player in every spot, but I’d be left quite concerned about the offensive line outlook with that avenue, too.
Back to the negotiating table with Malik in 2027?
I would like to think that there’s an understanding that this three-year contract will be reassessed after 2027 either way. Good, bad, or indifferent. Especially as the quarterback of the franchise, Willis coming back to the negotiating well after one year next spring would be a tough look given he has guarantees for 2027 already in my opinion.
Could you justify it? Surely. But I don’t know if I’d like Miami’s new management entertaining players on pay raises with multiple years left on their current deals — as that’s part of what got the last group in trouble (Tyreek Hill, Jalen Ramsey).
TE Jaylin Conyers’ chances to make the team?
I liked Conyers coming out of Texas Tech. I’m holding out some hope that he’s a potential flex fit for Bobby Slowik given his proximity to the Shanahan schemes. But I did feel like he could have been a Mike McDaniel pet project — given the insistence the team had in trying to make Tanner Conner a thing for years.
The bad news for Conyers is he’s got no sweat equity with this management group. The good news is his fate is in his hands to make a strong impression.
A scouting challenge for Sully?
I have thought long and hard about this and I don’t think it should make the decision for you. But I do think it makes it that much easier to appreciate what Ioane brings to the table if interior OL scouting is a layered labor of love for anyone. Ioane is my personal favorite lineman in the class and there’s a strong chance he’s the player I’m advocating the team draft.
But for that decision to come from anything other than how you have him graded (I think he’s elite!) in a vacuum would be, in my opinion, bad process.
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