Three 2026 NFL Draft defensive backs you should start giving the Dolphins in your mock drafts more after the NFL Combine

These DBs from the 2026 NFL Draft that should be mocked more to the Dolphins.

Kyle Crabbs — NFL National Writer
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INDIANAPOLIS — We’re halfway through the athletic testing at the NFL Combine. For the Miami Dolphins, this block of time serves as important intel for a busy April in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Miami has five picks currently scheduled in the top-100 of this year’s draft. And with a roster loaded with needs and desperate for more youth and competition, hitting those picks will be the key to breathing life into this roster. So who are some names this week in Indianapolis who are standing out in the right way for the Dolphins? Let’s start in the defensive backfield. Here are three defensive back prospects you should start mocking more to the Miami Dolphins between now and April.

Three defensive backs you should start mocking more to the Miami Dolphins

Feb 26, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; San Diego State defensive back Chris Johnson (DB17) speaks to members of the media during the NFL Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

San Diego State Aztecs cornerback Chris Johnson

The biggest win of the week for Johnson was the vibes from personnel I spoke to from around the league. Johnson was once considered a fringe first-round cornerback prospect who was a staple of the top-50 in big boards and mock drafts. His stock feels as though it may have tailed off a bit publicly, but there’s some folks across the league still bullish here.

He’s a viable option at cornerback with Miami’s scheduled second-round draft choice at 43 overall — especially after checking in with good size and explosiveness in all of his tests.

40-yard dash: 4.40 seconds
10-yard split: 1.54 seconds
Vertical jump: 38.0″
Broad jump: 10’06”

Feb 26, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Washington defensive back Tacario Davis (DB05) speaks to members of the media during the NFL Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

Washington Huskies cornerback Tacario Davis

Holy smokes. An eighth of an inch short of 6-foot-4. 33.38″ arms. 194 pounds. And he ran a 4.41 second 40-yard dash? Look, I get it. Combine warriors don’t always make great football players. But it was reported that Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan name dropped two cornerbacks when talking to the local media in a private scrum at the NFL Combine: Jason Marshall and JuJu Brents. Those are a pair of big, physical, explosive cornerbacks. Davis is all of that.

There was once a time, when Davis played at Arizona, that he garnered legit consideration as a top-50 prospect. His journey took the long road to the NFL and his stock has fizzled. But if you’re looking for a scheme-specific starter, Davis has inserted himself into the conversation in the middle-rounds as an elite tools prospect.

Feb 26, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; South Carolina defensive back Jalon Kilgore (DB39) speaks to members of the media during the NFL Combine at the Indiana Convention Center.

South Carolina Gamecocks defensive back Jalon Kilgore

Uh oh. I think I’m swooning. I liked Kilgore coming into the Combine but I never would have guessed he’d be checking boxes like this. He’s pushing 6-foot-1, weighed in at 210 pounds with nearly 33″ arms. He ran a 4.40s flat in the 40-yard dash with a 1.56s 10-yard split. The jumps were great, too.

He’s a nickel. And for a Jeff Hafley defense that drafted a nickel safety hybrid in Javon Bullard in the second round in 2024, I can’t help but get a little starry-eyed thinking about Kilgore as a fit for the Dolphins. The tape is good. Does positional value and no upside on the outside (24 total snaps on the perimeter out of 2,241 career defensive snaps) push him into the third round for Miami? Or did he test his way into the top-50?

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