The Miami Dolphins‘ season is teetering in limbo. Sitting at 6-8, Miami faces the opportunity to pursue a winning season and, possibly, some assurances of another year to build around the vision of head coach Mike McDaniel. But this could swing the other way as well, with the Dolphins kicking around a quarterback change that could interrupt their offense worse than intended and drop Miami to 6-11.

If the rest of this season ends up breaking bad, the Dolphins are going to hold the keys to a top-10 draft selection in the 2026 NFL Draft. That’s both good and bad news. But how have the Dolphins done with their efforts in that range? Here’s a look back at Miami’s draft history in the top-10 of the NFL Draft in the last 40 years.

Dolphins’ history of top-10 draft selections offers mixed results

2021: WR Jaylen Waddle, 6th overall pick

Waddle is already among the franchise leaders in receptions, yards, and touchdowns — despite turning just 27 years old last month. If the Dolphins are able to recapture a functional passing game in 2026, it’s possible (probable?) that Waddle leaves the 2026 season in the top-4 in both receptions and yards. He’s had a quiet month as Miami has leaned into the running game and the pass attempts have gone down — but he’s among the most efficient receivers in football per route run and target against man coverage anyway.

2020: QB Tua Tagovailoa, 5th overall pick

Tagovailoa’s moment in the sun here with the Dolphins certainly appears to be fading. A disappointing, regression-filled season in 2025 has left Miami with more questions than answers, a disheartening turn for a pick that could have fortified quarterback for the Dolphins for many years to come.

2013: EDGE Dion Jordan, 3rd overall pick

The Dolphins fumbled this one, no doubt about it. Trading up at a discount, Miami proceeded to completely whiff on their bet on Jordan’s tools. It never seemed like the Fins had a plan for Jordan’s usage and that, plus some self-inflicted issues by Jordan himself, sabotaged this pick.

2012: QB Ryan Tannehill, 8th overall pick

Tannehill was Tua before Tua was Tua. A supremely polarizing quarterback in Miami that never really lived up to the full potential of what he could have. Tannehill did enjoy some of his best years as a pro away from Miami, though — when he was given a sturdy offensive line and Derrick Henry to hand the ball off to in Tennessee. He appears to have finished his career with an 81-70 record as a starter, an appearance in the AFC Championship Game in 2019, and nearly 35,000 career passing yards. Hard to call this one a miss, even if he didn’t fulfill what Miami hoped.

2008: OT Jake Long, 1st overall pick

Injuries cut short Long’s brilliant career, which featured four consecutive Pro Bowl seasons starting with his rookie year in 2008. Long was a part of the Dolphins’ worst-to-first turnaround in 2008 and, if not for injuries, likely would have been a long-term cornerstone in Miami.

2007: WR Ted Ginn Jr., 9th overall pick

History will look back more kindly on Teddy Ginn than Dolphins fans did in the immediate years after the pick. Thanks, in part, to then head coach Cam Cameron’s goofy justification of drafting the “Ginn Family”. Ginn Jr. would go on to play 14 years in the NFL with nearly 6,000 career receiving yards and 42 career touchdowns. Not too shabby, even if Miami drafted him with a faulty plan.

2005: RB Ronnie Brown, 2nd overall pick

Ronnie Brown was a great player. He struggled with durability at times in Miami, twice playing single-digit games across six seasons. His production was good — even when he had to split carries with Ricky Williams. His legacy with the franchise ties back to the Wildcat offense in 2008; Brown was the triggerman behind center. But this choice looms as a “what if” relative to who else was on the board.

1992: CB Troy Vincent, 7th overall pick

Vincent was a good player in Miami. He became a great player in Philadelphia in the early 2000s, when he was named to five consecutive Pro Bowls and twice named All-Pro. If the objective is finding good players, Miami found one here.

1990: OT Richmond Webb, 9th overall pick

Let’s keep the main thing, the main thing. Richmond Webb is a semi-finalist for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame after 11 dominant years in Miami. Well done and vote for Richmond.

1989: RB Sammie Smith, 9th overall pick

This is probably the second-worst pick on the list, only ahead of the Dion Jordan debacle. Smith played three seasons in Miami and averaged 3.5 yards per carry on 509 carries as a Dolphin. He was out of the league by 1993.

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