Jon-Eric Sullivan already has the Miami Dolphins in striking distance of a record the franchise has held for nearly three decades
The Dolphins’ war chest is in striking distance of Miami’s own league record.
New Miami Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan isn’t fooling around.
This team is about to get a massive influx of young talent — and the vast majority of those players are going to get a prime opportunity to play this season. Miami’s roster will be young. Probably the youngest in football. And after some more gymnastics with personnel moves this week, Sullivan doesn’t just have this team well primed for a youth movement. He’s got them knocking on the door of some history.
Dolphins now three draft choices away from tying their own NFL record for most draft picks in a single class
The 1997 Miami Dolphins made a whopping 14 draft choices in a single draft. That haul brought them a pair of names you’ll recognize well in Hall of Famer Jason Taylor and Sam Madison, too.
That mark of 14? It still stands today as a NFL record for the most amount of picks selected in a single draft; they’re tied with the 2023 Los Angeles Rams. The 2026 Dolphins are seeking a massive influx of talent and, after the Jaylen Waddle deal was formalized and submitted to the league yesterday, Sullivan has the Dolphins within striking distance of that number, as he’s currently pooled 11 draft choices to work with next month.
A trade down from their top pick at No. 11 overall could, in theory, fill an additional handful of spots and help Miami tie their own league record. But what’s even more important than tying the record is the fact that we’ve reached this point.
You know how often the Miami Dolphins have made 10+ draft picks in a single class since 1997? The list of robust draft classes is short:
- 1997: 14 selections (T-NFL record)
- 1998: 10 selections
- 2007: 10 selections
- 2020: 11 selections
That’s it. That’s the list! As a point of reference, the Green Bay Packers, where Sullivan comes from, made 11+ draft selections in three consecutive drafts between 2022-2024; three times the amount of 11+ pick draft classes as Miami has logged in nearly thirty years. It isn’t just the Packers, either. Seattle has done 10+ picks twice in the last three years. The Ravens have averaged 10+ draft picks every other year since 2018. Some of the most consistent organizations in the league have been volume drafters.
We don’t need Miami to break the record for most draft picks in a single class (although it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea if they did). But we do need this to become the norm. The numbers are, frankly, appalling to digest on how infrequently the Dolphins have had a surplus on this front over the last three decades.
And I don’t need to tell you how long it’s been since Miami has celebrated a playoff win and how much that overlaps with this stat, either.