The Miami Dolphins’ most important rookie just gave us the perfect benchmark for his development
The Miami Dolphins’ first draft choice under Jon-Eric Sullivan shares the biggest change to his game since moving inside.
These 2026 Miami Dolphins are going to be getting a whole bunch of snaps from their rookie class. And sure, part of that is because the team’s roster has shed numerous high-priced and high-profile players this year. But also because the Dolphins had a whopping 13 picks in April.
None of them are more important than Kadyn Proctor, the mammoth offensive lineman that Miami picks 12th overall. The Dolphins chose him as their first pick under Jon-Eric Sullivan — a choice that embodies their desire to bully the line of scrimmage and also protect quarterback Malik Willis. Earlier this week, Proctor sat down with former Arizona Cardinals GM Steve Keim to talk about how things are playing out so far — including his transition to guard.
Miami Dolphins OL Kadyn Proctor shares the biggest change to playing inside
“I would say just the biggest thing is every everything’s happening a little quicker. You’re going against bigger and stronger guys. But they’re still they’re still speedy. They still can beat you with speed. It’s crazy how these guys move, but everything’s just happening at a quicker pace to really just getting my hands on. In college, I kind of was a was a clamper, working with space. But since I don’t have any space, it’s like you got to get your hands on right now.”
— Miami Dolphins OL Kadyn Proctor on the difference from tackle to guard
It’s cool to hear Proctor get into this level of detail with his game. Sure enough, turn on the film at Alabama and you’ll constantly see Proctor funneling pass rushers to his outside half before clamping their outside shoulder with his outside hand. When he set the hook, it was over. But the angles at guard aren’t the same, as Proctor points out. So his mentality for seizing control of blocks has to be different. Monitoring his progress here over the next month should offer us some valuable clues as to how well he’s acclimating to the NFL. But awareness is the first step — and Proctor’s passed that test with flying colors.
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