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Breaking Down the Biggest Sullivan Press Conference Takeaways

Originally posted on Miami Dolphins on SI
By Alain Poupart | Last updated Apr 15, 2026 4:16 PM ET

The first and maybe most important impression of new Miami Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan's first pre-draft press conference was that he was a lot more forthcoming than in predecessor in terms of overall draft philosophy.

There were certain topics that remained pretty much off limits, however, such as when the reporter with the Montreal Expos asked whether Sullivan would feel comfortable revealing how many prospects he had given a top 11 overall grade, an important fact considering the Dophins currently have the 11th overall selection in the first round.

It didn't take Sullivan very long to lean sideways into the microphone at the podium in the press conference at the Baptist Health Training Complex to say: "No."

Other answers were basically run of the mill for a GM pre-draft press conference, such as the idea of how to handle prospects with previous off-the-field incidents or character concerns or those with an injury history, the answer in both cases being that circumstances would dictate that answer.

Sullivan did make some very interesting revelations, however, starting with his bold statement regarding running back De'Von Achane that we addressed in an earlier story on Miami Dolphins On SI.

Here are the other major takeaways from Sullivan's media session:

QUANTITY OVER QUALITY

The Dolphins currently are scheduled to have 11 selections in this 2026 NFL draft, but Sullivan indicated a willingness to discuss possible trades, though he also made it clear he doesn't want to waste time with other GMs during the draft if talks aren't serious.

The key statement by Sullivan regarding trades was that he was much more likely to trade down than trade up because of where the Dolphins stand and the need to pick up volume — a point we have made here many times and also on the All Dolphins Podcast.

"What I'm saying is I think we need all 11 picks," Sullivan said. "I'm saying that you don't know how this thing's going to unfold. None of us have a crystal ball. It's more likely that we would move back and pick up picks than give up picks to go forward. You walk in there day two, and all of a sudden, there's some players that you covet at the top and you're like, hey, maybe it makes sense to go burn a pick to get to something that unlikely happens in a player that you didn't expect to be there. Those are conversations we'll have.

"Everything's on the table. I just think when you look at our roster and what we need, it's more likely we would go back and pick up picks, but we're in this thing to draft good football players. That's what wins games. Good football players. It's great to have a lot of picks, but I'm not gonna fall into that trap of trying to be smarter than the process and pass on good players to acquire picks. We've got to get good football players into the equation."

MAKING THE CALLS

Sullivan had made this point before, but he repeated it again Wednesday: He'll be the one making the final decision on the draft picks.

Asked whether owner Stephen Ross would have to ability to pull rank, Sullivan gave Ross his respect but it will be his call, and it makes sense since he was hired for a reason and no GM would want an owner calling the shots (outside of Dallas, we guess).

AIKMAN'S AID

One of the biggest storylines with the Dolphins in recent months has been Troy Aikman's involvement with the franchise in his role as consultant, but we'e almost reached the point where it's gotten overblown.

While we understand the question needed to be asked as to whether Aikman would be in the draft room and have input into the decisions, Sullivan made it clear that the answers were yes and no.

Aikman, as Sullivan put it, has been a valuable sounding board for the front office, but the Dolphins already have a lot of decision-makers in place to advise Sullivan, including three assistant general managers — Champ Kelly, Kyle Smith and Jon Robinson.

NO SPLASH MOVES COMING

The Dolphins' M.O. this offseason has to be to give minimum-salary contracts (or close to it) to players who haven't panned out yet or are looking to get their career back on track, the one exception being Malik Willis, and that was in large part because of the rough cap situation.

But just because the Dolphins will get an additional $20 million in June once Bradley Chubb's post-June 1 release gets processed doesn't mean they'll go a different route.

No, Sullivan said we probably can forget about bigger signings the rest of the offseason.

"I don't think we have anything, any any tricks up our sleeve, to be honest," Sullivan said. "I think we're gonna stay disciplined and try to get back to a healthy cap situation. And we'll probably sit tight with that. We need the money to sign our draft class, and then, as I said many times over again to you guys like we need to be disciplined with the finances and get back to a healthy spot."

POSITIONAL VALUES

For those looking to try to pick up clues as to which prospects Sullivan might prefer over another, he discusses his thoughts on positional value, this after saying he wasn't comfortable discussing the strengths of this particular draft.

"I'm super paranoid when we get this close to I don't want to tip my hat to anything," Sullivan said. "Having said that, I think if you're talking about league-wide value, when you're talking about positional value, I think you obviously start with the quarterback. I think that's universal. And I would say probably the ability to affect the quarterback and the ability to protect the quarterback, specifically to offensive tackle, you know? And then I would think it probably is your playmakers and the guys that can take the playmakers out of the game. That's how you would look at it. But it starts with the quarterback, and then probably the ability to affect and or protect the quarterback is how you I would think across the league most guys or most teams would rank the positional values like that."

This comment would mean that if all prospects available are equal, we'd look at the Dolphins drafting a quarterback, followed by a pass rusher, tackle, cornerback or wide receiver.

But we all know that not all prospects are created equal.

As for who the Dolphins might deem a better prospect than other, that's an answer nobody ever should expect to get.