Dolphins Look to Build New Identity with 2026 NFL Draft Selections

Dolphins Look to Build New Identity with 2026 NFL Draft Selections

Over the last four years under Mike McDaniel as head coach, the Dolphins were among the splashiest teams in the league.

They could score a lot on offense early in the year thanks to big plays in both the run and pass game.

But once the weather turned cooler and the calendar moved into the winter months, the offense cooled with it, and the fun and flash of the early season were not sustainable when Miami faced the league’s tougher defenses.

Playoff-caliber teams would challenge the Dolphins up front on both sides of scrimmage, and, simply put, the Dolphins were not able to match their opponents’ physicality.

Heading into this new era of Dolphins football, it looks like Jon-Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hafley are trying to rectify that issue, starting with their first 13 selections in this past weekend’s draft.

It starts with offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor, the first pick of the new regime.

At 6’7, 352 pounds, Proctor is a massive human being and someone you could potentially build the offensive line around alongside Patrick Paul.

If you’re looking to “pound the rock” in 2026, Miami should be able to run behind those two and find some big running lanes.

That is an offensive style that will be effective no matter the weather.

Their next pick in round 1, Chris Johnson, is a physical specimen, standing 6’0, weighing 193 pounds, and with 30 5/8-inch arms.

Even at that size, Johnson ranked 1st among cornerbacks in raw athletic score.

If Jeff Hafley wants to play more press coverage on the outside, he picked a good player to start with in Johnson.

You can look at Miami’s three third-round selections as an example of their new identity as well.

Caleb Douglas, a wide receiver from Texas Tech, stands at 6’3 and 206 pounds while running a 4.39 40-yard dash.

Will Kacmarek, their second third-round pick, was widely regarded as the best blocking tight end in the draft out of Ohio State, while Chris Bell, a wide receiver who was their last third-round selection, is 6’1 and 222 pounds and has drawn comparisons to A.J. Brown of the Philadelphia Eagles in terms of his play style.

D.J. Campbell and Max Llewllyn, Miami’s final two picks, are linemen of scrimmage and can fix Miami’s identity as a now physical team.

It is pretty clear that Hafley and Sullivan had a good idea of what kind of players they wanted to start this rebuild with.

Yes, they wanted players with talent, character, and strong traits.

But, they also wanted something else.

They wanted physical players, too.

I think they accomplished that goal as we look back at the draft and start looking towards the upcoming season.